The New Year is coming up and usually folks celebrate with a few fireworks.  Plus, there are several occasions throughout the year where we have the opportunity to watch fireworks and most of us like to get a few snapshots.  Unfortunately, fireworks can confuse a modern camera’s automated settings. They’re fast, they’re dynamic, they’re bright, and they disappear just as quickly as they appear. The good news is that despite all those things, they’re still sort of predictable. You can use a range of battle-tested manual settings to capture dramatic photos of those explosions in the sky. Even if you’re using a smartphone, there are a few apps and quick tips that will help you get the best shots.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

If you can visit the location of the fireworks show ahead of time, it’ll help you gauge the best angles for your photos. You obviously want a clear shot of the sky, and a nice wide-angle view of the skyline should do wonders for your shot composition.

But you won’t be able to predict the crowds, so make sure you scout out a couple of backup, super-secret locations too. There’s another thing you won’t be able to predict ahead of time: The wind. If it’s blowing towards you from the direction of the fireworks, you may end up with increasingly murky photos as the show goes on. If that’s the case, try to get as many good shots early on as possible. If the wind’s at your back, you’ll have great shooting conditions during the whole display.

The early part of the display is crucial: It’ll let you frame the entire show and take a few test shots to make sure your settings are producing the look you like. Plus, the early part of the show is the best time to get any wide-angle shots. If the sky starts filling up with smoke, you can still get some good shots if you use a tighter zoom that features less of the smoke-filled skyline.

Shooting Fireworks With a Smartphone

You can certainly get great shots of fireworks with a smartphone, but the rules of engagement are a bit different when shooting with a phone instead of a full-on camera. You won’t have a zoom lens or deep manual controls at your disposal, and because phones don’t come with standard tripod mounts, you’ll need a special case or a special tripod to keep it steady.

TO HELP YOU SUCCEED

1. Turn the flash off.
2. Practice. A good test scenario involves a sparkler and a dark room.
3. If you use a slow-shutter app, use a tripod.
4. Try to get as close to the action as possible.

Because of the missing optical-zoom capabilities, you’re going to want to be closer to the action with a phone than you would be with any other kind of camera. There’s another good reason for this: Your smartphone’s auto-exposure settings will probably boost the ISO if you’re composing the shot against a dark skyline, which may lead to a noisy photo with inaccurate colors.

  Find the barricades and plant yourself against them. Even better, use rooftops creatively, sneak onto the fireworks barge as a stowaway—anything to get really close to the action and force your smartphone to expose the shot for the fireworks themselves.

You can still get great shots of fireworks with faster shutter speeds (and you won’t need a tripod). But if you have a phone-friendly tripod, you might as well download an app that lets you adjust your shutter speed to capture dramatic light trails—and avoid the fireworks being the only thing visible in your photos.  Apple recently announced it will open up the iPhone’s manual camera controls to third-party developers, so there should be apps that let you take full control of manual settings. Still, there are a few apps that let you take control of the shutter speed on the iPhone camera right now: LongExpo, Slow Shutter!, Slow Shutter Cam, and Slow Shutter Camera+. For Android, the best bet is probably Camera FV-5, which turns the smartphone camera into a full-fledged manual shooter.

Our last bit of advice with mobiles: Don’t use digital zoom. It just crops and enlarges the photo, resulting in a lack of sharpness. The one exception to this rule would be the Nokia Lumia 1020, which has a 41-megapixel sensor that provides enough resolution so that digital zoom doesn’t look super-crappy. Pros would stay away from digital zoom, but if you’re just looking to make a snapshot, it’s fine.

DSLRs and Cameras With Manual Controls

Most modern cameras have a “Fireworks” scene mode that optimize all the in-camera settings for you: It slows the shutter speed down, sets the focus to infinity, stops down the aperture, uses a low ISO setting, and prompts you to put the camera on a tripod. If you’re cool with letting the camera do all the work, go for it.

If you’d rather put a personal touch on your fireworks photos, get ready to dive into the manual controls. Here are the basics for any camera with manual controls.

1. Use a tripod.
2. Turn the flash off.
3. If you use slow shutter speeds, use a narrower aperture. (f/8.0 to f/16).
4. If you use faster shutter speeds, use a wider aperture.
5. Keep your ISO low. It keeps the colors accurate and the sky looking black and noise-free.

Beyond those guidelines, here’s some additional advice.

Turn off autofocus and stabilization. You won’t be adjusting your focus from shot to shot in this scenario, so flip your camera to manual focus and set that focus to infinity. It should keep the entire show in focus. Similarly, you should turn the camera’s image-stabilization system off if you’re using a tripod. This may seem counterintuitive, but some stabilization systems actually introduce shake if there isn’t any, and some of them also boost the ISO or use a faster shutter speed to snap a crisper shot.

 Slow your shutter speed. The general rule of thumb for fireworks is that if you use a slow shutter speed, you’ll get more-dramatic photos—start by leaving the shutter open for 4 or 5 seconds, then experiment from there. The slower your shutter speed, the narrower you’ll want your aperture to be. You also may want to use exposure compensation downward with slower shutter speeds.

