Shooting skills of gorgeous fireworks

Settings: Camera parameters are very important.

Before shooting fireworks, you must make a series of settings for the camera, otherwise you will be in a hurry when shooting, which will affect the shooting. Camera settings mainly include the adjustment of necessary parameters and the selection of functions.

Shoot RAW format

At present, our camera can generally choose two photo storage formats, one is JPG, which is our most commonly used format; The other is the RAW format. JPG format can be understood as the compressed photos processed inside the camera; The RAW format, on the other hand, records the photos of various elements of the shooting environment, and has not been processed and decorated inside the camera, so the later adjustable range can be wider. Therefore, taking RAW photos is more conducive to the post-processing of fireworks photos. Of course, the RAW format photos are very large, so please have enough memory card and hard disk space.

Use M gear (manual gear)

Shoot with m file

Because shooting fireworks is a relatively high-end shooting application, we suggest that you use the M file (manual file) of the camera, so that you can adjust the parameters of each part of the camera at any time during shooting, which is very convenient.

hole

Because fireworks are very bright, we don't need to shoot with too big aperture, and in most cases we don't need fuzzy effect. Before shooting, we will do some exposure tests. For example, we take an exposure time of 5 seconds, with an aperture of f/ 10, and then take a photo to see if the brightness of the photo is correct. If not, please adjust the aperture size correctly. We suggest that you generally use an aperture size of f/8 to f/ 16.

shutter

A fireworks bloom, from lighting to blasting, usually lasts for a few seconds. In most cases, we can only spend a few seconds. For example, the whole process of fireworks blooming is only 3 seconds, and we can take photos with exposure time of 3 seconds to 4 seconds. Generally speaking, the best shutter time for shooting fireworks is 1 sec to 4 seconds.

When to press the shutter: Although the operation of pressing the shutter is simple, it is very difficult to shoot fireworks. When we see the fireworks, we don't have to press the shutter, because the fireworks have exploded by this time, and it is too late. Press the shutter when you hear the sound of the show (whew), and you may have missed the best time to shoot, because the distance between our shooting location and the place where the fireworks bloom is usually tens to hundreds of meters, and it takes some time for the sound to spread. When shooting, we can watch the blooming of one or two fireworks first, then find the approximate ignition time law, and press the shutter before the third fireworks makes the sound of taking off, so that we can capture the complete picture of the fireworks blooming. This process requires everyone to understand more and try to shoot scenes. Even if it is shot dozens of times, it will not succeed. Don't be discouraged, maybe you will succeed next time.

Just shoot the effect of fireworks blasting.

(1) Only shoot the effect of fireworks explosion. Generally speaking, if the effect of fireworks blooming is gorgeous, especially the kind of fireworks whose blasting effect completely covers the effect of taking off, you can consider shooting only the moment of blasting. This can present the most beautiful moment of fireworks, and it is also people's favorite composition and shooting method. According to the different shapes of fireworks blasting, horizontal or vertical shooting methods can be appropriately selected.

Shoot the whole process of fireworks blooming.

(2) Shooting the whole blooming process of fireworks is suitable for shooting fireworks with good blasting effect. Most kinds of fireworks bloom from the ground and explode after taking off. If the whole process is very beautiful, we can use horizontal or vertical composition to record the whole process and form a complete fireworks trajectory.

Combination shooting of fireworks and surrounding environment

(3) Take photos of fireworks and the surrounding environment, which is suitable for panoramic or big scenes. If the whole fireworks display scene and the fireworks effect are very beautiful, we can shoot the whole scene and the surrounding environment. For example, the fireworks show in Victoria Harbour, Sydney Opera House, Taipei 10 1 Building, Burj Dubai and so on. After the fireworks in these places are added to the environmental background, the whole picture will be greatly appreciated.

Three methods to improve the ability of picture appreciation

(1) appropriately increase the audience and enhance the interest. Although the fireworks are brilliant, if there are only fireworks in the picture, it looks a bit monotonous. At this time, you can add the audience watching fireworks around you. For example, there is a couple sitting by the river with fireworks as the background. This picture is very story-telling and can also increase interest. Therefore, when we shoot fireworks, we will skillfully present the audience in the picture through exquisite composition, so that the shooting of fireworks will be even better.

