Shooting fireworks

Anybody got an good links to learn about shooting fireworks? The 3 lenses I have that I'd like to use are the 70-200L II, 17-40L and the 17 TSE. Which one would work best. Its a big show but only about 50 people show up. They guy who puts it on is a doctor who dabbles in this stuff. I'd like to give hime some cool pics as a thank you for us staying at there house. What recommended setting? I have a 5d mk III. I'm going to be pretty close to the action so I'm thinking about using my 17 TS lens so that way I get all the fireworks in the frame! Any help would be appreciated.

a quick search of the forum would have turned up this sticky at the top of the "General Photography" board.
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=341145

Not so much a lens question as a technique question. Lens will depend on where you are in relation to the fireworks, of course.

Use a tripod, remote trigger, ISO 100, a small aperture like f13 and bulb mode. Next, try different speeds. Got this shot using 7 seconds:

http://www.flickr.com …n/photolist-dGgWAf-dGxc75

The most important thing is timing. And do not shoot at end of the fireworks because it may have too much smoke.

Tripod, ISO 400, f/8, manual focus just shy of infinity, bulb, remote switch. You guess when they will go off, and when each one does, stop.

From my first time shooting fireworks, I have hundreds of perfectly exposed, yet boring as h3ll tightly framed shots of fireworks. If you want good shots, be sure to include some of the surrounding area.

I think a normal zoom is best for fireworks, like the 24-70 you have. You can get in close enough if you want, and wide enough as well.

I have a few shots done with the kit lens: https://photography-on-the.net …ead.php?t=44598​6&page=119

There are a lot of factors to consider. Are you going to be including anything for context? If you shoot fireworks over a cityscape or a landmark bulding you have to establish your ambient first. Pick a middle aperture like f8, and then adjust the shutter speed so that its long enough to get your ambient in control. Then adjust the aperture as needed to control the intensity of the bursts. If you adjust the aperture then you need to make a corresponding tweak to the shutter speed. The reason you do it this way is that the bursts are brief (its the same method you use with flash). The problem with long shutter speeds is that you can capture too many bursts in one frame.

I agree with FEChariot. Include the surrounding area. Don't just shoot the fireworks with black sky as the background. It's boring. You can use a hat to cover your lens to capture multiple bursts.

Below are a couple of links I have read in the past about shooting fireworks. The first two are results of a gizmodo photo contest, and the last one is a KENROCKWELL link [preparing to be heckled]: he is a divisive character around here, but I do like the shot he has at the top of the page.

http://gizmodo.com …goric-photos-of-fireworks
http://gizmodo.com …esome-photos-of-fireworks
http://www.kenrockwell​.com/tech/fireworks.ht​m

For many years (several decades, actually), I've used ISO 100 (or ASA 125 film) and f/8 to f/11 for exposure. The shutter speed does not affect the exposure of fireworks bursts because the sources of light are moving across the frame.

I typically have my camera's shutter speed set to "B" so that I can hold the shutter release button as long as I feel should work for the burst or bursts I'm photographing. I simply get my finger off the shutter release button to stop the exposure.

I almost always use a tripod with the adjustments loosened enough for me to pan the camera while looking over it (not through the viewfinder of an SLR) to aim it at the launched fireworks and follow it/them up. I press the shutter release button just before I expect the firework to burst.

Agreed, "B" mode for me too - operated via a wireless remote for about a 3 second exposure.

Also agree about the composition comments - try and get some context (I didn't).

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/trugga/81553319​43/

Try to include foreground/background objects if you can.

...it's all about context, so as others have said, it's good to get some forground subject in the frame. I like to pick an aperture like around f/11, iso 100 and set my shutterspeed to give me a decent exposure of a foreground subject. Granted sometimes you can't get a shutterspeed long enough to get the foreground without blowing out the sky (some shows just lauch all the fireworks into the same area of sky, which can lead to blown out, crappy shots if the exposure is too long or the aperture not small enough); in a situation like that you can do an HDR of the scene and blend them together in Ps by putting the fireworks shot over the foreground and changing the blend mode to screen.