Fireworks - Post your Best Shot!!

Hi Everyone,

Shelly suggested, and I agree, that it would be good to have a central place to see everyone's best fireworks shots from the various Independence Day celebrations. So, please post your best shots in this blog. You can either upload to your portfolio and link to them here or directly upload as a reply message.

Here are a few tips-

Use a long exposure. A good starting point would be 4 seconds, f11, ISO 100. Shoot on Manual mode. The longer the exposure, the more bursts you will capture in the shot.

Use a tripod Need I say more?

Obtain your focus and then switch to manual focus. Fireworks are shot into the same general area at the same general height. Catching focus on one and then switching your lens to manual focus will keep the focus at the distance. Note that if you change your focal length, you will need to re-focus.

Watch for smoke from the fireworks. Don't let this stop you from taking the shot, but, some of the best shots are early in the show or when the fireworks have had a few seconds for the smoke to settle. If you get smoke in your shots, try using the 'burn' tool in Photoshop before cloning. This will typically work very well.

Get Creative. fireworks can get boring. During your exposure, pan slightly or shake your tripod(in a controlled manner) You can get some cool streaking and wavy streaks. These are some of my favorite shots. I will sometimes shake the tripod while the firework is shooting up and not shake during the bloom.

Have Fun Remember, your family may be there with you. Try not to get so caught up in getting the shot that you miss out on the whole experience.