Photographic Fireworks Help

[ayee007]

Hey guys, I plan to go down to DC this 4th of July and since I'm new to photography, I havent had a chance to test it out on fireworks. Any suggestions? Is a tripod necessary? Any ideas what aperture/shutter speed/iso combo works best?

[sidg]

I'm not an expert on Fireworks but there are several helpful threads here or if you Google Fireworks photos there are a number of tutorials available (even one on the Canon site).
You will need a tripod to get usable shots.

see: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=344159
and: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=895460 for the canon link

Enjoy!

[ayee007]

in a lot of these threads, i see them set it to bulb....what does that mean? after 30 sec is bulb, but what exactly is it

[Inspeqtor]

Perhaps someone else can explain bulb better than I can.... but using bulb the shutter stays open until you close it whether you leave it open for 10 seconds or 10 minutes, 1 hour etc is up to you.

Set the Mode Dial to M, turn the Main Dial (behind the shutter button) to change the shutter speed to Bulb

When you press and hold the shutter button the shutter will stay open as long as you hold the shutter button down. The problem with doing this is you will get camera shake this way. You need to get the Canon RS60-E3 Remote Switch (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Remote-Switch-RS60-E3/dp/B00004WCID/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1278130510&sr=8-1) then there will be no camera shake. If you have a camera store near you I suggest you get one there.

[ayee007]

thanks! im not sure id be able to get one before then so bulb may not be an option for me. can i still do this with long 10-20 second exposures?

[sidg]

The length of your exposure is going to depend upon how much other light is around you. Play around with it before the fireworks start to get an exposure that allows you to see some of the foreground so that the fireworks have some context. Then when the fireworks are going off play around with it and learn to time it. Watch for the rocket going up and then snap the shot just after it explodes. The best bet is during those times when a lot of fireworks are going off at the same time. Then just keep pressing the shutter down and enjoy looking at what you captured after the event.

[mitchman]

The timing is tricky with fireworks, but you can use the self-timer to trip the shutter to eliminate camera shake. Also if you have the option available, turn on the mirror up setting.

[mitchman]

I shot fireworks last year and while I've gotten lots of compliments on this one in particular, I never have solved the blown out highlights issue with this photo.

If I shortened the exposure, then the fireworks wouldn't' be blown out, but everything else would turn to mud (blackness). I was shooting at a very low ISO (I think 100) to eliminate noise, but I wonder if I shot at a higher ISO it might help somehow? Maybe boosting the ISO will shorten the time the fireworks appear. Kinda like using a flash or something. I'm just nervous about adding noise.

Any advice would be appreciated. (sorry about the JPG artifacts - I'm at home and the original is at work. I had to re-compress and already highly compressed JPG)

[ayee007]

i like that picture a lot, maybe underexpose a little and hope to recover in pp? if the fireworks had more color it would be perfect

[Roy Mathers]

I shot fireworks last year and while I've gotten lots of compliments on this one in particular, I never have solved the blown out highlights issue with this photo.

If I shortened the exposure, then the fireworks wouldn't' be blown out, but everything else would turn to mud (blackness). I was shooting at a very low ISO (I think 100) to eliminate noise, but I wonder if I shot at a higher ISO it might help somehow? Maybe boosting the ISO will shorten the time the fireworks appear. Kinda like using a flash or something. I'm just nervous about adding noise.

Any advice would be appreciated. (sorry about the JPG artifacts - I'm at home and the original is at work. I had to re-compress and already highly compressed JPG)


I can't understand your remark about a higher ISO shortening the time that the fireworks appear. I assume you mean you can use a higher shutter speed? However, you can use a shorter shutter speed with your present ISO setting, so I don't think you'd gain anything if the exposure is the same. And as for noise, with your camera you shouldn't get any, even at 800 ISO - perhaps even above. Even if you do, you can remove it PP.

[Inspeqtor]

Perhaps this will also help you, even though it is late. I wish I had thought of this the other day.

Photographing Fireworks (http://************/27glxkq)

[mitchman]

I can't understand your remark about a higher ISO shortening the time that the fireworks appear. I assume you mean you can use a higher shutter speed? However, you can use a shorter shutter speed with your present ISO setting, so I don't think you'd gain anything if the exposure is the same. And as for noise, with your camera you shouldn't get any, even at 800 ISO - perhaps even above. Even if you do, you can remove it PP.

I'm trying to expose for both the fireworks and the overall scene. If I shorten my shutter speed the fireworks will look better, but the background will be underexposed. That's why I thought a higher ISO might help. It would make the camera more sensitive to light which means the shutter speed would be shorter making the fireworks less overexposed.

[mitchman]

Or maybe reducing the aperture would help expose the fireworks better? I'm trying to find out what aperture I shot this photo at last year. (need to go to the office)

[Roy Mathers]

I'm trying to expose for both the fireworks and the overall scene. If I shorten my shutter speed the fireworks will look better, but the background will be underexposed. That's why I thought a higher ISO might help. It would make the camera more sensitive to light which means the shutter speed would be shorter making the fireworks less overexposed.

But if the fireworks were less overexposed, the background would be more underexposed.

