How to Take Photos of Fireworks

While at the Fireworks it's allot of fun and you think your taking all these amazing photos, but when you get home you become shocked to find out that they didn't come out well. Allot of people will just not take photos at night, becuase of the simple fact that they have don't it before and got nothing but bad photos. But if your out at night you need to take the opporunity with both hands and give it a go. Here are some tips on how to take photos of fireworks.

Tip #1 This first tip isn't for directly targeting the fireworks but you will get some amazing shots if you aim for a window, the water or someones glasses, for a reflection and this will give a great shot and you will really impress yourself. Get yourself as close to the reflective surface angle as you can to get the maximum reflection.

Tip #2 If you want to capture the event remember it's not all about the fireworks, there normally are allot of people and you will be able to shoot them with the bright colors affecting the people. This allows you to capture the fireworks but at the same time get something else in the image. It creates excellent mood photos.

Tip #3 When taking photos at the fireworks you need to make sure you have your iso level lowered but not to the lowest level. By choosing a high ISO this will make the bright colours brighter then they are. You will have to experiment with this a little as every camera is different.

Tip #4 Use a longer exposure so that you can enjoy the beauty of the fireworks exploding. This will make sure that you capturing all the colors and the beautiful steaks.

Tip #5 If your interested in taking a photo with more than one explosion then you will need to bring a piece of black paper to block some of the light coming into your camera lens. By doing this you will not destory your photo with to much light.

Tip #6 Even when you are shooting beautiful fireworks you still need to keep your composition in mind. Great looking photos have something in the background, in the mid ground, and the foreground. So when you are taking your firework shots keep this in mind.

Tip #7 ISO and taking photos of fireworks is a little hard to understand and thats why where about to explain it. The answer is there is no right answer, because ISO is dependent on many conditions, but these settings should reward you with a great shot almost every time. ISO 200, 15-second shutter speed, and f/16. If you use these settings on a night that's fairly dark during a fireworks display that's average speed. Just remember you need to have something in the foreground so you can take advantage of the depth of field from the high aperture you are using.

Tip #8 If you decide you don't want anything in your foreground, you can choose to use a really low aperture value so that you get the maximum amount of light and increase the brightness of the bursts of fireworks. Aperture is only going to affect your picture sharpness because nothing else that aperture affects will affect your picture because you have unlimited depth.

Tip #9 Always make sure your down wind of the photo, otherwise the haze will ruin everything.

Tip #10 Lastly but more importantly have fun. Relax, experiment, and remember there's always another fireworks display. Fine-tune your photography skills and before long you'll be taking great fireworks pictures.