When it comes to shooting fireworks, there are a number of recommended tips or “rules“.
1. Use a tripod
2. Use a shutter release
3. Use a low ISO
4. Use a higher aperture, F8 or above
So maybe these are great suggestions if you are to be a big display with lots and lots of fireworks, but my situation was a little different.
I did take a tripod and used the timer instead of the time release. That didn’t work. For a small town display, anticipating the timing was too tricky. So i took my camera off the tripod, put in on high continuous shoot mode, laied down on my back, bumped up the ISO to 1000 on my Canon 7D and shot at 2.8 at 1/6 of a second until the very end where I bumped it up to 1/40 of a second. Now remember f2.8 far away is very different than shooting f2.8 close up. And the results were not too shabby for breaking a lot of rules. The results remind me of a Harry Potter movie. Would they have been better if I had followed the ‘rules” well, they would have been different (sharper, etc) so it really depends on your point of view. It’s a good reminder that rules are guidelines and it’s up to us as photographers to decide when to use them and when not to.
Good Luck!