(2) Add the surrounding environment appropriately to enrich the picture. The most brilliant moment of fireworks is when they bloom in the air, so the upper part of our picture is beautiful, but the lower part is empty. If we add the surrounding environment and scenery to the picture, it can just make up for the blank of the picture. For example, we add the surrounding buildings, people, vehicles and so on, which not only enriches the picture, but also sets off the festive scene or lively atmosphere at that time.

Increasing the reflection on the water surface can significantly improve the appreciation.

(3) If there is water, add reflection in the shooting picture to enhance the appreciation. The reflection on the water is beautiful at night. If the reflection sets off the fireworks, the whole picture will be more beautiful When we shoot fireworks, if we are on the riverside, lakeside or seaside, we can leave part of the picture on the water reflecting the fireworks. Mutual reflections and fireworks can significantly enhance the appreciation of the picture.

Late stage: make your fireworks icing on the cake

In the shooting of fireworks, although we may not succeed every time, after many attempts, there will always be successful photos. Although these photos are successful, the digital camera will not record the picture perfectly like our naked eyes, so an excellent fireworks photo still needs to be adjusted later to make the sky darker and more beautiful.

Step 1: Turn on the color scale option.

What we need to do is simple. First, open the image->; Adjust->; For this option, the shortcut key is Ctrl+L, and then you can see a pop-up window.

Step 2: See the pop-up window of color scale options.

After seeing the pop-up, we can find that there are three triangle-like sliders under the pop-up waveform diagram, which are used to control the brightness of light, medium and dark parts in the picture. The first slider on the left controls the brightness of the dark area of the screen, the slider in the middle controls the brightness of the middle area of the screen, and the slider on the right controls the brightness of the screen. When the slider slides to the right, the corresponding area of the screen will be darkened, while when the slider slides to the left, the corresponding area will be lightened.

Step 3: Adjust the slider of the color scale option.

We slide the first and second sliders from left to right, and then the dark area and the middle area of the picture will become dark, leaving only the bright area unchanged, so that the black color in the picture will be purer, and the interference of the original white smoke will become lighter, which will no longer affect the viewing experience.

Then, let's solve the problem of unsatisfactory picture brightness.

Step 4: Turn on the hue/saturation option.

Step 5: Adjust the slider of saturation.

If the color is dark, we can increase the saturation of some photos. Method is to open the image->; Adjust->; For hue/saturation, the shortcut key is Ctrl+U, and then adjust the saturation slider in the pop-up window until you are satisfied with the bright color. After the later adjustment, the color of the fireworks we shot will be more intense and the appreciation of the picture will be improved. For most fireworks photos, everyone can try this simple post-adjustment, and the effect will be very good.

Advanced: Another way to shoot gorgeous fireworks.

The fireworks shooting method we introduced to you before is the most basic. As long as we follow the steps we introduced step by step, we can shoot gorgeous fireworks. But for more advanced photographers, the shooting methods described above may not be enough to satisfy everyone's pursuit of pictures. Here are some advanced shooting methods for everyone.

Fractional exposure

Multiple exposure is an advanced method of shooting fireworks. We need a black card when using this shooting method. If there is no black card, we can use pure black paper or black hand (of course, this is not recommended).

This kind of fireworks photo is quite artistic.

The reason why this technique is advanced shooting is that it is more difficult to control the timing of capturing fireworks after the shutter speed is increased. You need to practice and try more, and you will always succeed. Once successful, we will get a photo of fireworks with all the spots, which will look more dazzling than ordinary fireworks.

Write it at the end

The above has basically taught you the preparation for shooting fireworks, as well as the scenery, shooting methods and precautions. Shooting fireworks seems to be a very simple thing, but it is actually much more difficult than ordinary photography, because it is difficult to seize the opportunity of fireworks blooming and can only be adapted slowly through practice. The preparation of shooting fireworks equipment and camera setting are very simple, but the control of shooting time is the most difficult and crucial step, which requires everyone's understanding and practice. The effect of shooting fireworks may not be ideal at first, but don't be discouraged and practice more. A large amount of fireworks will definitely come out of you.