How to shoot fireworks
- Thread starter bazzanoid
- Start date
Pea-n-Me
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2004
It can be done if you *try* to hold extremely still, but you probably won't get that "crispness" that makes fireworks shots so beautiful unless the camera stays absolutely still. I had the same camera and I carried a small, $10 tripod and placed it on a trash can or railing using the two second shutter release delay. Fairly simple with decent results. You can also use the fireworks setting to simplify.
Daisy14'sDH
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2006
I'm no expert but I would reccomend to just enjoy them with your family at that point.
DW and I had tried for years and never had any decent success before we used the tripod... she would keep trying to take pics and miss most of the show with nothing to show for it but blurry pics. Meanwhile I would be holding the kids and oohing an ahhing to the beauty of it all.
I will never ever forget the sound of my daughter singing "when you wish upon a star" to wishes... just remembering makes me fuzzy all over! But now we are the opposite, I fuss over the camera and tripod and she gets the memories...
Me!Thatswho
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2007
I was/am in the same boat. I have S3is, which is now my son's camera, and tried shooting several displays both at WDW and DL with absolutely no success. However, I have had much better success since investing in a DSLR, handy tripod, and remote shutter release. Of course as pp said, I haven't been able to enjoy the moments with my kids because I'm always trying to get the perfect shot. So this past visit to WDW I had the different strategy. I left all the equipment in my backpack and, for the 15 odd minutes of the display, me and DD(7) played the "ooh" and "aah" game as we watched the display together.
rtphokie
Photo board moderator
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
Find a trashcan / lamppost / wall / anything solid to lean against. it will help steady you and you can enjoy the show a bit more.
Dont bother setting it up ontop of a trashcan, someone is bound to step in front of the shot.
Amy
MamaGrumpy
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
I agree with Pea-n-Me - I also had an S3IS, now the SX10IS. If you use the fireworks setting, you'll need to either use a small tripod or set the camera on something. Using the shutter delay also helps to avoid camera shake.
I also got semi-decent shots using Sports mode, hand-held without a tripod, but you won't get the long trails for the fireworks, just the short bursts.
I also got semi-decent shots using Sports mode, hand-held without a tripod, but you won't get the long trails for the fireworks, just the short bursts.
zackiedawg
WEDway Peoplemover Rider
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2008
I have had success in the past using the lamppost method with my H5 superzoom years ago...you definitely need something to brace the camera and keep it more still than you can hold it (even with stabiliztion and being the most capable human statue performer ever, you'll likely not be able to hold still for more than 1 second, or 2 max, and firework exposures will likely expose longer than that).
For the lamppost method (only advisable over a solid wall, or flat surface, when standing in large crowds - because the lamppost method will get you more elevation to get over heads...a flat surface if one is available to you with a view is much preferable), you essentially wrap yourself around the lamppost like you want to hug it - one arm looped around it...with the other hand, you press the right (or left depending on which way you're standing) edge of the camera against the lamppost with some pressure - if you can figure out a way to have that arm braced down against the pole with your elbow, even better. Then, the hand that's wrapped around the pole can hold the edge of the camera between thumb and middle finger, with the index to trigger the shutter. This will give you the best shot of holding the camera steady.
You probably don't want too long of shutter speeds as it's hard to hold like this - so I'd go wide open with the aperture - this will make the shutter speeds shorter. A priority (Av) will let you set the aperture to the lowest F number, and let the camera choose the shutter. Generally the lowest ISO is usually best, but if you find you're still getting 5-10 second shutter speeds, you might try bumping up the ISO to 400 or so - a little extra noise, but not bad, and will let you lower the shutter speed a bit. Ideally, you can get away with 2-4 seconds if careful. I find it useful also to let the timer snap the shutter, so you can press once and release, then brace for the shot.
For the lamppost method (only advisable over a solid wall, or flat surface, when standing in large crowds - because the lamppost method will get you more elevation to get over heads...a flat surface if one is available to you with a view is much preferable), you essentially wrap yourself around the lamppost like you want to hug it - one arm looped around it...with the other hand, you press the right (or left depending on which way you're standing) edge of the camera against the lamppost with some pressure - if you can figure out a way to have that arm braced down against the pole with your elbow, even better. Then, the hand that's wrapped around the pole can hold the edge of the camera between thumb and middle finger, with the index to trigger the shutter. This will give you the best shot of holding the camera steady.
