How to take ultra gram-worthy fireworks pictures
Fourth of July fireworks shows are beautiful, but oftentimes the pictures we snap with our phones just don't do the colorful explosions justice.
Since nobody has time for a bunch of dull, blurry pics, we compiled a bunch of tips and tricks to help you get the perfect 'gram-worthy shots with your phone Tuesday night.
The basics
Best Buy says there are a few very simple things that can really mess up your pics.
Like don't have your flash on. That only helps light up objects/people that are nearby. It will just wash out faraway things like fireworks.
And don't use the zoom. Generally speaking, you're almost always better off cropping a photo later than zooming in before you snap. Zooming in can make the pictures extra grainy - and if you take a grainy picture, there's really nothing you can do about it. (If you're using a real camera-camera and not a phone though, go ahead and zoom all you want.)
Focusing when the background is all black can be pretty difficult for your camera phone. CNET recommends trying to focus on something between you and where the fireworks are – not just on the black sky.
If you want to get fancy, there are apps out there that let you have more control over the focus. You'll want to set the focus to infinity with those.
Play with the settings
Now you're ready to get a little more technical.
You can play with the shutter speed – that determines how much time the camera spends capturing a single photo. Slower shutter speeds let in more light and allow for cool light trailing effects like this.
Best Buy recommends lowering your shutter speed (or f-stop) to between 1.8 and 2.5. You might need to download an app like this or this, though.
Shooting in low light with a lower shutter speed also increases your risk of blurry pics, so you might want to grab a tripod (or remote, if you have that).
And make use of your phone's burst mode – that allows you to capture a whole bunch of pictures in a short period of time, usually by holding down the "take photo" button. That way you can pick the perfect one later.
Get creative
Those are the basics, but there are plenty of other fun things worth trying.
Like you could test out your phone's time-lapse feature, or even go slo-mo.
Best Buy recommends trying some panoramic shots too – vertical or horizontal. Just have fun.
If you haven't decided on a place to watch fireworks, we have a whole list of shows and times here.