Other than your camera, the most important piece of equipment is a tripod. The exposures required for fireworks are too long to handhold your camera. I found an excellent video for how to shoot fireworks on YouTube from phototips.biz.
Basic Settings for a DSLR
- Manual Mode
- Aperture: f/5.6
- Shutter speed: 1 second to start
- ISO: 400
- Focus: Turn off auto focus and manually focus on infinity
I agree with the video’s suggestion to just change the speed if you need to adjust the exposure. Increase the shutter speed if your shots are too bright or slow down the shutter speed if your shots are too dark.
Even if you don’t have a DSLR, you can still take photographs of fireworks. If you have a compact digital camera that doesn’t have Manual mode, look for a Scene (SCN) mode for Fireworks. As with a DSLR, it is manditory that you use a tripod.
Feel free to post links to your fireworks photographs in comments.
