10 things you need to photograph fireworks like a pro

Capturing fireworks on camera is not as easy as you may think. The human eye may see every glorious colour and sparkling effect very clearly against the night sky, but what comes out on camera is a confusing blur.

So, what’s going wrong? Let’s take a closer look at the 10 things you need for crystal clear firework photography:

  1. A good viewpoint. Get to the venue ahead of time to pick the best spot to start snapping from. You need a clear, unobstructed position, and need to decide what you want as the backdrop to the fireworks and whether you want spectators in shot or not.
  2. The right camera. Unless you have a smartphone with an extremely high-spec camera, you’ll probably not have much luck with firework photography. You may need to buy or borrow a professional camera with adjustable settings such as shutter speed, a choice of camera lenses and manual lens focusing.
  3. A tripod. The best fireworks shots are those that are taken with a steady hand, or the use of a simple tripod.
  4. Good timing. There are two things to remember here, the first being to shoot at just the right time to capture the full effect of each firework. You should also get most of your shots at the start of the display, just in case the atmosphere starts to fill up with smoke or haze.
  5. Knowledge of fireworks. Have a chat with the fireworks display organiser beforehand to get a running order for the show, which lists all the fireworks to be used. This will help you with the point above – timing. Using knowledge of firework types, you can anticipate the trajectory and explosion point for each firework – so you capture each at its best.
  6. A wide-angle zoom lens. According to TechRadar, this lens set at its widest focal length is the optimum choice of lens to get all the fireworks in the frame.
  7. A remote release. Even if you’re using a tripod, you can still end up jostling the camera to start each exposure – but not if you use a remote release button.
  8. Time to focus. One of the problems you’ll face photographing fireworks is automatic focusing struggling to keep up with the display, changing all the time. A good photographer will know to set the focus beforehand and then turn automatic focusing off, which means leaving some time to prepare at the start.
  9. A head torch. Fiddling with camera settings in the dark can be tricky, particularly when you’re under time pressure with the next firework ready to fire. Take an LED head torch with you – you’ll find it very handy.
  10. Patience. Becoming a great fireworks photographer takes time, practice and experimentation to get your camera settings and timing just right. Get a few events under your belt and you’ll be a pyrotechnics-snapping pro in no time!