5 Tips for Shooting Fireworks!
Happy Canada Day!
Today is the day we get to celebrate Canada’s 151st birthday! In honour of this very special occasion, we’ve composed our top 5 tips for getting those spectacular fireworks shots. Read up and enjoy the festivities!
Tip 1:
Manually Focus. Check out our last blog post on how to do this, but remember that your camera will have to take a split second to adjust focus once the fireworks explode, so you just might miss the best part. So take the time to get there early and practice your focus so that you know it’s spot on.
Tip 2:
Fireworks are bright. Like very very bright – so while you are shooting at night, be careful with your shutter speeds. You will often find that for fireworks a shutter speed of anywhere between 2 and 8 seconds is best. Any shorter and you won’t get those beautiful light streams. Any longer and you will end up with a big ball of light.
Tip 3:
Close your aperture a little. This way if your focus isn’t totally precise it won’t matter. It also helps to keep your shutter speeds shorter and hence your exposure more balanced. So think somewhere between f8 and f11.
Tip 4:
Set up with a remote shutter release. With one of these you don’t have to worry about using a timer to ensure your camera is still. With a 2 second timer you will have to be a lot more predictive and precise about when you press that shutter, so keep this in mind.
Tip 5:
Take lots and lots of photos. Just keep your camera running if you can – one shot after another. BUT if you do this, remember to give your camera a break every now and then. Remember your camera has a writing memory – so it can only write so much information to the card at any one time. This is why, when you shoot on continual shutter release, your camera will slow down and eventually stop – it just needs time to catch up with all of that data.
Ok – now have great fun!
Looking for a place to see some Canada Day Fireworks in your city? Here’s a quick suggestion:
Calgary:
The Enmax Fireworks are going off at the Centre Street Bridge downtown. Read up for where to be and what other locations you might find some great shots (we always like Nose Hill for these ones – but you need a good zoom!).
Burlington:
Fireworks in Burlington are set to go off at 10pm at Spencer Smith Park. Check out what else is going on here!
Oakville:
Bronte Heritage Waterfront Park is the spot to see Canada Day Fireworks in Oakville! Starting at 10pm they have a lot planned for the day as well – read more here.
Mississauga:
If you’re in Mississauga this fine weekend, head to Celebration Square to check out their amazing lineup. Read more here.
Edmonton:
The iconic Alberta Legislature Grounds is just one awesome location to view Edmonton’s fireworks display over the river tonight! Read up on where to find the best vantage points here.
Kelowna:
Waterfront Park in Kelowna is the place to be to see their epic fireworks display! There’s a tonne going on in this great city though – so read up here!
Wherever you’re planning on being tonight, make sure you get there very early as the best spots will be taken very quickly. And dress warmly – it’s cold at night ;).
And lastly – here’s some inspiration (in case you were wondering if it is even worth it ;))
