How to Take Great Pictures of Fireworks

Fireworks are always a spectacular event to watch during the summer months and even for the New Year. Capturing fireworks on your digital camera can be very rewarding. There are some basic guidelines that you will need to follow in order to take some great pictures of fireworks.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Always use a slow shutter speed so that you can capture the colorful light trails.

2. Always use a tripod to keep the camera steady. Keep the tripod head slightly loose so that you can quickly move it around to frame exploding fireworks but not too loose where the camera may move.

3. Avoid touching the camera when taking the shot otherwise you risk blurring the shot. This can be done with a wireless remote or a shutter release cable.

4. Check your camera settings to see if you have a fireworks mode. If you do, set it on this mode as it will set your camera to the correct shutter speed.

5. If your camera does not have a fireworks mode use the following manual settings for your camera: lowest ISO setting; turn off automatic focus and set the camera's focus to infinity; set f/stop somewhere between f/8 and f/16; pick a shutter speed between 1 and 16 seconds.

6. In step 5 above you will need to experiment with the f stop setting and the shutter speed. Not all digital cameras will yield the same results with the same settings.