Disappointed with the photographs you took at the Singapore Fireworks Festival or at the National Day Parade? Pick up some tips from WILLY FOO on shooting fireworks
GO EARLY TO the spots where you can see the fireworks so that you can get a vantage point.
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Bag a spot in the front row if possible. This way, you will not be blocked by anyone or anything. It does not really matter what camera you use as long as it has a Manual Mode or a Night/Fireworks Mode. Here are some tips on how to prepare and shoot fireworks.
First, prepare your equipment for the shoot. Things to bear in mind are:
Bring a tripod: Stabilising the camera on a tripod will produce smooth fireworks trails and ensure that scenery such as buildings remain sharp. Otherwise, you may have wobbly trails caused by handshake.
Bring a remote trigger: A remote trigger for the camera will make for minimal contact with the camera, thus reducing camera shake and letting you enjoy the fireworks better at the same time.
Find a nice spot, turn off the flash, hold the camera steady and fire away.
Bring a small torch: You may need to check your camera settings or search for something you've dropped. Just make sure you don't shine your torch into other cameras.
Fresh and spare batteries: Test shoots before the fireworks as the constant shooting during the frenzy may drain the batteries quickly. Remember to charge your batteries fully or better yet, bring a spare set. Next, prepare your camera for the shoot.
Turn off flash: Flash will be useless in lighting up the fireworks or the scenery. It may also spoil the photo for the people shooting near you.
Fireworks mode: Some cameras feature a Fireworks mode that automatically adjusts the settings to capture decent fireworks trails. If not, you may have to use the Manual mode to get firework bursts.
Use Manual mode: To get the most control on how you want the effect to look, start with an aperture of F8 to F11 (F is the F number or F stop), shutter speed of 2sec to 6sec and the lowest ISO you can get, say ISO 50 or 100.
If the fireworks are too messy or overexposed, shorten the shutter speed. If the fireworks trails are too thin, lower the F-number. Conversely if they are too thick, increase the F-number.
Pre-focus: Lock focus on the distant lights and switch off auto-focus. Otherwise, set focus to infinity.
Increase contrast and saturation: To make the photos look more vibrant and colourful straight off the camera, explore the menus to increase the contrast and saturation.
Now it's time for the bursts. The more beautiful bursts are the large high ones. You can usually spot a faint light shooting upwards faster than the rest to obtain the height. Shoot when you spot or anticipate the fireworks coming.
If you're lucky enough to get a good position or have access to high ground, try catching the reflections of the fireworks in the water.
Willy Foo is a forum moderator of the ClubSnap Photography Community (website at forum.clubsnap.org). He has more than 10 years' experience in photography.
WHERE TO SHOOT
The last display of the Singapore Fireworks Festival at the Marina Promenade will be this Sunday at 8pm.
TRICK YOUR CAMERA
If you don't have Fireworks or a Manual mode, use the Aperture mode on your camera. Fireworks are quite bright if you simply point and click. You want to get a nice black blackground so that the vivid colours of the display are strong. Set to F8 or F11 and 'trick' the camera into thinking that it is a night scene by pointing it at somewhere dark and at a distant building so the camera can adjust the settings. Half depress the shutter. Then point to camera back at the fireworks and click. You'll have to do this for each shot though.
If you do not have a tripod, you can't take the long smooth fireworks trails. But you can take the short ones or get creative wobble in the trails.
For the short ones, set the camera to a TV (time variable) mode or use the Shutter Priority mode and set the shutter to half a second. Be as still as you can during the time. Lean against a pillar or a railing for support.
