There is no more difficult an assignment than shooting fireworks with a digital camera. You may go click, click, click like a mad shutterbug but still you will be unable to capture the best fireworks. This is because the fireworks streak through the night sky one after the other. Even before you have clicked one there’s another that explodes right over your head throwing a brilliant shower of light. And your face falls, because you realize you haven’t got it. To avoid this from happening, you must learn how to take pictures of fireworks.

This involves arriving early, and finding out the direction in which the fireworks will streak through the sky. Next is to take a vantage position that can capture this angle. You should ideally set up your cameras at a slightly elevated place.

This position should be in the corner of the field. Otherwise, there is the danger of crowds tripping over your tripod or jostling for better view in front of your lens. You must also make sure that a streetlight is not shining on your lens or a tree branch curving just above it. Both these can disturb your light settings and focus.

You must ensure that you have a tripod with you. This is essential because you need long exposures to get the best light effect. Also, the tripod must be kept on flat ground, and should not be wobbly. To further eliminate the possibility of shaking the camera you should use a cable release. This will allow you to release the shutter without touching the camera.

A good precaution is to carry a flashlight. Remember, it’s going to be dark, and you will not find sufficient light to set your camera controls. Also, don’t forget spare, stand by batteries. There’s no point in being stranded with a camera without power.

Finally, don’t forget memory cards. Make sure that you have at least half a dozen, if not more. This will help you shoot photographs without worrying about running out of storage space.

Also, be patient. Don’t start shooting from the word go. You must remember that each firework ends up with a great finale. Keep enough memory to capture this. Maybe, you should keep one set of batteries ready only for this. This way you will be able to capture the best fireworks.

This is about getting ready. Now, you have to get the right camera settings. For this, you need to put your camera in the landscape mode. On most digital cameras the landscape mode is designated by an icon that looks like a small mountain range.

Don’t use JPEG to store the images. Instead, go for eps or tiff format. These images take more space but there is no loss of pixels on account of compression.

You must also be careful about exposure. Short exposures will not capture the fireworks properly while long exposures will produce a blurring effect. The best is to open the shutter when the firework explodes in the sky and to close it when the fire shower peaks. This may take anything from one to four seconds depending upon the strength of the fireworks.

One has to learn how to take great pictures, because it is the photographer who takes the photos, not the camera. You may take excellent pictures with an inexpensive digital camera, while someone else might shoot pathetic photographs with a top of the line SLR.

However, with effort everyone can learn to take good pictures. Some of the points that need to be learnt are:

– Try to hold the camera level by aligning it with natural horizontal lines, like the horizon.

– If you aim your camera slightly downwards on the subject’s face, you will give a more complimentary effect. Take a view from one side, to get a three-quarter view of the face, which will give a better picture.

– Avoid putting the subject in the center of the frame. This is a habit most people find hard to break. Remember to move close and put the subject slightly off center.

– Think about the focus of your picture, when you frame the shot. If you are trying to capture the expression on your child’s face, you can leave out the other children, the swing, the dog, etc.

– Turn your flash off if there is sufficient light. A camera flash may make people look pale.

– Use soft ambient light that is available under a tree. The light filtering through a tree can give better results by warming up the skin and throwing a soft light on the features. You will get a similar effect if you shoot indoors near an open window.

– Always be conscious of the background. Many good photos are ruined by the clutter in the frame. Change your position to avoid a messy background.

– Change the white balance from auto to cloudy, for warmer, richer colors. The macro mode can open new possibilities for close-up photography, giving you new perspectives on everyday objects.

– A polarizing filter can improve landscapes by reducing glare and reflections. It can give richer, saturated colors.

– A small tripod can give you a much better shot, by lending stability. Tripods are not meant only for professionals, as some people think. Using a self-timer can put you in a number of pictures, where you are usually not visible.

– You can use the camera with a tripod and a timer, with a slow shutter speed, to capture the effects of moving water, in streams and waterfalls.

– Get a media card with plenty of memory, so you will not run out of space, at a crucial time. Shoot at the highest resolution allowed by your camera, to get the best results and sharper enlargements.