How to take great photos of fireworks

Making great fireworks photographs can be tricky, but with a little bit of planning it can be a fun and rewarding experience, and a great way to preserve memories of Fourth of July celebrations.

The challenge with fireworks photography is dealing with the contrast between the dark sky and the bright streaks of color. Camera light meters get fooled in the automatic modes, so prepare to set your cameras on manual exposure settings for best results.

Some of the things that will help with the experience are a good sturdy tripod to keep the camera steady, a digital camera with manual controls set to slow shutter speeds to record the “streaks” ( 1/2 second is a good starting point), and an electronic cable release (if possible). A “beanbag” or bag of rice can substitute for a tripod when a camera is placed on a car roof.

But don’t think you can’t capture good shots with an automatic camera with no manual settings.

First, check your camera’s instruction manual for an exposure compensation setting. Many automatic cameras have a setting that allows for adding or subtracting up to two stops of exposure to help lighten or darken photos. If you have an adjustable override setting, try taking away exposure using the minus sign to the maximum range. That will cut exposure time and give more detail in the light bursts and darker background.

Practice beforehand so you know what to expect. Don’t forget to take notes and record your efforts for next time.

The most important thing is to have fun, try multiple settings and don’t be afraid to experiment a bit.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

▪ Plan your shooting location to make sure no telephone wires, street lamps or other distracting elements are in the way.

▪ Look for geographical elements to enhance your photos: water, trees, buildings, bridges, etc.

▪ If you have a manual camera, keep your ISO settings low, ideally around 100 or 200.

▪ Also on a manual camera, use longer exposure times up to several seconds or using B or “bulb” along with an electronic cable release to control exposure times. An aperture setting of between f/8 and f/16 (for really bright bursts) works well.

▪ Check results on your camera’s LCD screen to see your results and modify accordingly.

▪ Use a cover to block the lens in between bursts while the shutter is locked open and record several bursts on one frame.

▪ A wide-angle lens works well when close to the show area, when looking to include foreground elements such as water, landscape. Telephoto lenses work well for capturing tight photos of high up bursts.

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 10:59 AM with the headline "How to take great photos of fireworks."