Compliments of USA Today
USA Today’s Jefferson Graham offers advice for photo lovers. With the Fourth of July around the corner, you’ll probably watch some fireworks. And, if you’re like most folks, you will want to take photos of the show in the skies — with your smartphone.
Like most people, you’ll probably be disappointed with what you get. Shooting fireworks is tough — they’re hard to capture on any camera, especially a smartphone cam.
But have no fear; we have many tips and tricks that should pay off with greater shots.
The basics: Hold the camera steady or mount it to a tripod because you’re shooting in low light and need all the steady help you can get.
If you don’t want to lug a tripod to the event, invest in a small gorilla pod that can clamp to a pole. Or use a selfie stick and hold it really tight.
Of course, You won’t get a closeup, but that’s OK. A big, wide shot of the night sky should look awesome.
You want to shoot at a slow shutter speed to capture the fireworks show, but since your camera is automatic, that can be hard to arrange. Many Galaxy phones have a “low light” mode and even a “fireworks” mode. Try them.
With the iPhone, you’ll need to download a special app, Slow Shutter, which overrides auto and brings in a slower shutter speed. Another cool app is Litely, which lets you manually adjust the exposure.
Now let’s look at some features in most smartphone cams that will help.
Burst mode: Later iPhones and many Androids have this feature, which lets you take many photos in a short time. This ensures a way to capture fireworks. Download the Burst Mode Camera app from the Google Play store if your Android phone doesn’t have Burst mode.
Time-lapse: If you’d like to be the coolest person on your block, try shooting the fireworks in time-lapse mode and watch the world fly by at super-high speeds. You can’t do it without a tripod, though. Mount the camera, click the time-lapse button, and let it roll the entire time. The result is a video showing an accelerated sequence of the photos over time; it’ll look pretty cool.
Panoramas: Many smartphones offer the ability to get a big, wide-screen take on the night skies by tapping the arrow on the right-hand side in the camera app and moving from right to left.
Video: Finally, if all else fails… Capturing the fireworks as they burst can be tough for a still photo, but it’s a snap for video. Just let the camera roll once the fireworks start shooting off.