This past weekend I took my Chief Culinary Consultant to Saturday’s opening weekend Pirates game as a Valentine’s Day gift. It was a fireworks night (the first of the season!) so I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to try to practice shooting fireworks. Before going to the game, I read a tutorial on Digital Photography School and gathered some tips. Since I wouldn’t be using a tripod or remote release (two primary recommendations), my main takeaways were: (1) Use a slow shutter speed; (2) Use an aperture in the f/8.0 to 16.0 range; and (3) Use a low ISO (recommended was 100).

I ended up only taking a handful of shots because I wanted to actually enjoy watching the fireworks and not be totally worried about photographing them, but I was disappointed in the ones that I took. I didn’t get the “raining” effect of fireworks, you can see a lot of the smoke, and I felt like my timing was definitely off.

I started out with my ISO on 100 and it was way, way too dark so I ended up switching it to auto. I kept my shutter speed at 1/125, which was probably way too fast, and my aperture at f/8.0. Below are the photos…

Would love to hear about any tips or experiences you have regarding fireworks photography!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125