Photo Tip: Shooting Fireworks–Know from Whence the Wind Blows
There are a lot of great posts out there that discuss the tips and tricks of shooting fireworks shows, especially around July 4. Most discuss aperture, shutter and ISO settings (I prefer F/11, 4 seconds, ISO 250). These are all great, but one point can be easily overlooked, as I discovered to my dismay this past Independence Day: wind direction.
In an effort to enjoy the day personally (in contrast to obsessing over the perfect shot all day), I chose my shooting location based on convenience: both to its proximity to the party I attended earlier in the evening, and to my desire to not fight traffic and the throngs of people who would be gathered near the launch site itself. I “compensated” for this convenience by making sure that my camera settings were dialed in before arriving, and bringing lenses of various size and focal lengths. There was just one problem…
The hilltop where I chose to shoot from was directly downwind of the fireworks display. And I have to admit: I never realized just how much smoke is generated by your typical, municipally-sponsored, black-powder firework shell. Turns out that it’s quite a bit. The winds that night were just strong enough to gently nudge the smoke in my direction, but not strong enough to keep it from accumulating and blocking the view.
Looking back on the evening, there are a few things that I should have considered when choosing my shooting location in order to counteract the effects of the wind:
- Choose a location that is close to the launch site. The farther away one is from their target, the farther they have to move in order to “play the angles.” Had I been relatively close to the launch site, I could have moved a few hundred yards to either side to avoid the smoke.
- Choose a location that is lower than the exploding shells. As you can see from the picture, I was about level with the point where most of the shells exploded. Under most circumstances, smoke will either rise or stay even with the level of the explosion, so getting under it (such as where the palm trees are in the photo) will put you in a position where the smoke will stay out of the way.
- Arrive early and keep an eye on the weather. Winds can pick up or change direction at sunset, especially near the coast. Give yourself enough time to get to another location if conditions become unfavorable.
- Be flexible. Sometimes even the best laid plans can go south quickly. Look for other photo opportunities. Is another fireworks display viewable from your location? Try turning around and shooting people’s reactions to the show instead of the show itself. And my most controversial advise: if you have friends or family nearby, PUT DOWN THE CAMERA and enjoy the moment with them. After all, as we Cubs fans like to say, there’s always next year.
