Taking Fireworks Photos with Your Phone
Advance scout! Try to position yourself upwind of the fireworks to keep the smokey aftermath of from obscuring your next shot.
Brace yourself! Night time means lower light which will cause more movement blur than daytime shots. Steady your phone or camera on a railing, lean against a lamp post or even another person.
Anticipate! Watch a few rounds so you know where the bursts are likely to flower. Then take aim, steady yourself, wait, wait, click, click, click.
Use auto focus! Once you are in position, aimed and steady, tap the screen to lock focus on the burst – but don’t take the picture until the next burst enters that focused area. Then click, click, click.
Use portrait mode! Take most of your shots in portrait mode. Turn for a few in landscape mode. Try a few angled shots as well. Then you will have more variety to choose from for posting.
Don’t zoom! Zooming will only make it more difficult to catch those falling trails of light. You can crop in camera later.
Add effects later! Use your native phone app only. Adding 3rd party effects while you are shooting introduces lag time and you have no time to spare in low light with moving objects. Add those cool effects for Instagram later.
Take time to enjoy! Yes, you will want to overshoot to get a few great shots. But don’t try to get every burst. The real WOW factor in fireworks is in the moment they happen.
Be creative! Plan a few shots with people, kids, trees, a lighthouse or monuments in the frame. Try as silhouettes against the bright bursts or light the subjects with a flashlight from behind, with the fireworks in front.
All images from Pinterest.
2 Responses
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Marisa Franca @ All Our Way Says:
Happy Independence Day! Melissa. Great tips for taking fireworks shots. Unfortunately we are always home, in bed by the time the real action starts. I’ll just have to look at the photos on line.
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Melissa Says:
Happy 4th to you as well, Marisa! Actually I can’t take credit for this wonderful post. Nancy Kirkpatrick is the well seasoned photographer and writer who treated us to this information today! We still can’t get WordPress to let us change the name of authors on posts! If anyone knows how to make it happen…do tell!
