Tips for Photographing this Year’s Fireworks

Here are a couple of tips from a professional photographer on how to take better photos of fireworks for the weekend.

First, turn your flash off.  If you don't, everything over ten feet away will end up underexposed.  If you want to take a photo of someone with the fireworks behind them, set it up so their face is lit by a light behind you.

Don't just photograph the sky.  Photos of fireworks with nothing in the foreground tend to be boring, so try to get the skyline in there too.  Or try something like a shot of your kid from behind while they're watching.

Turn off the HDR feature on your camera.  It stands for "high dynamic range," and it makes your camera take three quick photos at different exposures, then combines them into one image to make the lighting look more natural.

A lot of cell phone cameras have an HDR feature now, but it works best with still images where nothing's moving.  If you use it with fireworks, they'll just look blurry.

Finally, take photos with a long exposure.  That's where the shutter stays open a few seconds longer and lets more light in.  But not all camera phones let you do it, and if you do this, you should use a tripod to make it work best.

Enjoy the July 4th Fireworks and we hope you take some great photos!

Source: Time