Fireworks are always popular events around the country at this time of year, and people from all walks of life come out to view the aerial light show. But if you have never tried to capture some firework imagery before you may be wondering how it is done and what sort of gear you may need, and if that is the case, then you have come to the right place.
Shooting fireworks, like many things in photography, is actually a whole lot simpler than you might be making it out to be in your head. In this quick 5-minute video from The School of Photography on Youtube, they cover everything that you need to know to get started shooting fireworks.
In terms of gear, this is one place that we know a lot of people stress about having things that they really don’t need. The reality of the situation is that to shoot fireworks you really only need 3 things: a DSLR or Mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, a lens (kit lens is totally fine), and a tripod. You can get more advanced than that if you want, with things like a remote cable release and such, but in terms of the basics, virtually anyone should be able to take some killer fireworks images with this basic gear.
As for the settings, a lot of people assume that you need a fast lens and the reality here is the opposite. Good imagery of fireworks is more often than not a long exposure of some sort, no fast aperture needed at all. In the video, they mention a starting point of f22 and ISO 100 with a 10-second shutter speed. From there you just need to adjust them to your personal taste and the scene in front of you. So that is that – it is a lot simpler capturing fireworks that you thought, isn’t it?