Photography Techniques - Fireworks

1. Fireworks:
   • To capture the brilliant light trails of a fireworks the settings are similar to Night Traffic photography.
   • Use of a tripod is absolutely necessary since the shutter speed is very slow. Also, use of remote release or self timer is very useful to remove the shakes caused by pressing the shutter button on the camera.
   • Use Shutter Priority mode to set a slow shutter speed (e.g. 10s) or use the Bulb mode to start capturing the exact moment when the firework starts and stop when it has exploded.
   • Use a higher f/number between f/8 and f/16 to ensure that the light streaks are very fine lines of colors and not thick bright lines.
   • Set a low ISO (e.g. ISO 100) for minimum noise.
   • Use Manual focus since the Auto-focus won't work when you aim at the dark sky. Set the focus to a little less than infinity.
   • Enable Long Exposure Noise Reduction setting if available in your camera to reduce the noise in the photo.
   • Capture only few bursts of fireworks. Too many bursts will make the photo over exposed and cluttered.
   • Add some buildings, landmarks or people in the shot. If you are capturing people (subjects) in front of fireworks, use flash and focus on the subjects. If possible, try to include water bodies like lake, sea or river in the shot to capture the reflections of the fireworks.
   • Shoot in landscape orientation for capturing a wide area of multiple fireworks along with some background like buildings. Shoot in portait orientation if you want to shoot only the firework burst.
   • Capture shots of the fireworks when they are just started. This way the sky won't be filled with too much smoke which causes the photo to be hazy
   • Choose a proper location with wind blowing from the spot towards the fireworks, so that the smoke wont create a hazy photo.

Portrait, Bulb Mode, No Smoke

| Shutter Speed: 9s | f-stop: f/20 | ISO: 100 | Focal Length: 18mm | Flash: Not Fired |

Landscape, Bulb Mode (but Cluttered & Smokey)

| Shutter Speed: 3s | f-stop: f/16 | ISO: 100 | Focal Length: 18mm | Flash: Not Fired |

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Photography Techniques - Waterfall Silky Water Effect

1. Waterfall/Fountain/Stream Silky Water Effect:
   • To create a silky effect on flowing water (in a waterfall, fountain or a river/stream), the shutter speed must be slow to capture the movement of water and blur it. You can use Manual mode or Shutter Priority mode to set the shutter speed and adjust other settings for a proper exposure.
   • Different shutter speeds create a different effect in the photo. Slower shutter speed may cause the water to blur more and vice versa. Experiment with the speed as per your creativity. You can use a shutter speed of 0.3s (rougher water) upto 30s (smoother water) for this effect.
   • Using a slow shutter speed means that a tripod is necessary for steadying the camera.
   • Also, a slower shutter speed means more light entering the lens which may cause the photo to be over exposed. To decrease the amount of light, use a low ISO (like ISO 100) and a smaller aperture i.e. high f/number (like f/8 upto the highest number like f/32). Alternatively, instead of Shutter Priority mode, you can use Aperture Priority mode to set the highest f/number and let the camera decide the shutter speed.
   • Using a smaller aperture, the depth of field will be larger and hence the full waterfall will be in focus.
   • A Neutral Density filter can be used to limit the amount of light entering the lens so that the image is correctly exposed at slower shutter speeds.
   • A Circular Polarizer filter can be used to remove the reflections on water and make it crystal clear with deeper color tones. This filter also limits the light entering the lens enabling a slower shutter speed with correct exposure.
   • Shooting under cloudy sky is better than bright sunny sky, since the photo won't be over exposed easily. Also dawn or dusk is better than noon for taking this type of photo.

Example of Silky Water Effect - Smooth

| Shutter Speed: 4s | f-stop: f/11 | ISO: 100 | Focal Length: 20mm | Flash: Not Fired |

Example of Silky Water Effect - Smooth

| Shutter Speed: 1/6s | f-stop: f/3.5 | ISO: 400 | Focal Length: 18mm | Flash: Not Fired |

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