frend65 New Member
Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 22 Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject: Shooting Fireworks |
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Camera Settings
By Bob Atkins
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/fireworks.html
So what camera settings work? Well a good place to start is with a 4s exposure at f8 with the camera set to ISO 100 (or using ISO 100 film). The shutter has to stay open this long to record the trails of the various components of each burst. You can also try exposures of 2s and 8s if you want less or more bursts captured. The brightness of the trails depends on the aperture and ISO setting, not on the length of the exposure. For very bright firework bursts, stopping down to f11 might give better results. With such long shutter speeds the use of a tripod is essential and the use of some type of remote shutter release (either wired or wireless) is highly recommended.
Use a tripod. You can't handhold the camera for a time exposure, even if you're using an IS lens.
Use ISO 100. Fireworks are bright and the lower the ISO setting, the lower the image noise.
Unless you are a really long way from the fireworks, a wide to short-tele lens should be fine.
Stop down to around f8, maybe f11. This will give you the sharpest images and allow a long exposure.
Prefocus the lens and switch to manual focus.
Try shutter speeds from 2s to 8s. The longer the exposure, the longer the trails will be.
Open the shutter while the firework is on it's way up, not when the shell explodes.
A remote release will be useful. Use one if you have one.
Shoot lots of images. Some will work, some won't. It's a matter of luck. The more you shoot, the luckier you may get! |
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