advice for fireworks photos

[Ciara]

Hi

I'm new to this, hello!

Heading to a fireworks display this weekedn and i thought i'd like to take some photos, just looking for a bit of advice. i have a powershot a70 so its only a compact but has some different stuff to play with.

id like to try a few things, one would be to work out a way to have a long exposure to get a few different fireworks into one shot.....how might i go about doing that?!?!


and any other (fairly simple) ideas for taking good fireworks pictures


thanks

[liza]

I'm not familiar with the type of camera you have or its capabilities, but I had a great deal of success using this information that was emailed to me as a part of Porter's Camera Store's monthly newsletter. Hope it's okay to paste in the pertinent text from the body of the email, since I credited the source. If not, please excuse my monumental ignorance! :)

My shots looked so good that I actually had someone accuse me of Photoshopping the results!

From the June 2005 Porter's Camera Store newsletter:
"...long after the Fourth of July by capturing them with your camera. Hear the "oohs" and "aahs" a second time with photos that show the brilliant displays. Any film or digital camera that has a "B" shutter speed setting for taking time exposures can be used, including many point & shoot cameras.

You'll get the best pictures of aerial fireworks displays by placing your camera on a tripod, setting the focus to infinity (except perhaps with longer telephoto lenses, which should be pre-focused on an earlier burst) and aiming it in the direction of the display. Set the shutter on "B", which keeps it open for as long as you have the shutter release pressed. Make a time exposure for several seconds and capture one or several fireworks bursts. A remote shutter release cable will make it easier to trip the shutter and lock it open for several seconds. If your camera has a built-in flash that automatically fires in low light, set it to the flash-off mode. Set the exposure manually and use a starting point of f8 at ISO 100, f11 at ISO 200, f16 for ISO 400 and f22 for ISO 800. Bracket your exposures some, since more exposure will make lines thicker while less makes the lines thinner.

Most any lens can be used, depending on how far away you are, how you want to crop the scene, how much of the skyline and nearby buildings you want to include, etc. Be sure to bring a small flashlight so you can see to adjust the camera settings.

For photos of kids playing with sparklers and other on-the-ground fireworks, use an exposure of 1/15 sec. at f4 with ISO 100 film, 1/30 f4 with ISO 200, 1/60 f4 with ISO 400 and 1/60 f5.6 with ISO 800. Many point & shoot cameras have a slow shutter flash sync mode which works well for this lighting situation.

Here are some additional tips to help you capture great shots of fireworks.

•Position yourself at a right angle to the wind. This will keep the fireworks smoke from obscuring the fireworks trails.
•When capturing multiple bursts of fireworks, cover the front of the lens with a black cap, black fabric or some other object between bursts if there is more than a few seconds delay between bursts.
•Watch out for street lights and other bright lights in the background that will “burn” into the long exposures.
•Make sure you haven’t accidentally left a polarizing filter or some other dark filter on the lens that reduces exposure.
•Bodies of water in the foreground add gorgeous reflections to fireworks photos! If you’re lucky enough to be viewing fireworks above a river or lake, position yourself to add the water to the foreground.
•When shooting with a digital camera, use the resolution that gives you the highest image quality, with the least compression. When images are compressed, artifacts are added that may degrade image quality.
•Use a digital camera set on ISO 100 for the best quality. Higher ISO values may add noise to the image, particularly with point and shoot digital cameras.
•Many digital cameras have subject modes that automatically shift focus, exposure and white balance for specific subjects. Some cameras with subject modes have one for fireworks that will take care of some of the basic settings listed above in the second paragraph.
•Because of the unpredictable nature of fireworks photography, not every photo will be a winner. So take lots of photos, bracket your exposures, change your positioning and zoom lens settings and you’ll get some photos you’ll be proud of."