Off
the back of my Low light photography post i would like to talk about something
rather fitting. As you may notice this post was uploaded on the 5th November,
otherwise known at Guy Fawkes, firework or bonfire night.
For
those of you who may not already know, Guy Fawkes was the man who attempted to
blow up the houses of parliament. Despite his carefully considered plan, and
tons of gunpowder, he was caught, and the big bang never occurred. Here in the
UK, we celebrate this Parliament victory traditionally by burning a
scarecrow-like figure in a bonfire, followed by lots of fireworks, although I think
most people in the UK celebrate the genius behind the attempted act of terrorism,
or maybe it's just me?
Anyway
with any confusion laid to rest about my opening paragraph, I would like to
talk a little about Fireworks, and how to photograph them. Despite only having
been a photographer for around 4 years, I have actually gotten a fair amount of
firework photography experience.
The
first step to embark on any shoot is of course planning; however with firework
photography, planning is THE most important aspect. So to get everyone ready
for their Firework night, July 4th of whenever fireworks are ignited, I will
run you through my personal preparations.
The
first step is to think about the time and date. In the UK Firework night is in
November, during our Autumn/Winter time. Mostly cold so wrapping up is important.
You need to think about what footwear, gloves, hat ect. Once you are fully
kitted in warm clothing and appropriate footwear, you can start thinking about
the photography.
Presuming
you know where you are going to be shooting from, and roughly how close the
fireworks will be, it is now time to think about the major aspects of
photography, your equipment.
I
will write up a small pros-cons list for the average equipment, and then talk
about what I would, and frequently do, use. Then we can talk about tricks and
tips for getting those shots.
Tripod
The
first thing you should consider with firework photography is a tripod. This 'yay'
or 'nay' decision will impact the entire shoot. So here is the lowdown of
fireworks and tripods.
The
advantages of using a tripod are clean, steady shots, longer exposures, more control
over the outcome of the images and considerably less grain.
The
disadvantages are more and heavier equipment,
less versatility/portability and not as much of an organic feel.
I
personally, choose to use the tripod, for various reasons. But for the sake of
argument I will talk about shooting handheld first.
Shooting
fireworks handheld is great fun. You can watch the display through the lens and
follow the fireworks around. Should one firework shoot higher than the rest
readjusting the composure is as simple as moving your arms. Shooting handheld
is very fast, and action packed, a great buzz, but this comes at a price. If you
want to shoot handheld, you have to think of the consequence of this on your
images. Because firework displays are always in the dark, we know the exposure
is going to have to be longer than usual. Shooting handheld you will need a
quicker exposure, therefore you will need to ramp up the ISO, causing Noise and
lower image quality to be a part of the final product. Also, is you want a
longer exposure, you will have to settle with a light painting appearance to
your image, this is when the camera moves while exposing, and the lights cause
trails. This can work extremely well, if that is what you are going for. The shorter
exposures from handheld shooting also mean you only capture the little bit you
have exposed, and generally only one or two fireworks at a time. Shooting handheld
can also be rather disorientating, looking up through the lens constantly can
confuse your spatial awareness and balance.
Using a tripod is also less fun. However, in my
opinion, yields better results. Using a tripod means you can have longer
exposures, which in turn means you can pull back your ISO for better image
quality. Using long exposures also means you can capture the entire explosion,
and multiple explosions in one frame. The images will be clearer and brighter. Unfortunately,
adjusting a tripod to catch a particularly large and high firework is not easy. The
time between you realizing that one is going high, and it exploding, is rarely
enough time to readjust the tripod and expose, so a few can be missed. Unless of
course you have two cameras, in which case you probably should skip to the next
section because you can just use one camera on a tripod doing long exposures
and a backup camera for the high ones.
Lens
For
the lens, it all depends on where the display will take place, and how far away
are you. Just apply common sense here. If you are close, consider a Wide-Angle
or Kit Lens, if you will be further away try a telephoto lens. If you are
unsure of where you or the fireworks will be, take a variety of kit to be safe.
You won't need to worry about the speed of your lens with firework photography,
as long as you can go wide enough to shoot handheld, you will be fine.
Settings
The
settings, as previously mentioned, will be completely dependent on whether or not
you are using a tripod. So here is a quick reference guide to the settings.
Tripod - If you are using a tripod,
put the camera into manual, set the ISO to around 400, this should give you
plenty of light without disrupting the image quality. The Aperture should be
left between F/8 and F/11. For the shutter speed I would avoid setting one
altogether, and shoot on BULB mode. To do this you will need a simple remote
shutter, I have a locking cable shutter, which cost me around £10. Using BULB
mode is much better because you can decide when the exposure ends, this is
useful because sometimes the exposure might end just as a firework is
exploding, leaving you with a rather pathetic attempt of an explosion. White balance
is not really an issue, I leave mine on auto, shooting in raw means you can
alter the white balance post-production.
Handheld - The hand held settings
are a little different. The ISO will need to be at 800 and up. The Aperture
should be wide open at around F/4.5, and the shutter speed will vary depending
on your desired outcome. I would avoid shooting for any longer than 1/125th of
a second for clear shots.
So
now, hopefully, you have an idea of where you will be and what you will be
using, I would like to talk about a few techniques for getting that shot. Once you
are set up and the fireworks begin, you may realise you want busier images,
almost resembling that of the big finale at the end. To do this, you will need
a tripod and a remote shutter. Putting the camera into bulb mode, you can lock
on the exposure, and start shooting, if only a few fireworks go off and there
is a little break between, instead of stopping and starting the exposure, try
covering the lens with a black glove, and then removing the glove when the fireworks
come back. This works as a DIY multiple exposure, if the foreground is not visible
(you are just shooting the sky) you could even recompose while the lens is
covered, to get even coverage of fireworks.
The
next technique is a little more complicated. Focusing on the fireworks, or
infinity, try winding back the focus ring while the firework is exploding, this
gives a clean centre and softens the edges, which can look pretty interesting. This
technique also works the other way, however it is considerably harder to go
into focus than out of it.
Try
getting close ups of the fireworks, as well as full shots of the display, close
up can create very interesting and abstract images.
When
it comes to firework photography, plan, prepare, travel light, but above all,
HAVE FUN! Love what you do, and someone else will too.
Please add me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710
Alternatively you can follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/AJTPhotographer
or email me Via ajthomasphotography@live.com
