Fireworks are colorful explosions in the nighttime sky that we all love to watch in person, see on television and look at coming across our social media feeds. Whether during the Fourth of July, a sporting event, at a theme park, or high over a pier at the water’s edge, fireworks always seem to make an event memorable.
It may seem like it would be easy enough to make a few wonderful photographs of your own to capture that memory of the lit up sky. But when it comes to photographing fireworks, it takes a bit of planning and some basic equipment to get the best results.
Fireworks explode over The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa during the Annual Festival of Lights switch-on ceremony in Riverside. (File photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) The Disneyland Forever fireworks seen from Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland in Anaheim. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) Nathan Milliman, 16, of Montclair, holds an American flag as fireworks from a Fourth of July celebration fill the sky above Ayala Park in Chino. (File Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Thomas Wilkins and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra perform patriotic favorites during the Fireworks Spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood. (File Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG) Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Sarbale Ke, art installation after Ariana Grande headlines Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. (File Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Spectators crowd the beach to watch the Fourth of July fireworks in San Clemente. (File photo by Mike Schwartz, Orange County Register) Fireworks above the walls of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim. (File photo by Jeff Gritchen/Orange County Register) Covina resident Jose Perez waves a flag as fireworks explode at Ayala Park in Chino. (File photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Fireworks explode over the Empire Polo Club as country artist Carrie Underwood finishes her headlining set on the Mane Stage during the second day of the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio. (File Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Dodger fans enjoy fireworks after the game against the Padres at Dodger Stadium. (File Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Thousands enjoy the annual Mission Inn Festival of Lights Switch On ceremony of fireworks in Riverside. (File Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Hundreds of families in their cars, trucks and suv’s fill the parking lot of Mt. San Jacinto College Menifee campus to enjoy the annual Menifee fireworks show to mark Independence Day in Menifee. (File Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Fireworks shot with an iPhone 12 Pro Max in Garden Grove, CA, on Monday, July 4, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) Fireworks explode behind Sleeping Beauty Castle in a nighttime spectacular capped off with snowfall in several areas of the Disneyland park including Main Street, U.S.A. (File Photo by Joshua Sudock, Disneyland Resort) Thousands enjoy Menifee’s Independence Day fireworks show at Wheatfield Park. (File photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Fireworks light up the mountain as thousands look on during the Night of Lights celebration at Canyon Lodge of Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes. (File Photo by Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register) Hundreds of spectators watch fireworks at the Los Alamitos Drive-Up 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular at the Joint Forces Training Base. (File Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Fireworks go off during burning of, The Man, at Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach in Nevada. (File Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Fireworks explode over the Mission Inn during the Festival of Lights in downtown Riverside. (File photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Fireworks during the Trojan Family Graduation Celebration at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. (File Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Fireworks explode over the Newport Pier before the Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Beach. (File Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) Fireworks shot with an iPhone 12 Pro Max seen from Galaxy’s Edge inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 22Fireworks explode over The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa during the Annual Festival of Lights switch-on ceremony in Riverside. (File photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) ExpandFirst, you need a camera with a wide-angle lens. Since you are usually fairly close to where the fireworks will be going off, and they burst over a fairly wide area of the sky, a wide-angle lens is the way to go. A lens wider than 35mm would be the best to use. If you have a wider the lens, all the better.
Next, you’ll need a tripod to keep your camera steady for a long exposure. You don’t need an expensive one, nearly any tripod will do.
And finally, you’ll want a shutter release cable that fits your camera model.
It would be best to get your camera ready before the fireworks begin, so you won’t be fumbling in the dark, trying to figure everything out. You’ll want to set your camera on manual mode so that you can set the ISO, shutter speed and the f-stop manually.
As for your tripod, you don’t need to extend the legs all the way. It will be much more sturdy set lower to the ground and won’t block anyone’s view if you’re seated in a crowd.
For a fireworks event that I covered, I took a small compact tripod in my daypack, a camera, and wide-angle zoom lens. My camera settings were as follows: ISO 200; shutter speed, 5 seconds; f-stop, f/11. The long time exposure gives the fireworks the long streams of colorful light as well as capturing multiple fireworks exploding in the sky.
That being said, there is no perfect exposure for fireworks and every situation is different. But in general, a lower ISO setting, in the range of 200-500; a shutter speed of 3 to 6 seconds and f-stop ranging from f/5.6 to f/11 should get you in the ballpark for a decent photograph. Bring a small flashlight or headlamp with you to make small adjustments as you go.
You’ll want to use a shutter release cable so that you are not touching your camera for the long exposure. In place of a shutter cable, you can always set your camera on the self-timer mode, like when you take a photograph and then run to get into the photo yourself. This method is be a little iffy, since you’ll have to guess when you think the fireworks will go off. Setting the timer at the lowest amount of time would probably be the best since you’re not having to run to get in the photo. It is usually around two seconds or so.
Don’t be afraid to shoot lots of photos. You’ll be glad that you did. Just be careful not to touch or move the camera.
And, Frame the scene. The framing can be horizontal or vertical, as you can see in the examples in the accompanying photo gallery. You’ll want to include some of the surrounding area, not just the explosions against the dark sky. This gives the photograph a sense of place which is always adds another dimension to the photograph.
But what if you don’t have a professional camera? You can do a pretty good job with a mobile phone too, the general guidelines are the same. Shoot with a slow shutter speed and keep the phone steady.
Both the App Store and Google Play Store have third-party camera app that allow you to take full control of your camera. When using a manual camera app experiment with shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1 second and hold still. If you are using the native camera on iPhone choose Night Mode, on Android it’s also known as Dark Mode or Night Light.
Good luck, and have fun!
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