It’s that time of year, summer, including the fourth of July and fireworks. I seem it be on a roll so to speak when it comes to iPhone camera tips, so here’s a few more for the upcoming weekend, most of us will have our iPhones in our pockets and might want to capture that amazing moment.
1: Pick A Good Location
Consider your position before it gets dark. If you’re too close, you might not be able to capture the full glory of the massive color burst. Too far away, the fireworks will be little spots of light. Make sure there aren’t any power lines or lamp posts between you and the fireworks. If there’s nearby water, you might be able to take some interesting reflection shots.
2: Turn off the Flash
The iPhone’s flash works only at short distances, so turn it off to avoid annoying people around you. In the Camera app, tap the lighting bolt and then select off.
3: Disable HDR or Enable Keep Normal Photo
You probably want to disable HDR by tapping HDR on the Camera screen. and then tapping Off. HDR or High Dynamic Range, combines three exposures into one photo, which works well when some parts of a scene are dark and others are light. The problem with HDR is that fireworks will move slightly between the exposures, which may cause the photo to blur. That could be an interesting effect in its own right, so if you want to try leaving HDR on, be sure to enable Keep Normal Photo in Settings > Photos & Camera. That way, you can see whether you prefer the normal image or the HDR version.
4: Hold Still or Use a Tripod
To reduce the chance of your fireworks photos coming our blurry, keep the iPhone as still as possible. Try holding it with both hands and pressing your elbows to your sides. Even better, you can set up a tripod (selfie sticks can sometime work as well) to better stabilize your phone. Even a small portable tripod can work wonders. If you’re fortunate enough to get the right parking spot you can place the tripod on the roof of your car.
5: Try the iPhone’s Special Modes
Burst Mode: A great option! (also works well with lightning storms) Press and hold the shutter button to take multiple shots at once.
Live Photos: Fireworks are all about motion, the slow climb, the pause and then the explosion of light and sound. If you enable Live Photos by tapping its bullseye icon in the Camera app (it then turns yellow), tapping the shutter button will take a mini-movie of the action. Tip: when you’re done with the fireworks photos turn off live photos to reduce the amount of space your photos are taking up on your phone.
Slow-Mo Video: This is a really cool way to take these kinds of pictures and even more fun if you plan to share them on social media. Sure a regular video will work just fine, but there’s something extra special about seeing the color explosions slowly unfold.
Time-Lapse Video: Another really fun way to capture the show! You can record the entire event in a time lapse video. Time lapse will compress the entire show into a few short minutes, just flip to Time-Lapse in the Camera app. Tip: you will need a tripod for the time-lapse video to work.
6: Use an App for Longer Exposures
Apple’s build-in Camera app doesn’t let you increase the length of exposures, which can provide striking light trails of fireworks. Lots of independent apps do offer that capability, including LongExpo (free), Shutter (free), Slow Shutter Cam (.99), and Manual ($5.49).
Try out these tips this weekend if you can and Happy 4th of July to all!