Take Epic Hands-Free Fireworks Photos

With the American Independence day holiday right around the corner I thought it would be timely to have a quick how-to post on shooting fireworks. In the first part of this video I share basic fireworks tips and tricks for getting great shots.  

1. You must have a tripod or something to hold the camera steady or a few seconds. I love the Leofoto Tripod

2. Use manual mode on your camera - Shutter speeds between 2 and 8 seconds, Aperture f/5.6-8.0, ISO 100-200 if you have a P&S camera use the fireworks scene setting (still need a tripod)

3. Use a remote release device to trigger your camera- I recommend Intervalometer with multiple connections: http://amzn.to/29xNO3M

4. Be ready! Some of your best opportunities happen early on, as the smoke builds your shots may get hazy unless you have a breeze removing the smoke. So I suggest you start to setup before it gets dark, frame your composition and take a few test shots - use trees or light poles near the fireworks launch spot to focus on - review the photos watching for stray objects or horizon lines that might distract from the fireworks. If you end up setting up in the dark, use the following tips - set your ISO to MAX and your shutter speed long enough to get a well lit photo, we don't care if it is grainy, we just want to get quick feedback on focus and composition. Once you have those set then use the suggested settings in step 2 for the actual fireworks shots.

5. Try to time your shots to start just as the rockets head up, longer shutter speeds are going to capture more of the action

6. Experiment but don't forget to enjoy the show some too

7. Finally, watch out for the Grand Finale - shorten the shutter speed during that fireworks-heavy period or you will end up with an overexposed image.

Related - Long Exposure Sparklers Photos / Light Painting

Merge Multiple Fireworks Using Photoshop

Typically for smaller firework shows or shooting fireworks off at home you're going to run into having only one or two fireworks in a shot. Other times for larger shows you might run into that problem as the smoke builds up. Otherwise instead of flooding Facebook with 30 pictures you’d just like to have one photo that has a few of the best fireworks. Best part of this? If you took your photos right it’s super easy to do as well. There is a function in Photoshop called blend modes. Typically this is how one layer effects the layers under it. In this case we need the brighter part of the photo to stay but to get rid of the darker background. This is done with lighten. Lighten takes whatever it’s layer has that is brighter than the layers under it and displays only that information. It can be found by clicking the normal blend mode in the layers panel and scrolling down.In a bit more of a basic example here is a white, 50% grey, and black firework. When turned to lighten blending mode on 30% grey the two darker colors disappear while the white stays. What we’re doing is the same to hide the background and only show the firework. While it's commonly skipped over blending modes can do a lot to improve a photo if you put the time in to learn them. Multiply for example combines the active layer with the layer under it and multiplies the colors. This results in a added contrast and/or color change making things darker. This is useful for example when you'd like to effect contrast in a photo or lower exposure. Screen is it's opposite adjusting colors to get their lightest between them making your photo lighter by multiplying the inverse of the color below. Useful for effecting exposure or dodging.  Click here for more info on blending modes in Photoshop.As for a practical example. Take a photo you have that you like and want to add more fireworks to as below. Typically I start with an early one as you still get a bit of sky in your photo. Copy your extra firework to the photo. Then apply the lighten blend mode. And your done. As for fireworks that have a lighter background than their host you can adjust the shadows and blacks before hand and it will transfer over fine. Once you get that down you can do something like below. This is actually 3 photos for a composite. One with a higher ISO and slower speed to get lit trees. A blank sky exposed correctly to level it out. And a decent firework overlaid as the subject with its background darkened significantly.  The same method as above with just a bit of cloning to remove any leaves that moved between the two shots. 

HOW-TO: Sparkler Photos - Long Exposure Light Painting

For many summer means fireworks and sparklers - here are my quick tips(with video) on capturing cool photos using sparklers or really any small light source.

You need:

• Camera with control over manual settings

• Tripod

• Flashlight or cell phone (for low light focusing help) OR Hotshoe LED light

• Pile of sparklers or a glow stick or small flash light - any light source really

• Remote shutter release - Not mandatory but helpful (Recommended cheap one)

First task is to do this all safely.  Don't hurt anyone in an effort to get a photo and make sure you are complying with all fireworks and sparkler laws in your area - beautiful photos can be made with glow sticks, flash lights and other non-dangerous light sources.

Your shutter speeds are going to range from 2 seconds on up to Bulb mode so the use of a tripod is a must.  

Setup your camera - manual mode (M), a good starting point is a 5 second shutter speed, ISO 200 and an aperture around f/4.5.

Have your subject stand still and hold up a small light source so you can focus on them, either auto focus or manual, zoom in. After you get focus switch to manual so that the camera isn't struggling to get focus in the dark.  You can also use back button focus to avoid this issue. They can now put away the little flash light

Once you have focus have them light the sparkler and start moving it around.  Use the remote release to trigger the shutter or gently press the shutter button on the camera (you really need to be careful not to wiggle the camera when you press the button, alternatively you can use the self-timer: 2-sec delay but that does require a bit more coordination with your subject.

A third option is to use the remote shutter release and BULB mode in your camera.  In the T4i/T5i bulb mode is activated by setting the camera to M and increasing the shutter speed past 30 seconds. This doesn't mean the shutter has to be longer than 30 seconds for your exposures, it will just stay open as long as you hold the shutter release button down.  This is great if someone is trying to write their name with a sparkler, you hold it down just as long  as it takes the subject, when you release the button the shutter closes. With sparklers I notice that the slower you move them the more sparky trails you get - fast moving sparklers leave a more smooth line of light.   You are limited by your imagination!

Video: Sparkler Photos - Long Exposure Light Painting

Related Video - How To Photograph Fireworks