Fireworks

So another thing I like to photograph at night is fireworks. My neighbor back home has a huge 4th of July party and spends tons of money on his fireworks so it's a lot of fun to go and watch and take pictures. Sometimes I have trouble making them look like actual fireworks instead of streaks of light. Here are some tips and things to think about from Darren Rowse:

1. Use a tripod. Obviously we've already been over the benefits of using tripods especially with night photography.
2. Remote release. Also something we already talked about to keep your camera still while shooting.
3. Framing your shot. Think about whether you want only the fireworks in the shot or maybe some of the crowd or place they are being shot off of as well. Think about whether you want your shot vertical or horizontal, vertical tends to be more used because of the upward motion of fireworks. Make sure if the horizon is in the picture its level. 
4. Focal length. Having a picture of fireworks far away or close up could both make for a nice picture but its easier to plan out beforehand which you would like to do first rather than think about it post processing. 
5. Aperture. Because fireworks are so bright its not usually necessary to use the brightest aperture for your camera, generally middle range apertures work just fine f/8 to f/16.
6. Shutter speed. This is the most important in my mind. Fireworks move really fast so its important to have a fast shutter speed to capture the moment. Of course slowing the shutter speed down sometimes makes for an interesting picture, that is what I did when I was shooting my neighbor's pictures I thought it looked really cool with all the streaks in the shot and I liked that they didn't really look like fireworks but like a burst of light. Bulb mode is generally the best to shoot fireworks with that way you can decide how long to keep the shutter open though more than a few seconds will usually result in a over exposed picture.
7. ISO. Lowest possible for a clean picture.
8. Don't use a flash. Just don't it wont do anything positive for you.
9. Shoot in Manual. A lot of cameras have difficulty shooting in low light conditions so the best pictures usually can be take when your camera is in manual exposure and focus mode. 
10. Have fun with it. Check your pictures periodically to make sure they are coming out like you want them to and then experiment a little you never know maybe you'll find something you like just messing around with your camera.

This is a URL to the rest of his article: http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks 

Here are some of my pictures of fireworks from the 4th of July, I had just bought my camera so I was fiddling with it a lot but I had fun with it.








And here are some pictures that I found on http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/08/unusual-long-exposure-firework-photographs-by-david-johnson/ that I thought were cool. These are by David Johnson.