Photography is Painting with Light

Photography is painting with light - you need light to make a photo, so in the purest sense what’s happening with fireworks is true photography.  Long exposures and light…  The camera will need to be steady, preferably supported by a tripod.  You may get lucky without one, just lean your camera against a steady object, press the shutter and hold your breath. You are painting with light remember, so what if your light trails are a bit wobbly?

Choose a good spot, preferably with some foreground or water.  Four to 15 seconds is a good starting point for shutter speed.  Choose a depth of field of f/5.6 as a starting point, set focusing on manual, set white balance to daylight and your ISO to 100.   Check your initial photos, and if they appear overexposed set the aperture to a higher humber (f/8 or f/11).  If they appear underexposed, set the aperture to a lower number (f/3.5). A high ISO will make the sky appear grey, and we are after a black sky.

For you iPhone shooters out there, your options include a slow motion video, burst mode, or the Slow Shutter app.  You will still need a tripod. The app gives you an immediate preview, so you can adjust.  Use the Light Trails setting, put the ISO on Auto, and experiment.