4th of July Pyro Advice

4th of July is just around the corner and I need a bit of advice.
Below is a link to a shot I took last year with my T1i 50mm @1.4 no flash 1250 ISO.

The shot came out pretty good but very noisy and grainy; I will be shooting again this year with my 60D and hopefully with its higher ISO the noise will be reduced. Any advice would be appreciated as I have very limited experience with up and personal pyrotechnic photography.

Thanks in advance – the jpg is 3.3 meg so I provided the link; (REMOVED) rather than link direct.

The linked file isn't 3.3Mb it's 127Kb... that being said, I like it, and don't find it grainy... I wouldn't change anything...

mguffin wrote in post #12571004
The linked file isn't 3.3Mb it's 127Kb... ...

Guess Photobucket resized it...when I uploaded this morning the file size was 3.3

Are you going to be shooting fires and stuff like in the picture? Or the fireworks? Tripod or no? Cable release?

High ISO for fireworks?

I will be shooting behind the scenes once again; it’s very chaotic as the individuals firing each shot have to choreograph by time/count as we cannot hear the music due to the concussion. Due to all the movement I don’t use a tripod or trigger.

I both act as both photographer and shoot the 4” mortars, and the finale. My wife will be shooting the event from the spectators section with my T1i on a tripod so we will have both cause and effect; hoping I can get some better behind the scenes this year.

I set up on a tripod using my remote shutter switch, Manual (Bulb) mode. F/9 to f/11, I've even gone smaller, ISO 100, and just hold the shutter open for as long as I feel for however many fireworks are going off at the moment. Most of mine are anywhere from 3 to 5 second exposures.
http://www.photoshop.c​om …9aa3c88fb5674c7​/slideshow
Or here
http://s68.photobucket​.com …orks/?albumview​=slideshow

tkerr wrote in post #12571247
I set up on a tripod using my remote shutter switch, Manual (Bulb) mode. F/9 to f/11, I've even gone smaller, ISO 100, and just hold the shutter open for as long as I feel for however many fireworks are going off at the moment. Most of mine are anywhere from 3 to 5 second exposures.
http://www.photoshop.c​om …325404e21a9aa3c​88fb5674c7

That is all well and good from the crowd’s perspective; looking at the photo you can see that 3-sec exposure would have been nothing but a red-blur.

Look at it another way; a 6” fuse burns in about 0.2 sec, you have enough time to position the flare at the base of the fuse and rotate your face/body away from the concussion as it ignites. (you can feel the concussion of the 8” mortars way back in the crowd, imagine how powerful that is 24” away.)
To capture the shot I linked you must time the depression of your shutter within that 0.2 sec, high ISO and fast shutter speed with aperture wide open to grab as much light in that spit second as possible. Firework photography I understand; long exposure, ISO 100 with f11-f13, focus set to infinity. Up close and personal is a bit different .

High ISO is there for a reason and this is one of those times, no use trying to fight it. Besides, the shot in the OP looks fine to me (Although I'm seeing an EXIF of f2.8, not f1.4).

Fireworks images from a T2i and a Tamron 18-200mm lens, handheld.

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

First, did you see the Fireworks "Sticky" above this thread?

Rocky Rhode wrote in post #12571036
Guess Photobucket resized it...when I uploaded this morning the file size was 3.3

From their support:

PhotosGuy wrote in post #12573358
First, did you see the Fireworks "Sticky" above this thread?

From their support:

I did read the Fireword sticky; it does not address how to shoot the launch, and that was the advice I was seeking. I believe I have a good handle on it, and hopefully will have better performance with the 60D at 3200 ISO. I may set up the camera on a tripod with wireless remote to see if I can get rid of some camera shake too.

The photobucket is my fault

Here is a shot of the grand finale before we loaded them

Even though you didn't say that, the exposure advice should be pretty accurate. I'd start at about 1-3 seconds @ f/16, ISO 100 & work from there, but you might want a shorter shutter speed to avoid blowing out the fire. I also suggest that you set your focus while there's some light to see with, tape the lens, & turn AF off.