Fireworks photos with Nikon D5100

<p>Hello Guys/Girls</p>

<p>I was wondering what would be the best settings to use when capturing shots of the local fireworks show with my Nikon 5100. I have a tripod i'd be using.</p>

<p>Any help/suggestions would be great.</p>

<p>Thanks,<br>

Juan</p>

<p>Set the Aperture to F16 or what ever the limit is for your lens/camera combination for diffraction to affect sharpness.<br>

Set ISO to the lowest.<br>

Set shutter to bulb.<br>

Now it is play time. Play with the shutter release for longer streaks. I dont like using the standard timers since then you have no control of the photograph. Compose using live view and look outside the camera to stop the shutter and complete the picture. This way you get more control of when to start the exposure and when to end it.<br>

If you want more of the location feel, change the aperture towards F10 / F11 and increase ISO but dont go too high.</p>

<p>DON'T USE THE METER! Start with ISO 100, f/11, shutter speed set somewhere between 2 and 4 seconds (I like about 3 seconds). Adjust shutter speed to suit how streaky you want the bursts. The shutter speed is the critical factor to get the bursts to look how you want them to.</p>

<p>To adjust exposure, change the aperture 1-2 stops either way. Diffraction unsharpness shouldn't be a problem with fireworks since they're blurred anyway. Change ISO only if you have to, but don't hesitate. You shouldn't need to go over ISO 200. Use manual focus with the first couple of bursts and leave it alone after that. Experiment. Shoot a little loose (leave room to crop in post). Play with multiple exposures if you want to, but it's not important like with film - you can always layer in post. Have fun!</p>

<p>My settings are documented in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_sirota/collections/72157625109586110/">my Fireworks collection on Flickr</a>, along with the results. (Click through to see these two samples bigger.)<br>

<a title="20110701-2295 by Mark Sirota, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6041/5892649337_30dfa2ae67_n.jpg" alt="20110701-2295" width="320" height="320" /></a> <a title="20120629-7466 by Mark Sirota, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8168/7473338132_9863632ca9_n.jpg" alt="20120629-7466" width="320" height="256" /></a></p>

<p>My D5100 settings from July 3:<br>

- ISO: 100 (Auto ISO OFF)<br>

- Exposure Mode: M<br>

- Shutter speed: Bulb<br>

- Aperture: Wide open. I was about 2 miles away, using a slow zoom (55-200 VR). If closer I would stop down a bit.<br>

Here's one no one else mentioned. Go into the "Custom Setting" menu and scroll down to f2. Set the AE/AF button mode to "AF-ON". Zoom to desired field of view, then line up on the horizon (if visible) or a bright light far away. Hit the button and the camera will autofocus at infinity. It will retain this setting unless you hit the button again (or change the zoom setting).<br>

My tripod isn't that steady, so I left VR ON.<br>

I used Live View, and watched a couple of bursts to help with framing (once you open the shutter the screen goes blank).<br>

I used an electronic cable release (MC-DC2), opened the shutter when I saw a burst, and held it for various lengths of time. If you are closer you can see the fuse trail when the shell is launched, and open before the burst.</p><div></div>

<p>Shot the one below handheld 70mm, 1/30, f/4, ISO 400. Not as sharp as the others but to me it looks more natural. ISO 800 would allow setting the aperture to around f/7.1 to control diffraction. Of course I was using a cheap $25 old film legacy 70-300mm Sigma zoom. My 18-55mm kit could've done a better job.</p><div></div>