ABOVE: Used on the cover of the October-December 2017 issue of EOS magazine, this firework image by Peter Riordan uses a focus pull technique and is very striking.
“I first saw this effect on the Facebook page of a Japanese photographer who I follow. You can start with the camera either in focus or out of focus. Then during the exposure you manually return to focus or out of focus.” EOS 70D, EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens at 35mm, 2 seconds at f8, ISO 100.
Camera settings to use
The aperture and ISO will have only a limited effect upon the image so select a medium aperture (around f8) and low ISO (around 200); the most important setting is the correct shutter speed.
So a good starting point is 5 seconds at f8, ISO 200. Shoot, then check the results. Don't expect the indicator on the manual exposure display to be in the centre – good firework images tend to be underexposed by at least a stop.
Start with your white balance on AWB. If you're in a built up area, you may get a strange orange colour cast in the sky. If your camera has the alternative AWB-W (White priority) setting, use that, or alternatively set the white balance to Tungsten.
• Fireworks over a landscape
This is a very similar picture to the first technique, but the framing needs to include the foreground subject.
Again the shutter speeds work better at the lower speeds of around 3 to 5 seconds. This time the ISO and aperture need to be selected to make the most of the subject so may be much more important.
The foreground subject needs to be strong enough to hold in the image, as it will be competing with the light display in the sky. You are more likely to achieve success with this type of shot at bigger displays, possibly those in the summer such as the Battle Proms, firework championships and even New Year displays in places like London, Edinburgh and other major cities.
