Big Bang

Simple steps to great fireworks photos

Who doesn't love fireworks? But, as with most spectacular subjects, pictures of them often pale next to the real thing. One reason for failure, especially if you're trying to capture them in a scenic location: Exposure problems. To freeze the bright pyrotechnic display, you need a faster shutter speed than you do to capture the ambiance, leaving you to choose between overexposed explosions or a nonexistent background.

A little compositing in Adobe Photoshop, and your pictures will be truer to the moment. When you're shooting, just make sure to take one exposure that makes the background look good; the rest of the time, set your camera to manual and concentrate on the fireworks display.

Click here for tutorial steps.

More of Debbie Grossman's Photoshop tutorials can be found in the Digital Toolbox archive.