How to photograph fireworks

It's happened — somehow, it's gotten to be summer already. Summer means Fourth of July celebrations, and fireworks offer wonderful opportunities for photography. Despite the somewhat challenging circumstances (nighttime and with bright, moving light), it's actually pretty easy to photograph fireworks as long as you follow some simple guidelines. You'll find that many of these suggestions are a lot like those we discussed in our article on how to photograph lightning, because many of the principles are the same.
Tips for using your camera phone
Before we dive in, know that no matter what equipment you have at hand, you can still snap great fireworks photos. Fireworks have the benefit of generally being very bright, so it is possible to get decent photos even without an expensive camera. Since the sensors on compact cameras and camera phones don't tend to be as large as on the average DSLR, motion blur can be a significant issue. Take extra care to hold your camera as still and steady as possible. If your camera phone can capture video, that might be an even better option, especially for the grand finale! And read on — much of the general shooting advice here will still help you work wonders in your photos.
Fireworks Mode: Easy and automated
Beyond camera phones, many "point-and-shoot" digital cameras offer a special fireworks shooting mode that's definitely worth trying out. To figure out if your camera has this option, hunt around in the settings for a small icon that looks like a burst of fireworks (hopefully it will be labeled). This mode will automate much of the challenge of capturing bright bursts of light at night, ideal if you'd prefer to kick back and let your camera do the legwork.
It should be noted that "night mode" is not the same as "fireworks mode" — the former will use the camera's flash, which isn't helpful for shooting fireworks, so make sure you turn off the flash if you use that setting. If you don't have a fireworks mode and you aren't comfortable delving into the more advanced settings, you might want to try landscape mode; it will set your focus to infinity and give you a nice, wide depth of field.

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