As the Fourth of July is right around the corner, we thought it would be a perfect time to present a few helpful photography tips for capturing images of fireworks displays. Many amateur photographers mistakenly think that great shots of fireworks are difficult to capture, however, as you’ll see in this Photography Tips article, it’s in fact rather simple with a little preparation and the right equipment.

Growing up in a household of photographers, some of my earliest childhood memories are of picnicking at the local lake and staring up at the sky while my parents set up tripods and cameras to capturing the sparkling colors against the night sky. Now that I have a family, we carry on the same tradition every Fourth of July and the results are often very rewarding.

Equipment

There are two critical pieces of equipment to pack along with your camera to capture great images of fireworks. The first is a solid tripod. I currently use the Manfrotto 055XPROB. I find that it has many of the features of expensive professional models at a much lower price. It has worked great for me for several years now.

Secondly, you’ll want a remote release for your camera model. You’ll need one that’s compatible with your specific manufacturer. Click here for a list of good choices. This will be necessary to trigger your camera shutter without touching the camera, which will cause the image to blur. In extremely low light settings, such as photographing against the night sky, you need to open your shutter for several seconds and even a small bit of movement will work against you. I currently use a Nikon D90 and employ the Nikon ML-L3 remote, which is simple to use and very inexpensive.

Site Scouting

One of the most helpful photography tips for capturing fireworks displays is to scout out your site early and during daylight hours if possible. You’ll need to find a location that has a direct line of sight to where the fireworks display will be presented and avoid obstructions. You may want to also find a spot that allows you to incorporate other elements in the composition. We always attend a fireworks display over a lake and one of the fundamental elements of my composition is not only the fireworks, but the reflection on the water as well as the green and red lights of the boats in the water below the fireworks display.

Camera Settings

When setting up at your location, use the remaining daylight hours to find a good focal point for your camera. Look for a subject that will be at about the same distance from your camera as the fireworks. Set the camera to manual focus and fix the focus in that point. Next, you’ll want to narrow your aperture enough to capture the entire depth of field to encompass the fireworks display as well as additional elements of the composition. Don’t set the aperture too narrow, however, as you’ll need to allow enough light into the lens during the dark hours of the evening. A setting of around f/8 should be suitable. I tend to set ISO at 100 as this seems to be a good speed.

Last and most important of all, set your shutter speed to bulb. This setting allows you to open the camera shutter manually and release it manually as well.

Showtime!

The last of out fireworks photography tips center around timing. This is the key to capturing great images of these exciting displays. As one of the cannons is detonated, open the shutter by depressing the button on your camera remote. Hold the button down until that particular burst of color has expired, then let go of the remote button, which closes the shutter. This is completely trial and error, but on average around 10 seconds seems to produce good results. Try a few different timings and see what’s working throughout the show. You can view the images on the fly on your LCD screen and adjust accordingly. Don’t leave the shutter open for too long, or you will over-expose the image.

Taking images of fireworks can be a very fun activity for photographers of all skill levels and a rewarding way to capture photographs that will impress your viewers. Try using these photography tips and experiment with your timing, and you’ll have great results at your next fireworks display.