With fireworks displays just around the corner you might be thinking that you would like to capture some of the action on your phone camera. Taking fireworks photos on your phone can be quite tricky, but the phones have become much more sophisticated recently and can achieve decent results. Alongside that, a few techniques can really help to elevate your fireworks photography, so here are a few tips for how to take fantastic fireworks photos.
Planning your photos
If you can arrive early then it’s a good idea to do so and choose a good place to stand. You obviously want an uninterrupted view of the fireworks although thinking about framing can also enhance your photos – having trees or silhouettes of people to frame your shot can really help. It is also worth being aware that you will probably get the best photos at the start of the display as the smoke in the sky can build up over the evening. My best tips:
- Get there early to choose your spot for photos
- Take photos at the start to minimise the smoke in the sky
- Use the crowd silhouettes to frame your shots
- If you can use water reflections then that can really enhance your photos as the light display is reflected back.
iPhone photo of sunset fireworks over Poole harbour – using water reflections
Using crowd silhouettes to frame the fireworks
Fireworks display with smoke in the sky
Use a tripod if you can
One of the challenges of fireworks photos is that it is dark, so your phone camera will automatically give you a long exposure (which is indeed how it manages to capture the beauty of the light trails and fireworks). But this means that any camera shake might give you very wobbly fireworks photos that don’t look so great …. like this photo below! To avoid this, use a portable tripod if you can, or if not, then try to stand as steady as you can or lean against something. Alternatively you may be able to prop your phone up somewhere (not always easy at fireworks to be fair!)
i phone photo of fireworks with camera shake
Phone camera settings for fireworks
There are a few phone camera settings that can really help you to take great fireworks photos. Here are a few tips:
- Turn your flash OFF. On an iPhone you can do this easily by tapping on the little flash/ lightning icon top left of the screen.
- Use LIVE photo mode. Live mode can be turned on by tapping the “target” icon top right on the screen and this will take a mini video (more of this below)
- Use BURST photo mode. This will take a series of shots from which you can then select which ones you like best
- Take a video. Sometimes this is the most effective way to really capture the action
Using LIVE photo mode for fireworks photos
Using LIVE photo mode will take a mini (3 second) video. This is particularly useful for fireworks as you have absolutely no idea of what the fireworks are going to look like so it is tricky to capture the “best shot”. By taking a live photo you are able to edit it afterwards by selecting the “key photo”. Your phone will usually make quite a good attempt at selecting the best key photo but it does not always get it quite right so this is a fantastic feature to be able to adjust.
Using BURST mode for fireworks photos
Using Burst mode is also a good technique for taking fireworks photos. It will take a whole series of still photos for as long as you hold the shutter down. On i-phone, I find it most useful to set my Volume Up button to Burst mode. To do this, got to Settings/ Camera/ Use volume Up for Burst. You can set this up in advance and just leave your phone like this all the time so that whenever you want to do a series of shots you use the volume up button.
Once you have taken the Burst mode photos, you can then go back and select which ones you like as “favourites” and delete the others …. there will most likely be a lot of out-takes!
Take a Video
You may find that the best strategy is to take a video …. this way you can really enjoy the display without becoming too absorbed in capturing the best shot.
Conclusion
There is no denying that taking good fireworks photos on a phone is a more advanced skill, and in reality is something that lends itself more to professional camera equipment and knowledge. It you would like to know more about Smartphone camera tips, then do message me for info about my next Smartphone workshop (in the new year) or alternatively about learning how to take photos on a DSLR which is where you can really have some fun with fireworks photos.
Most importantly, enjoy the fireworks and stay safe!