First Birthday Setup

A little behind-the-scenes getting ready for a first birthday photo shoot.

Waterfall

I saw this waterfall decoration and I couldn't resist the opportunity to get some more long-exposure shots. I waited until the sun was almost completely down and set my aperture as narrow as I could. Here are the settings I used to make these images:

Camera Mode: Manual          Exposure: 2.5sec          Aperture: f/32          ISO: 100

If you would like to get these kinds of shots yourself, but don't want to mess with Manual mode, try setting your camera to the Shutter Priority mode. Then, you can just set your exposure time and not have to worry about the rest!

Shooting Fireworks

Shooting fireworks can be a bit tricky. There isn't enough time for the auto-focus to do its job. You're never quite sure exactly where you need to point your camera. And, it's nearly impossible to snap the picture at the exact right moment.

Here is my solution to capturing Independence Day fireworks. First, I set my camera to the Bulb setting. Sometimes this is found on the mode dial, on other cameras it will be the exposure setting after 30 sec. Next, I set my aperture to a mid-range setting, in this case f/8. I set the lens to manual focus and set the focus itself to Infinity.

Then, I attached the camera to a tripod and pointed to where the fireworks would be going off. Here, you might have to make some adjustments once the show actually starts.

I use a shutter release remote to capture the images. I press the button when the firework is shot off and release it once the explosion occurs. Sometimes I will keep the button pushed down in order to capture more than one going off in the same image. You have to be a little careful with this, though, because if you hold it down too long then the fireworks will start to look thin and stringy.

As always, just experiment and have fun!

Slow-motion Video using Photoshop

Moon Shot