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Useful tips for fireworks pictures

Shooting firework shows is fun and not that hard. Many folks have a hard time to take pictures of fireworks because they don't know a few simple steps. Many point and shoot cameras like the Nikon Cool Pix line has a ''Fireworks'' shooting mode in its menu. Note that this tips are for any camera brand and not only for Nikon cameras.

Whatever you do, you need a tripod and a shutter cable release is a must to take pictures of fireworks!

- If you are using film or a digital SLR, please do everything in manual mode.

-If you are using digital, you will get instant feedback. ISO 100 or 200 is the most common ISO for taking pictures of fireworks.

-Set your camera to manual mode and set the aperture to F/8 or F11.

-Rotate the dial until you get the ''BULB'' mode on your camera. See your owners manual if you're not sure how to set your camera to ''BULB''. When the camera is set to BULB, the shutter will remain open as long as you need. For the pictures shown here, some exposures were around 6 to 15 seconds. Again, a tripod is a must for pictures of fireworks.

-Make sure the auto focus on yor camera is turned OFF, if you leave it ON, the camera will start ''hunting'' looking for something to focus on. With the AF in OFF, pre-focus in the area the bursts will be.

- Stay ahead:

I shot this set of pictures in downtown St. Paul on July 4th. Early in the morning I was observing the weather forecast. That gave me an idea on where the wind was going to blow, with that in mind I could find a spot in which I was not going to be engulfed by the fireworks smoke. Then I launched my Google Earth software and found a good shooting spot thru the satellite photos, that knowing ahead of time that the fireworks were going to be launched from Harriet island. I arrived to Smith ave. 2 hours early to find and secure my spot. After that, the multitude was elbow to elbow. Arrive early and be patient.

ISO 100 gave me the chance to take a few bursts in one frame without clipping the highlights that much. Even on film we wont have a spot on exposure.

Camera used: Nikon D200

Lenses: Nikon 17-55 AFS F/2.8 and Nikon 80-200 F/2.8

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