How to take the pictures of the fireworks without a tripod

Each of us knows that we have to shoot the fireworks with a tripod, at low ISO, and the aperture should be closed. However, what must we do if we don`t have a tripod?

For example, it can be such a situation: you were invited to shoot an event, but anybody didn`t say that in the end there will be fireworks.

So, you should remember the main rule of the photographer: you have to think about shooting, but not about methods.

Therefore, we mustn`t forget that there will be quite a slow shutter speed and the light will be absent. You need to avoid blurring, that is why camera shouldn`t be shaken.

We need a compromise here.

  • We should try to open the aperture as much as possible. We must remember that we don`t have the light. If the shooting was on the tripod, it would be possible to clamp to F8.0.
  • We have to turn off the auto ISO and select it from 800 to 2000. The noise can be suppressed in the graphics program.
  • Shooting in the manual mode will help to control the shutter speed and the aperture.
  • We must shoot in RAW in order to have an ability to stretch the picture.
  • It will be better to turn off the auto focus, because the camera won`t be able to focus quickly and the shutter-release button will be locked.
  • Then we should set the lens focus to infinity, because the subject of shooting is far away.
  • The next step is turning on the burst mode. You will have only one good photo of the dozen of them.
  • If there is an image stabilization mode, you mustn`t forget to turn it on.
  • You need to accept a stable posture and hold the camera – the shutter speed will be from 1/20 to 1/100.

By the way, you can just practice shooting fireworks without a tripod. This will be a good exercise for the beginning photographers: it will allow you to understand the camera's settings, to work without an autofocus, to understand the influence of the shutter speed and the aperture and so on.

When you edit the pictures, you need to suppress the noise and add the light fill. This will help you to draw the path of the smoke. We wish you to take successful pictures!