6 tips to help you take stunning photos of fireworks

Fireworks are beautiful displays of light that are enjoyable to see during the warmer months of the year. Wouldn't it be great to take shots of fireworks so that you can look back on these great memories? Here are 6 tips to help you take stunning photos of fireworks.
You want to practice long exposure photography before shooting fireworks, since the settings need to be adjusted for these beautiful displays of light to show correctly in photographs. Keep the below tips in mind when shooting fireworks.
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1. Tripod
Invest in a solid tripod for your fireworks shots. Your tripod needs to be solid enough to stay still for a few seconds as your camera takes these long exposure shots. Also bring along a remote for the camera and extra batteries since these types of shots use up batteries fast.
2. Shutter release cable
Purchase or borrow a shutter release cable. You want to avoid touching your camera during these shots, since a slight camera shake can result in a blurry photo. Put your camera's shutter speed at bulb mode if you can use a shutter cable. If you can't get a shutter release cable, set your camera on a 1 to 2 second delay to avoid blur.
3. Manual mode
Have your camera set on manual mode to get the most out of your fireworks shots. Set your shutter speed at 5 seconds, aperture around 10, and the ISO at 100. You might need to change these settings around based on how your first few shots come out and what type of DSLR you have.
4. Low ISO
This was already mentioned above, but why do you need to set your ISO low? Less noise will be seen the lower the ISO is and you want your shots to come out as clean as possible. Blues and night scenes also pick up noise in photos. Keep your ISO as low as possible while also producing quality shots.
5. Neutral density filter
You want your exposure time to be as long as possible. Even after you have your camera settings changed for long exposure, your shots may not come out the way you want them to. In this case, use a neutral density filter. The filter will lengthen the amount of exposure, which will give you great shots of multiple fireworks.
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6. Shoot early
If you can, take as many shots as possible at the beginning of the fireworks show. You don't want the haze from past fireworks to show up in your photographs if you shoot later, in the middle or end of the show. If you do want to take shots later on, do close ups of the fireworks so that the smoke isn't seen.