Fireworks Photos

Hi everyone,

I was hoping for some constructive criticism on my attempts at Firework
photography.

I took the photos below during the Annual Southport (UK) Musical Fireworks
Competition held last weekend.

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/6715591

I used my Canon 300D with the EF 50 F1.8 (Mk2) lens on a tripod and using a
remote shutter cable.

Thanks in advance,

John

 

First, choose a better pont of view. The inclusion of lamp poles (on
or off) and trees in the foreground is distracting.

Second, take advantage of pauses in the show. Most fireworks shows
contain brief pauses (the duration varies) that allows the smoke to
clear before the next set begins. If you start your exposure just
before one of those pauses ends, there will be less smoke in the final
image. This does not always work. If there is little or no wind,
then the smoke just builds and builds, so the only fireworks worth
photographing are at the very beginning of the show.

Third, stop down. Avoid allowing the highlights to become "blown
out." When the firework itself is overexposed, it records as white
(or moves closer to white), and color information is lost. Use your
histogram. If there is a big spike on the white end, you need to use
less exposure. With fireworks, using a shorter exposure won't do it.
You need to use a smaller apature.

Austin

 

Unfortunately the smoke was somewhat unavoidable on the night for the
reasons you mention (namely no wind).

There was also little point taking pictures at the start of the set as all
the exhibitors were using ground based fireworks and trying to build up as
the set went on.

The best displays were unfortunately always at the end of the set when the
smoke had also reached it's peak.

I might be able to salvage some of the blown highlights as all the pics were
taken in Raw format and I have to confess I didn't tweak them very well
before I converted them to Jpegs.

Thanks for the input though Austin, I will try your advice on the composure
and shutter speeds when I next get a chance.

Regards,

John