4th of July: Alan’s Guide to Photographing Fireworks – It is that time of year again – everyone is getting ready for 4th of July celebrations, and that includes fireworks! For many, viewing fireworks is a regular summer tradition. With a few helpful tips, you can be on your way to having a great time photographing fireworks this summer season. Continue reading below for Alan’s Guide to Fireworks Photography!
Join us on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at 9:30am for our free Focus Session: Photographing Fireworks with Alan Schwab! All are welcome – Click to view event on Facebook
Ready to capture the celebrations? Check out our blog post here – Where to See Fireworks in Bergen County
4th of July: Alan’s Guide to Photographing Fireworks
Capturing the magic of fireworks can be difficult at first – but with some tips & tricks, you’ll be ready to give it a shot for Fourth of July! Bergen County Camera’s Alan Schwab has compiled a helpful guide with tips from what to bring to how to set your camera.
Alan Schwab’s Guide: How to Shoot Fireworks
- Use the bulb setting available in manual (M), see tip 17 for the finale’!
- Use a low ISO 100-200
- No long exposure noise reduction, high ISO NR can stay on, but it’s not needed
- F8-F11
- Use auto white balance
- No mirror lock up
- Use infinity focus, switch to manual focus, tape the lens focus ring @ infinity. Some lenses are not marked. Test focus in manual at farthest subject your lens can resolve sharply.
- O D lighting or auto lighting optimizer, these control contrast and brightness.
- Vivid color mode, leave saturation at normal, landscape (picture style) for Canon uses.
- IS-VR off, since you will be on a tripod.
- Metering: use matrix or evaluative
- Note: you will not have to meter anything for shooting (F11, ISO 100, bulb = done)
- Tripod, short zoom lens 18-70mm, 24-70mm, 18-105mm and a cable release (no need to lock)
- Tripod will possibly need to be repositioned (tilted etc) once the show starts. I’ll shoot vertical more often than horizontal.
- Vary zoom length for composition
- Fire the shutter (with a cable release) hold rather than lock. Hold for multiple bursts 2-8 or maybe more. Check the monitor, exposures should average 2-4 or 4-7 seconds, and can even be as long as 8-15 seconds. Disregard the histogram.
- Finale’ shots need to happen quickly in manual mode, burst or continuous 1 second, ½ second, ¼ second, 1/8 second, 1/10 second, 1/25 second, 1/30 second. These shorts can be blown out if taken for longer time periods (such as with bulb). Still maintain the F number 8-11.
- JPEGS or Raw? Raw is not necessary unless you feel a need to recover highlights. Shoot JPEG or raw together, or JPEG alone. Use a fast card for recovery of write speed times. Raw will offer a bit more color information too.
- Bring extra cards, batteries, and a mini flashlight. The show may be 30 minutes to an hour long. Be careful about inserting memory cards in the dark.
- Add an element of scenic interest in your picture. Bridges, skylines, crowds, etc
Register for ‘In Focus’ – Bergen County Camera’s Email Newsletter
Stay in the know on all things photography! – Register Below: