I hope everyone had a great fourth, I know I did.  I made it out to the fireworks armed with my camera, tripod and remote and clicked off about 100 + shots of the beautiful fireworks.

So how do you successfully shoot fireworks without creating a dimly lit big ball of blur?  Here’s a few tips…

1.  Bring a Tripod.  In order to shoot fireworks, you’ll want to use a low ISO and a long shutter speed (I prefer bulb, click it to open the shutter and it stays open until you press the shutter button again to close it).  Long shutter speed means that if you are holding your camera, you will inevitably shake it, even just a little.

2.  Focus your camera manually and leave it alone!  Most cameras have difficulty focusing in low light and will try, try, try over again.  Set it to manual focus and you’ll be just fine.

3.  Watch That Aperture!  Don’t go for a low aperture, try the sunny 16 rule.  Put the camera in Manual mode and set it between f/8 and f/16.  Fire off a few shots and see what works for you.

4.  Use a Remote.  When you press the button to take a picture, that action will cause the camera to shake slightly, which makes your pictures all just a liiiiiittle blurry.  Annoying.  Get a remote and you won’t have to touch the camera at all.

5.  Watch out for the lights around you!!  The very first time I tried to shoot fireworks I made the mistake of setting up by a streetlight.  Not realizing my mistake, I fired off a few shots of the first fireworks, only to find a HUGE flare of light to the right of all my pictures.  Stay in the darkness and avoid other lighting from entering the frame (unless you want it there, like foreground elements such as buildings).

There are plenty of other tips and tricks, but sometimes you have to learn through experience!  Try it out, test it out, and see what works for you.  The most important thing to remember is to HAVE FUN!!  🙂