 Timing is really important. You may want to press the shutter button just as you see shells launch into the sky so that your long-exposure shot depicts the light trails from that upward journey as well as the full drama of the explosion. If your camera has it, you should use “bulb mode” to get the greatest control over your shots. In bulb mode, the camera takes a shot for as long as you press the shutter button, so you can start the exposure exactly when you want and end it just as precisely.

 When using a slow shutter speed, a tripod is necessary unless you want to get really creative and light-painty. Any movement of the camera will make the light trails and other objects in the scene look like blurs, but this feature can also be used to great creative effect. If you’d rather keep your images looking tack-sharp, use a tripod and a remote-control app or shutter-release cable. Many modern cameras have sidecar mobile apps that let you take control of the camera without touching it. This is especially handy for fireworks photos, because you can unwittingly move the camera slightly every time you physically touch its shutter button or controls.

 The versatility of mobile apps varies quite a bit. Some let you adjust the full sheet of in-camera settings; while others just let you control the shutter button and get a live view of the scene from your camera. If you’re using a mechanical or radio-frequency shutter-release cable, there shouldn’t be any reaction lag at all. But with a mobile app, it may be a bit more finicky. Err on the early side when firing the shutter from a mobile app.

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Number 1 is that you should always take the camera with you when possible.  I can almost guarantee that you will have a never to be repeated moment, if you don’t have the camera with you.  And you should keep it out of the camera bag when possible.  Time and time again, I have seen things and thought, “Dang, I missed it because the camera is in the trunk!”  Another thing to remember is to always have extra batteries.  Nothing is more frustrating than having the camera die while you are taking photos or video of your grandchildren swimming with dolphins, or whatever wonderful experience you are having. 

It is also important to have the camera on the right settings.  So remember to turn it back to auto after you switched it to video your son sliding down the waterslide.   If you want to get creative and use other settings, that’s fine, but many shots can be missed while you try to adjust your settings.  If you keep it in Auto it will be ready to grab that once-in-a-lifetime shot that happens in a matter of seconds.           

These are just a few ideas to keep in mind as you take your next trip.  Happy trails and Keep Shooting! 

I think I have wanted to be involved in something creative my whole life. When I was younger I liked to draw, but mostly I liked to write. I thought I would make a career as a journalist. I sometimes wonder how life would have turned out had I had someone to encourage me to go to college and to follow that passion. However, things rolled on and I went to Business College instead and began working in offices. Interestingly enough, I worked in a Personnel/Insurance Department at my first job and then at an HMO for my 2nd job. Who knew I would later spend almost 20 years selling insurance? At any rate, I met my delightful and handsome husband and then went the marriage and babies route. Through it all I have always loved to read. I was a voracious reader as a child and it was and is not uncommon now for me to read 2 or 3 books at one time. My love for words leads me in very eclectic directions. I read anything from murder mysteries to romance novels, to how-to books to histories of the Russian Royal families. While the children were growing up I had very little time for anything artistic in nature except reading. Then when we thought our family was complete, we added 2 more people to the mix, and more time was devoted to raising kids. Being a parent of a healthy child is challenging enough, but when you are the parent to several special needs children, it really takes all of your time. So, for many years my artistic nature had to take a backseat to runny noses, and speech appointments. Fortunately, I could always take a book to those appointments. Finally, the children got larger and a little more able to be on their own and I began to take an interest in photography. I only had a point and shoot camera, but as I travelled to different places, I began to notice that I see things, not just in terms of "oh, there's a tree"; but more like, "Isn't that a lovely picture, the way the light shines down through all the yellow and red leaves, and the bark is such an interesting pattern in that oak tree." So, I always tried to take pictures like I had a $2,000 camera instead of a $200 camera. Then, when my father got sick with cancer and had to spend months and months in the hospital, I realized that I suddenly had a lot of "free" time on my hands. I say that jokingly because while I sat at the hospital for hours and hours every day, it certainly didn't feel like "free" time. But there were periods of time when Daddy napped and some when he didn't but he didn't like the television to be on because he couldn't hear it well and it was just noise to him. So, I looked around for something to do. First, I taught myself to crochet and I made a purse. Then, I bought charcoal pencils and began to draw. Next I moved onto paint by number and then to acrylics and watercolors. I found that art was an oasis in a sea of foment. However, that was soon to change. I lost my brother unexpectedly and then Daddy passed on in the same month. Later that same year, I lost 2 uncles and then my precious Mother-in Law, Sue. It was a cruddy year, and suddenly, I didn't want to do art any more. Three years passed and I was slowly starting to realize that the world had color again. So I picked up a camera and began to shoot. Now, I live, eat and breathe photography. I am thinking of making it a career. Am I too old to start a new career? I don't know. But I do know that while I feel like I am freaking out and falling apart in other ways, but when I have a camera in my hand or look at the photos I have taken on my computer that I feel excitement and contentment. I still don't have a $2,000 camera, but I still want to try to take pictures like I do. I want other people to look at that old oak and see the patterns and light with me. I'd like to believe it's in my genes because my Mother drew when she was younger and my cousin, Leisa, likes to draw and paint and my cousin Alan does hair, which I think is a form of artistic expression. Whether it is due to genes or just plain necessity, I have found art to be my calm, my center. Soon I hope to be able to focus completely on my art and if I am lucky, get paid to do it. Now that's what I call a career!