how to take fireworks photos

[armeda04]

I'm going to be going to Disney World in a couple of days and I see online all these photos of fireworks taken with the g4. What settings in manual should I have it on?

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[RedOctobyr]

Any fireworks pictures guidelines should apply, they don't need to be for the G4.

If you want to blur the fireworks and maybe capture sequential fireworks in the same shot, you might want to keep the shutter open for a few seconds.

You would likely want a fairly low ISO value for a long exposure like that, and a tripod would be recommended. At a minimum, for a long exposure (say >0.5 sec), you want to rest the camera on something, like a fence, table, etc, to keep it steady, if you don't have a little cellphone tripod.

Experiment with ISO and shutter speeds until the exposure looks good to you.

Turn the flash off. And you'd probably want to use manual focus, set to infinity, or a little less than infinity. That will avoid the camera trying (and failing?) to focus for every shot.

 

[HaboobZ]

But if you want to capture the detail of the fireworks, wouldn't you rather have a fast shutterspeed? But for that (during night shots), you'd have to introduce more light (higher ISO), which in turn makes the photo that much more grainy.

That's my understanding and experience. I'm not quite sure how else to do it, as I'm not a photographer and have never even taken a photography class.

 

[psf57]

This may sound to easy, but when I want fast pics of anything in motion, I start a video, then while recording snap the shot. I then either discard the video or keep it. I have better luck doing it this way.

 

[ManiacJoe]

But if you want to capture the detail of the fireworks, wouldn't you rather have a fast shutterspeed? But for that (during night shots), you'd have to introduce more light (higher ISO), which in turn makes the photo that much more grainy.

That's my understanding and experience. I'm not quite sure how else to do it, as I'm not a photographer and have never even taken a photography class.

It depends on what you mean by "details of the fireworks".
Most folks want the long streaks of the "blossom", for example:
ISO 200
f/13
5.5 seconds to get the launch tail and streaks

 

[RandyOhio]

It might just be me, but I just took a bunch on auto and thought they looked great!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[AndroidHabit]

I'm going to be going to Disney World in a couple of days and I see online all these photos of fireworks taken with the g4. What settings in manual should I have it on?

Posted via the Android Central App

Just hold the onscreen camera button down, it will take 25-40 pictures really quick. I did this this past forth of july.

 

[HaboobZ]

It depends on what you mean by "details of the fireworks".
Most folks want the long streaks of the "blossom", for example:
ISO 200
f/13
5.5 seconds to get the launch tail and streaks
View attachment 198011

Okay, that looks like what I'm talking about/wanting - you can still see the firework and such. However, when I increase the time the shutter is openI tend to just get light streaks.


Granted, I don't have a tripod, so it's mostly just me shaking. What did you use for stabilization on that shot?

Edit: Realizing you probably didn't use the G4 for that shot, correct?

 

[greydarrah]

I'm not trying to sound too much like a smart-elic, but if I were you, I'd just go online and download a few great shots to your phone, then leave it in your pocket and enjoy the show with your family. If you've got to take your phone out, snap a few shots of your kids faces while they watch the fireworks explode...way more enjoyable to look at over the years.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Little cell phone tripods are common & cheap. And essentially required for an exposure that long.

Instead of an actual dedicated tripod for mine, I bought a little holder to grab the phone, with a standard tripod screw mount underneath. So it mounts any phone to whichever tripod I decide to use.

Amazon.com: Cell Phone Tripod Adapter, Wizgear (TM) Universal Smartphone Holder Tripod Adapter for iPhone 6 Plus iPhone 6 5 5C 5S Samsung Galaxy S5 S4 Note 4 Nexus 5 LG G3: Cell Phones & Accessories

And at f/13, he could not have used the G4 for that, no. The G4 is fixed at f/1.8. Given the aperture, I'd say it's likely taken on an SLR, as my P&S cameras have topped out at f/8, I believe.

 

[ManiacJoe]

Okay, that looks like what I'm talking about/wanting - you can still see the firework and such. However, when I increase the time the shutter is openI tend to just get light streaks.

Granted, I don't have a tripod, so it's mostly just me shaking. What did you use for stabilization on that shot?

Edit: Realizing you probably didn't use the G4 for that shot, correct?

Correct. That shot was from a DSLR locked down on a tripod.

The two things that are going to hurt you with the G4 is the lack of support and the fixed f/1.8 aperture lens.
A table-top tripod is not that hard to get; otherwise finding something to lean against can work, too.
The fixed aperture lens is much harder to work with. It is letting in so much light that you are going to get mostly all-white streaks like RandyOhio got (above).

 

[supersanborn]

It also depends on if you're trying to take the photos with a lit background, such as getting the castle in with the photos. I find that if I can hit the button at the exact moment they're the brightest, the castle and fireworks come out lit perfectly.

 

[darkehawke]

It also depends on if you're trying to take the photos with a lit background, such as getting the castle in with the photos. I find that if I can hit the button at the exact moment they're the brightest, the castle and fireworks come out lit perfectly.

Sorry, is this with a proper camera or the G4?

 

[RedOctobyr]

I expect the lighting principle would apply to any camera.

But the G4 can shoot quite quickly if you hold the button down. Maybe even quicker in manual mode if you set the focus manually? So holding the button down would give you more chances to get the picture's timing just right.

 

[HaboobZ]

I'm not trying to sound too much like a smart-elic, but if I were you, I'd just go online and download a few great shots to your phone, then leave it in your pocket and enjoy the show with your family. If you've got to take your phone out, snap a few shots of your kids faces while they watch the fireworks explode...way more enjoyable to look at over the years.

Meh, if you have kids, maybe. I don't. And being in Phoenix, our fireworks shows are exactly the same each year, so I'd rather try and work on my photo-shooting - then share it with my family that's there. /shrug Different priorities I guess...