Can I find tips on photographing lightning and fireworks?

Question

ive thought about how random lightning is, and ive already tried fireworks, but... i still think that i need a little bit of direction. any comments appreciated.

Answer 1

Shooting lightning and fireworks can be tricky and both are pretty random. I recently bought a book from Barnes & Noble titled "The Complete Guide to Night & Low Light Photography" by Lee Frost that was very informative. I recommend you practice taking really good fireworks shots before you get into shooting lightning, because of the danger of being struck. If you know what you are doing, you can just snap a quick shot and get safe before you risk getting struck, and try to observe the same rules we've all grown up with concerning lightning. There, now that I've given you the safety lesson, I can share with you a tip on fireworks. First you need a tripod, a remote shutter release and set camera to manual. Then set a high ISO, 1000 or faster, set your aperture to f/16 or f/11 depending on how close you are, the closer you are the smaller the aperture. Next is mastering how long to leave the shutter open. You can either set the shutter speed to bulb to capture explosions as you see them by simply holding your remote shutter release for as long as is needed, or choose 30 seconds to capture multiple explosions. So, you've got less than 2 months until the 4th of July, plenty of time to learn more.

Answer 2

You need a tripod. A remote release would also be handy. Put camera on tripod. Use the 18-55mm at the 18mm end and direct it at where the majority of fireworks are going to be going off. Get some foreground interest or buildings if you can. Have the ISO at 100 or 200. Put the camera in manual mode (M) and set the lens to focus manually too - focus it on infinity. Set the aperture to f8 or so. Set the shutter speed to bulb (if you have a remote) or for about 8 secs if you don't. Press the shutter button when the fireworks are 'launched'. If you've set the shutter speed it will expose for that time, if you're in bulb (using a remote) just keep the shutter open while you get a few sky bursts. Check the results on the LCD and adjust exposure time if necessary.

Answer 3

Try www.nyip.com. Look in the archives for a pretty good fireworks primer for any type of camera.

For lightning, try various storm chasers websites. Google and you'll run across a few.

Be careful!

Answer 4

first of all, a tripod will be your best friend!
use a long shutter speed if you want to to get the entire "burst" of a firework, or to get several different fireworks.
BUT, if you use a long shutter speed, try to stay away from any street lights or other light that may get in the way. and if it's not super dark out, a long shutter speed may make your sky look too light.