Well here are some tips on digital firework photography.

Since autofocus can be slow when its dark, set your digital camera to infinity mode, or manually focus to infinity. Capturing the light trails requires long exposure times. With long exposure times you need to use a tripod or some type of support to ensure sharp exposures. Also use the self-timer or a camera remote to release the shutter. A cable release ensures that you won't have to physically touch the shutter release thus eliminating the possibility of camera shake. Turn off the flash (if you can’t turn it off, tape a piece of cardboard over it).

Set your camera’s focal length to the equivalent of 50 mm or wider. Using a wide focal length is generally more effective than zooming in when photographing fireworks because the aperture is faster at the wide end of the zoom. Later, when editing, you can crop to give the appearance of a close-up shot.

In short, the best way to photograph fireworks is to set the camera to manual exposure, set the aperture to a suitable f-stop and the shutter to 'b' or bulb. Open the shutter just before the firework bursts and close it after it's finished. By the way firework photography looks especially impressive on metal prints. The metal print surface that I recommend would be either the glossy solid or clear glossy.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Tags: Fireworks, 4th of July