You probably don't want too long of shutter speeds as it's hard to hold like this - so I'd go wide open with the aperture - this will make the shutter speeds shorter. A priority (Av) will let you set the aperture to the lowest F number, and let the camera choose the shutter. Generally the lowest ISO is usually best, but if you find you're still getting 5-10 second shutter speeds, you might try bumping up the ISO to 400 or so - a little extra noise, but not bad, and will let you lower the shutter speed a bit. Ideally, you can get away with 2-4 seconds if careful. I find it useful also to let the timer snap the shutter, so you can press once and release, then brace for the shot.
MarkBarbieri
Semi-retired
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
The best way to get good fireworks pictures without a tripod is to leave your camera in your pocket and enjoy the show. When you get home, find someone else's fireworks shots that you like and ask them for a free copy.
GrillMouster
Mouster of the Grill
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
A common mistake that people make when photographing fireworks is using a fast shutter speed so that they can hand-hold the camera. The problem with this approach is that the fast shutter speed freezes the action of the fireworks blast. The long trails that are the hallmark of good fireworks photography come from using a slow shutter speed. If you don't understand this concept, continue reading.
A fireworks blast is basically a bunch of sparks quickly radiating outward from a central explosion. If you use a REALLY fast shutter speed, you'll actually freeze the sparks in mid-flight, and what you'll get are points of light in a roughly circular pattern, like this:
If you use a slightly slower shutter speed, but still fast enough to hand-hold the camera without blur, you'll get short streaks of light created by the sparks in motion. While, this is an improvement from previous example, it's still not good:
When you use a slow shutter speed (at least a few seconds), and stablize the camera (more on that later), then you capture the full trails of light that the spark leaves behind as shoot from the central explostion. This full bloom (like a flower) is the ideal.
So, the key to good fireworks photography is using a long shutter speed (at least a few seconds) to get the full bloom of the blast. Unfortunately, such a long shutter speed requires the camera to be completely stable, or else you'll get blur from the camera shaking in your hands. You don't necessarily have to use a tripod to stabilize the camera. You could use a trash can, a pole, a wall, etc.. Just make sure the camera is perfectly motionless. If you're not going to do this, then my recommendation is to just enjoy the show.
As for the other settings (ISO & aperture): Keep the ISO at the lowest settings to avoid image noise and to keep the night sky dark. Start with an aperture of f/8 or f/11 and adjust it until you get proper exposure (bright enough that there is still color color in the fireworks). In order to have control over the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture, you'll need to shoot in manual mode.
A fireworks blast is basically a bunch of sparks quickly radiating outward from a central explosion. If you use a REALLY fast shutter speed, you'll actually freeze the sparks in mid-flight, and what you'll get are points of light in a roughly circular pattern, like this:
If you use a slightly slower shutter speed, but still fast enough to hand-hold the camera without blur, you'll get short streaks of light created by the sparks in motion. While, this is an improvement from previous example, it's still not good:
When you use a slow shutter speed (at least a few seconds), and stablize the camera (more on that later), then you capture the full trails of light that the spark leaves behind as shoot from the central explostion. This full bloom (like a flower) is the ideal.
So, the key to good fireworks photography is using a long shutter speed (at least a few seconds) to get the full bloom of the blast. Unfortunately, such a long shutter speed requires the camera to be completely stable, or else you'll get blur from the camera shaking in your hands. You don't necessarily have to use a tripod to stabilize the camera. You could use a trash can, a pole, a wall, etc.. Just make sure the camera is perfectly motionless. If you're not going to do this, then my recommendation is to just enjoy the show.
As for the other settings (ISO & aperture): Keep the ISO at the lowest settings to avoid image noise and to keep the night sky dark. Start with an aperture of f/8 or f/11 and adjust it until you get proper exposure (bright enough that there is still color color in the fireworks). In order to have control over the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture, you'll need to shoot in manual mode.
turtleclanscott
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
I've had luck shooting MK fireworks without my tripod. For Illuminations, I carry a Gorilla Pod, but it just doesn't work at the Magic Kingdom with everyone around.
I use 1/6 to 1/4 exposure and get some pretty good pictures. I try to avoid zooming as it just zooms in on any shake you might make. I usually get a couple of good pictures, and a few blurry ones.
This gets me good pictures, but my favorite fireworks pictures are always those that I use a tripod or something to stabelize it. For these I really need to use a long (multi-second) exposure to get several bursts in one shot.
I use 1/6 to 1/4 exposure and get some pretty good pictures. I try to avoid zooming as it just zooms in on any shake you might make. I usually get a couple of good pictures, and a few blurry ones.
This gets me good pictures, but my favorite fireworks pictures are always those that I use a tripod or something to stabelize it. For these I really need to use a long (multi-second) exposure to get several bursts in one shot.
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