Photographing Fireworks

Take spectacular photographs with these easy Tips and Tricks.

Great Fireworks photos require a little bit of experimentation and patience. You will need to take lots of pictures to get that really spectacular one.

Plan Ahead

  • For best results, use an SLR camera for more flexibility and creativity. However, any compact Point and Shoot type camera can still get you great pictures.
  • Use of a Tripod and Remote Release are highly recommended. If you choose to handhold the camera your photographs will be blurry due to slower shutter speeds that are used in low light situations.
  • Always bring your camera’s instruction book with you. This will help you with setting up your camera. Pack a small flashlight so you can see the instructions and camera settings as you will be in the dark.
  • Make sure your camera’s lens is clean.
  • Bring extra media cards for your camera (or medium ISO film: ISO 100 or 200 for prints and ISO 50 or 100 for slides) as you will want to experiment to get the best results.
  • Check your camera’s batteries. Bring an extra set with you, as long bulb exposures do drain the batteries faster than daylight images.

Show Time

  • Attach your camera to your tripod and hook up the camera’s remote release (set the camera to the correct mode). If your digital camera has “Image Stabilisation” it is best to turn this off when using a tripod. The use of a tripod is the only way you can get sharp fireworks photos.
  • With an SLR camera don’t forget to set the focus properly. Use one of the fireworks bursts as a focus guide. It may not be at the infinity position. You may choose to use the manual focus mode on your cameras if available.
  • Set your camera to “Bulb” mode (often marked as “B”) or if your camera has “Picture” or “Best Photo” modes choose the icon with the fireworks symbol* on it. Not all compact cameras have “Bulb” mode so you may need to use the “flash-off” mode which will use one of the cameras slower shutter speeds. *Check camera manual
  • Your shutter speed should hold open for 2 to 30 seconds, so experiment with different lenghts of time to capture the long trails of the fireworks and not just the initial explosion.
  • Adjust your aperture setting by starting at F 8.0 and go smaller (F 16.0 and F22.0) as this will increase your depth of focus. (This feature may or may not be available on your camera. Refer to your camera’s instruction book.) You can also vary your Zoom setting on the camera from the wide angle position with lots of foreground to the telephoto position with only sky and buildings. Waterfront settings are also great as they will show the reflection of the fireworks (best to use the wide-angle position for this).
  • Add context to the evening event by showing some of the Buildings in your photographs or add People. If you want to have a person in front of the fireworks you can combine the Flash while holding the shutter down. This is referred to as “Slow speed sync” or “Bulb sync”. This style of photography allows the flash to illuminate the foreground (maybe your kids watching the fireworks) and the longer Bulb exposure will expose the long trails of the fireworks in the background. Be creative and take lots of pictures. Make sure you use a smaller aperture so you have lots of depth of focus as you will want the foreground image of the people to be the sharpest.

Photography tips Courtesy of:
London Drugs

© 2008 Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society

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