fireworks and changing zoom

I am going to try to take pictures of fireworks and have been reading.

Seems like the consensus is to use manual focus. Makes sense due to potential smoke.

Is it best not change zoom in once everything starts since refocusing may be difficult? Or can I use back button focus, and if I change zoom, focus using the next firework and then keep it there for a while until I want to change zoom again?

This is assuming that all i have is the firework in my frame.

While the shutter is open, with fireworks you can change the zoom or focus or both and get quite a variety of interesting effects. Lots of opportunities to experiment.


Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

sjs9828 said:

I am going to try to take pictures of fireworks and have been reading.

Seems like the consensus is to use manual focus. Makes sense due to potential smoke.

Is it best not change zoom in once everything starts since refocusing may be difficult? Or can I use back button focus, and if I change zoom, focus using the next firework and then keep it there for a while until I want to change zoom again?

This is assuming that all i have is the firework in my frame.

Click to expand...

You are likely to have to change focal length because you won't know in advance which focal length works best. However, the depth of field is probably going to be very large so, if you set the manual focus in advance, changing the focal length won't significantly affect the images.

I normally manually focus in advance on something on the ground at a suitable distance and don't change it.

--
Chris R

Manual focus, yes, as most cameras don't grab or track focus well in the dark.

You never can tell exactly where each firework is going to come from, or where it's going. So I use a wide enough angle to cover the entire section of sky, and then crop later.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but you'll want a small aperture. The fireworks are quite bright.

Experimenting with a variety of shutter speeds is fun. At the finale though, you'll blow out everything if not using a faster shutter speed.

You would not need to change focus when shooting fireworks unless you're so close that you're in the debris zone. You don't want the camera to have to take the extra moment to attempt autofocus with every shot, so set manual focus, and unless you're including near foreground detail, focus to infinity (an easy way to do this instantly is to autofocus on the moon and then drop to manual.)

Higher f-stop will create fatter light trails, lower f-stop will capture more fine detail.

You should of course be on a tripod and either using a remote or the two-second timer mode; the remote is ideal because you can hit it the instant/right before a burst goes off. Most pro photographers will set the camera to indefinitely do a set of exposures that fire every 5-10 seconds, so the camera just keeps shooting nonstop for the entirety of the event. Any way you do it, it's a given that you will have a massive pile of shots, nearly all of which will not be keepers - I will usually get ~100 shots and keep ~6.

A good fireworks shot will include a properly exposed ground/foreground and will not just be fireworks floating in empty black space. Find a location that will provide an interesting foreground for your composition.

I googled "fireworks photography out of focus" and selected images. Lots to consider there.

sjs9828 said:

I am going to try to take pictures of fireworks and have been reading.

Seems like the consensus is to use manual focus. Makes sense due to potential smoke.

Click to expand...

Definitely manual focus. But you might be able to use AFS on "first" shot -- and then "lock" it w/ M then.

sjs9828 said:

Is it best not change zoom in once everything starts since refocusing may be difficult? Or can I use back button focus, and if I change zoom, focus using the next firework and then keep it there for a while until I want to change zoom again?

This is assuming that all i have is the firework in my frame.

Click to expand...

If you are using UWA lens .... and ALL you have is "fireworks" in you frame --- RUN !!!

(Actually that could be very interesting to have a "REMOTE" camera very CLOSE and pointed straight "up" w/ UWA lens -- I have seen videos of a DRONE video very close amongst the bursts.)

Check with the organizers and find out how long the display will last. That will help you stay oriented on how much time you have to shoot.

But the main thing is stay loose—especially if you're in the U.S. this one of those low-pressure events because there are fireworks every year on the same date so if you don't get everything you want this July 4, in 364 days there will be another display just like it.

And in some regions adjoining cities will schedule their displays on different days so that you can shoot two or three during the holiday.

Finally, most firework displays start slow and save their best for last so you'll have at least 5 minutes to get everything dialed in just right before the extravaganza starts.

Oh, and try to find a way to frame your shots to help viewers understand where the photos were take, or the kind of crowd that was there. Including some of the environment always makes fireworks pictures more interesting.

Framing is huge. Most fireworks shots all look the same and framing is what sets them apart. Personally, I find fireworks photography to be quite easy (to the point of boring) if you have a basic knowledge of photography and light. But to each their own!

you are better off cropping afterward, you can use a zoom or a prime for this task and because it is art itself ,anything goes.

Due to the nature of fireworks there really no true shots of fireworks as the light is moving at a greater speed than one would look at a photo.