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15 Quick Tips to Videotaping Fireworks

Shooting great firework footage is more than pointing the camera into the sky. The less light you have, the harder it is to focus or capture an image that isn't underexposed or overly grainy. Throw in a fireworks scene that changes from dark to light within nanoseconds, and your camera will need a lot of help from its human counterpart. Let's start with the gear, then go to the technical, setup and finally the techniques.

Use a tripod, but set the drag loose to pan and swivel. A 3-chip cam captures images best, and HD is awesome, but, with good shooting techniques, any camcorder can capture the show,

Never shoot with auto focus or exposure. In the dark, the auto iris opens wide, searching for light. When the firework flashes, the shot is blown out before the iris can close. When the sky goes dark, your iris opens again, searching. Auto focus is also in constant motion, attempting to adjust.

Practice before the event. Test your image with your iris on its smallest aperture (around f8 or f11). You might think you should open wide to get in more light, but the images wash out with bright fireworks. Try an ND filter or circular polarizer, too. If you "gain" your image from zero to 9db or 18db, your video becomes grainy, which flattens the fireworks images and makes darker areas look reddish, not black.

Landscape or Fireworks settings keep the camera from getting nutty, but manual gives you better control. Set your focus on infinity, if you have it. While it's still light, focus on a roof, tree or pole that's about where you think the fireworks might land.

Shoot people and fireworks separately. Don't shoot a burst of fireworks, then the people... then the fireworks... you will constantly have to reset your iris and focus, which is difficult at night. Shoot people first, when you still have some natural light. A twilight sky makes a beautiful beginning, especially if you use that polarizer.

Get in close to people and shoot wide. The closer you get, the more light you can bring in, and you can keep the iris small. Shoot a low angle, especially children, so they are looking up at the fireworks. Shoot them from the side or behind to see the fireworks burst in the shot. If you angle it right, the faces are naturally lit by the fireworks reflection.

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