How to take firework pictures on Bonfire Night

Bonfire Night is tonight, and you may be already planning what celebration you’ll be attending. Even if you’re just having fun in your own back garden, it’s always nice to capture the moment but how do you get a pic that isn’t full of strange lights and fuzzy?

If you’re lucky your camera will have a fireworks mode, but if not there are a couple of tricks you can do to make your snaps sparkle in the right way. We joined forces with Fujifilm to give you a great how to guide.

First off, switch off the flash.
It will illuminate the background too much and the fireworks will look washed out- that is if they show up at all.

Remember to zoom.
Your camera may have an autofocus mode, but the sky is a looong way away and this will help you get more into the shot.

Hold steady!
The excitement may be getting too much but you want to reduce camera-shake as much as possible as this will lead to a blurred image, so try and balance it on a wall/handy shelf if possible.

Framing.
Do you want a landscape or portrait shot? It all depends on the display you’re attending, and the kind of continuity you like to have in your snaps. Landscape will be better for larger displays like Catherine wheels, whilst portrait will capture those rocket displays

Adjust ISO settings.
Yes, this is a little more complicated, but if you up the ISO setting you’ll get much better detail in low light conditions. Turn it to ISO 800 is possible as that’s the optimum ISO for fireworks.

Zara Rabinowicz writes for Kiss and Makeup and Shiny Shiny and will be putting these tips into action tonight.