Asian Photography - December 2015

DECEMBER 2015 71

Make sure that the tripod is properly set and that the
horizon is not tilted.

Use bulb mode
Using bulb mode ensures that you don’t have to
predict the exact time of the firework; you can simply
switch to bulb mode and wait. Once the firecrackers
explode you click again and switch it off. Experiment
with the duration and get amazing results. But using
bulb mode has its own disadvantage. If a part of your
frame is appropriately lit it will get overexposed in bulb
mode. Also as the camera’s shutter is open for a longer
period of time than needed for that particular area, thus
overexposing parts of the image. Alternatively one can
hold a card in front of the lens after starting the bulb
mode and remove the card just before the firecracker
explodes in the sky. That way the exposure starts when

you remove the card and the properly exposed parts in

your frame are not overexposed. You still do not touch

the shutter and you don’t miss a picture either.

Manually focus lens to infinity

One of the most common problems faced during

firework photography is getting the camera to focus.

The camera needs to be pre-focused and the focusing

distance is infinity in cases of areal firecrackers. Setting

up and using a back focus button also helps a lot as

the entire process of getting ready for a firecracker to

explode to shooting the firecracker is very short and a

photographer needs to be quick in framing, focusing and

shooting it.

Other general camera settings

Change camera to low light noise reduction

Photo: Nik Osborne