[mitchman]

True. But isn't shooting fireworks kind of like shooting with a flash? You can leave the shutter open for a long time to expose the background, but the fireworks "flash" for a short time, creating their own "exposure time".

[Roy Mathers]

No, not at all. Shooting with flash means you are using the flash to illuminate the subject. With fireworks, they themselves are the illumination.

[mitchman]

True. But aren't there two separate illuminations?

1) The ambient light of the background
2) The light from the fireworks.

I dunno. I'm just trying to get my head around this. Maybe I'm thinking too much.

My goal is to have the background look the same as in the photo I posted, but have the fireworks look less exposed. Maybe there's no way of achieving that. Dunno...

[Johnny V]

Yea you are thinking too much! LOL

Looks like your caputure was at the magic "5-10 minute" window where the fireworks show begins while still a touch light out... thus adding light to the background. Once it gets dark its not easy capturing the background along with the fireworks. Also in the foreground it looks like there is artificial light on the people and boats.

Anyway...

Fireworks exposure is based on f-stop... not shutter speed. Fireworks "paint with light" so to speak, if you have a short shutter speed you'll not be able to capture to full the pattern the fireworks paint in the "sky". Increasing the ISO will only make matters worse as you'll need a smaller f-stop for proper fireworks exposure... thus darkening the background exposure even more.

You could place camera on bulb or long exposure and with a black card in hand to control image capture by placing black card in front of lens when not wanting to exposure for certain fireworks and when in-between fireworks expose for background.

Also if camera does not move you could stack images in photoshop and use HDR or masking to add background details as some fireworks are extremely bright than others and will brighten up the surroundings.

[Johnny V]

An ND filter will not work as you describe, as it's affecting both the fireworks and ambient exposures equally.

[joayne]

This Fireworks Thread has been going since 2007 and is updated.

Click (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=341145)

[Roy Mathers]

^^I think this is what you need ayee.

[mitchman]

Thanks for everyone's advice!

[Johnny V]

Sweet!!! What did you finally decide to do with exposure/settings?

[mitchman]

Thanks! I left the ISO at 100 (native setting for the camera). I shot that at F4.0 and 4 sec exposure. Honestly, I learned that the exposure is a moving target. Some bursts are very bright some are dark. You're just guessing. The key is to shoot a LOT of photos. :) (and shoot RAW so you can fix things if necessary)

[Johnny V]

> I learned that the exposure is a moving target.

Yep that is so true.

Below are the before and after in Lightroom. This is at the beginning of the show so there was still some light in the sky. I shoot at 100 ISO, f11 and 10 seconds. 10 seconds is kind of arbitrary. Usually I do 8 secs but they were firing the fireworks so slow that adding the two extra seconds really helped capture more.

Also you'll notice in the distance the red glow... that's Long Beach, NY fireworks. The shot is looking due north on the Jersey Shore.

[mitchman]

Really nice! What adjustments did you make in Lightroom to bring out the background? Curves?

[Johnny V]

Funny... I'm big curves user in Photoshop, but in Lightroom I just use the sliders. Fill Light is the key to open up the shadows. See attached settings. More than likely after adding Fill Light you'll have to decrease the Exposure setting.

Also I'm using LR3 and notice a huge difference with the lack of pattern noise in LR3 when compared to LR2 (50D). I have to dig up last years fireworks images but I was fighting pattern noise the whole way when using Fill Light or boost Exposure. Not with LR3... love it!

[mitchman]

Thanks! I'm going to work on it later today. Maybe I can get even more out of the photo.

[Roy Mathers]

Good exlanation JohnnyV.

[ayee007]

hey guys, a majority of fireworks i took came out like these...i used a 2 sec timer...no wireless...can you tell me what went wrong?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4773027477_726f82d1c4_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4773667174_504a068115_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4773667116_df252fdf50_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4773667080_6bb7d6e8e7_b.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ayee007/4773027353/in/photostream/

exif here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ayee007/

how do i insert pictures with links to my flickr with exif?

[mitchman]

What aperture and ISO did you shoot them at? They look very overexposed. Did you preview any of them between shots?

[ayee007]

some were shot at 100, 200, and 400...f/8...

yea i previewed them, but being inexperienced, i didnt know how to get it right. what aperture/iso/shutter speed should i have shot at?

[Johnny V]

To me the starting point for all fireworks is f11@100 ISO. Seems most of the above camera settings are at least 2-3 stops lighter than f11@100 ISO. Actually I don't think f11@100 ISO would have captured the above as those are some big ass fireworks. As mitchman mentioned fireworks exposure is a moving target which is true. You should have probably checked the preview and adjusted f-stop. Also it seems there are many fireworks going off all at once so that would definitely add to exposure so you'd really want to stop down more than a small town fireworks show that only fire off two small fireworks at once.

[ayee007]

yea i should've gone ISO 100 and bumped up my aperture...anything else ppl can see that i did wrong?

[Johnny V]

Maybe go to touch wider lens. You had a perfect spot to shoot... I'm envious.

[ayee007]

yea the spot was really nice, had a few people elbow me while shooting, was very crowded...learning process...