Nighttime Advice sought.

[fridayphunnies]

Hi all,
Looking for some help on how to take some better nighttime shots.
Recenty tool some of local stadium where they having a fireworks display.
I was very disappointed with my results. Comments and suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
Number 1 ISO100 f/7.1 15.0 sec
Number 2 ISO100 f/5.6 5.0 sec

[10megapixel]

They look over exposed because of the extremely long shutter times I think. Drop your exposure time down to 2 or 3 sec (or lower). and maybe set your aperture value f/8 or f/10 next time and see if that helps. Turn image stabilization off, and invest in a remote release cable. Here's some info...

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks

[LarryD]

I agree..

The highlights are definitely blown out from too long of an exposure or too wide an aperture..

Fireworks are usually bright enough to come through even at very stopped down settings.

[Robert_Lay]

Both shots give the appearsnce of being unsharp (out of focus?).

However, such an effect may be due to the spreading of the high intensity point sources rather than an actual focus issue. It is normal that bright point sources create a forward scatter effect. Such an effect can be minimized by starting your shots earlier in the evening before the ambient light is so low and while the point sources are of lower relative intensity.

[fridayphunnies]

Thanks guys , just have to wait around now for another event to try again.

[LeuceDeuce]

Thanks guys , just have to wait around now for another event to try again.

Why wait? Just go shoot the location (and conditions) again, and practice using the various tips n tricks you gather from feedback. If you can perfect your technique before the next event happens, you'll be in a much better position to capture it as best you can.

[USER876]

They don't look THAT blown out to me.....but they do look soft, like you had some shake on your tripod......can you post 100% crops of a section?

[conkeroo]

Another Dub eh, that being Croke Park and all. As already said the shots do look soft but by looking at them, the jpg compression doesn't help. I don't think they're too bad though so you're on the right track.

[fridayphunnies]

Thanks for all the advice.
I will go and practice some more,sad to say it’s not every day that we have fireworks in the local stadium. Celebrating 125 years of the GAA, hope I won’t have to wait around till the 200 for the next ones.