Taking Firework Pictures { tutorial }

The 4th came and went...how did your fireworks pictures turn out? I was a bit disappointed with mine, but as we only did a home show, ours weren't quite as high in the sky as I needed and they were much shorter lit up...but I don't want to sound like I am complaining as friends brought over their loot and shared with us...so we had a free show!

Next year we will be ready. Here are a few tips to really caputre the tails and colors in the night sky:

• Make sure you are in a manual-type setting so that you can keep the flash from popping up.
• Because you will not be using a flash, you need to be steady...best way to do this is via a tripod.
• Slow down your shutter speed...if it's too fast you won't be able to take at night. Try 1 second.
• Sparklers and such are fun to shoot in the S-mode (Nikon)...this means the shutter has the priority and you will see the shapes the kiddos make with their sparkers. Try changing your shutter speed to 1-3 seconds, boost your ISO way up (1500-3200), and then keep your aperature somewhat large by setting your f-stop to 4 or so. If you want your sparklers furrier looking (not light streaks), try changing your f-stop to the teens for the effect.

Here's one from our mini-show...I wanted the sky to remain black, so my ISO wasn't even at 1500, but luckily I was able to capture it before it fizzled out.