📸 You look fabulous, dahling: The flash on most cameras and phones makes harsh shadows. Bright idea: Diffuse the light through something like a white plastic shopping bag for a softer look. Just don’t cover the lens!
Smartphone tricks for better fireworks pictures
The Fourth of July is upon us. One of the most incredible experiences is the countless fireworks shows around the country all weekend. But what if you want to capture those moments? Tap or click here for seven photography myths you should stop believing.
Fireworks aren’t the easiest thing to photograph, especially considering the conditions. Firework displays occur at night, which means decreased lighting (which isn’t ideal for photographs). Fireworks are also constantly moving and reappearing, which can cause issues.
If you want to take great photos of the next firework celebration, let us walk you through the best settings and situations, whether you are an iPhone or an Android user.
Finding the right location
Preplanning when and where to take your photos is the best first step. It ensures you get optimal shots. Look for a well-lit area, preferably one with street lamps.
You’ll also want your photo free of obstructions, like wires and telephone poles. Suppose you are viewing the fireworks in a crowded location. In that case, you’ll want to separate yourself from the crowd to avoid getting bumped into while photographing and prevent strangers from popping up in your photos later.
Finding the right settings
Cell phones today have impressive cameras that allow just about anyone to take professional-looking photos. However, like a professional camera, the best images come from taking your device out of automatic mode.
Turning your phone into manual mode controls essential features that will affect your final product, like your aperture and ISO. Can’t find the manual mode for your smartphone? You can download a third-party app to give you access. In general, here are the settings you will want once you place your phone into manual mode:
- Adjust your ISO, there’s a very long explanation of why this matters, but the main idea is that you’ll want to lower your ISO when taking pictures in low-light settings. You’ll want to adjust this and take several test shots to find the right balance.
- Because fireworks are essentially giant balls of light, your flash is the last thing you need. Turn it off.
- How wide your aperture determines how much light gets in. Aim for an aperture of f11 to f16
- Shutter speed matters. The longer it stays open, the better your shot will be. So instead of choosing a shutter speed, change it to Bulb mode. Bulb mode allows you to keep your shutter open as long as you want.
These settings are just a starting point and will vary from situation to situation and phone to phone. You’ll want to adjust them slowly and take several test shots along the way.
Ultimately, purchasing an inexpensive tripod will fetch you the best results.
If you're prompted to update Flash Player, ignore it!
Millions have used the popular Flash software from Adobe over decades. But the technology was eventually killed off in 2020. One reason it went away is it posed many security risks. Microsoft even released a patch that forcefully removes it.
Blast from the past: Play thousands of archived computer games
In the early days of the web, Flash was king. You couldn’t go past a popular website without seeing troves of Flash videos, cartoons and games. Sometimes, even entire websites would be built in Flash — and featured insane custom layouts and animations you couldn’t find anywhere else.