Fireworks starting point

Saturday is the annual town fireworks for the fourth (yeah a bit early but whatever).  My family usually has a nice place to setup for it, but if I wanted to take some snaps, what are some good starting points for settings?

I will have a tripod or two, and my G7, and EPL6.  Probably 45-150 f4-5.6 on the panny and maybe the 25mm f1.7 for the epl6.

Looking to capture entire bursts if possible, but not sure what settings to start with.

Thx

It really depends on what type of shots you want.

Typically a slow shutter time to see the bursts in context. Manual focus. Remote shutter release. Low ISO.

Composition wise, you want to get something in the foreground, similar to nice astrophotography. Otherwise your shots will look the same as everyone else's.

burritosandbeer wrote:

Saturday is the annual town fireworks for the fourth (yeah a bit early but whatever). My family usually has a nice place to setup for it, but if I wanted to take some snaps, what are some good starting points for settings?

I will have a tripod or two, and my G7, and EPL6. Probably 45-150 f4-5.6 on the panny and maybe the 25mm f1.7 for the epl6.

Looking to capture entire bursts if possible, but not sure what settings to start with.

Thx

I would avoid burst shooting fireworks. Single shots will do just fine. A tripod will make things easier for more keepers. If it's your 1st time, here are some tips:

1) get into good position where the wind direction is to your advantage. Use a zoom lens long enough to get in the sky and some interesting foreground, and enough to zoom into the explosions for the tight shots.

2) know where the fireworks will be exploding, and set up a focus zone for that area. Take some test shots to assure you have a good composition and exposure range to work with.  Best to have foreground and sky in focus using infinity.

3) use the largest apertures you have, f/1.7 to f/2.8 will do fine. Vary your shutter from 1/60 to 1 second or longer for trail effects. Start with ISO 800 and work your way up higher when needed. Use a tripod.

4) Set WB to daylight. OR, If the explosions are after twilight set WB from 3800 to 4200 Kelvin.

5) time the sound of the mortar. Once you hear the cluster of explosions go off, that delay before you see the explosion is the timing you'll need for the rest of the night. This time delay will indicate when to press the shutter to capture the explosion.

THere are many techniques and ways to get the firework shot, this is just my own technique. Good luck on your night photography.

burritosandbeer wrote:

Saturday is the annual town fireworks for the fourth (yeah a bit early but whatever). My family usually has a nice place to setup for it, but if I wanted to take some snaps, what are some good starting points for settings?

I will have a tripod or two, and my G7, and EPL6. Probably 45-150 f4-5.6 on the panny and maybe the 25mm f1.7 for the epl6.

Looking to capture entire bursts if possible, but not sure what settings to start with.

Thx

The aperture controls the exposure for the fireworks, they are bright to the camera so you need to limit the light, the closer you are the more critical this is..

if you open the aperture too wide you will blow out the colour and all will just be white.

the lens choice depends on your viewing distance and if you want foreground or background detail.

between 2 to 8 seconds will capture multiple bursts and depends again on your location.

Others have already said manual focus

longer detail and examples

https://www.mu-43.com/threads/fireworks-including-tips-and-hints-post-yours.104470/#post-1296649