Taking Pictures of Fireworks

Summer is the season for viewing and photographing fireworks. Everyone can do it—all you need are fireworks, a camera and a little bit of planning. Here's a quick guide.

Location for Photographing Fireworks

Once you've found a scheduled display, take the lay of the land, considering possible backdrops for your fireworks photos. Then, get to the spot early to claim the high ground—a place in which you'll be comfortable and one that will give you an unobstructed, camera-eye's view of the colorful proceedings. As you can tell from my photos, I like to photograph the fireworks over New York City, and for that I show up really early—I mean hours before the first fuse is lit or switch thrown.

When you get to the location, look for foreground objects. Fireworks against a black sky are colorful, but not that exciting in a photograph. Reference points—buildings, hillsides, trees, monuments—help a lot. (If you're thinking about layering your fireworks' images into other pictures or combining a few into one image, then the blank sky background is the way to go, as you'll want nothing else but lights and sparkles.)

Camera & Lens Settings

Any Nikon DSLR or Z series mirrorless camera will do. I suggest you use an electronic cable release or wireless remote, because the less you touch the camera, the better. A wide-angle lens is ideal, but if you're farther away from the sky show than you'd like to be, a telephoto will be helpful. An 18-200mm or 18-140mm zoom with will do nicely. If you're using a VR (vibration reduction) NIKKOR, check the instruction book; when some VRs are used on a tripod-mounted camera, turning off the VR function is recommended. 

If you want to shoot video of fireworks with your camera, the best way to shoot them is by using the auto mode. Then you can incorporate the movies and stills into a compelling slideshow or edited movie to share with family and friends. You could also get really creative and play around with the focus, to see how you can capture the colors. As with shooting still images, using a tripod when shooting fireworks in movie mode is essential.

A tripod is essential for fireworks. Get a good one: strong, sturdy, solid. Set it up so your camera's brought up to eye level by the height of the tripod's legs, not the height of the center column. For maximum camera stability, keep the center column as low as you can.

A great feature found on most Nikon cameras called Image Overlay can be used for this layering technique—it’s usually found in the camera's Retouch menu. Just set the camera's image quality for NEF (RAW) shooting, shoot the fireworks against a dark sky—making sure to leave room at the bottom of the frame that will be devoid of any of the fireworks. Later on, when you have taken a photograph (also at night) of a building for instance, you can very quickly layer the two photos in-camera without the need for a computer. It’s a great technique, so check out all the details in your camera's instruction manual to learn how to set it up.