I’ve written about photographing fireworks before. More than once, actually.

For years, this has been one of those posts I pull back out around the Fourth of July, make a few changes to, and publish again. The basic technique hasn’t changed much. A tripod, low ISO, a small aperture and some practice with long exposures will still get you a long way.

But after photographing the fireworks at the reopening of Twinsburg High School’s renovated Tiger Stadium, I started thinking that the old post needed more than another update.

It needed a rewrite.

The fireworks that night reminded me why I enjoy photographing them in the first place. It isn’t simply about getting a technically correct photograph of an explosion in the sky. The photographs I like best show where the fireworks happened and what it felt like to be there.

That is really the same thing I’m trying to do when I photograph sports.

The Night That Made Me Revisit This

On August 21, 2026, Twinsburg High School reopened the renovated Tiger Stadium with a community celebration, football and fireworks.

I was there photographing the entire evening.

There were fireworks during the game and another display after it ended. With the new stadium, the lights, the crowd and everything else happening that night, I wasn’t interested in photographing fireworks against an empty black sky.

I wanted Tiger Stadium in the photographs.

You can see the photographs and read more about that night in my post, Twinsburg High School Celebrates the Reopening of Tiger Stadium.

Photographing that display brought me back to something I learned years ago shooting fireworks at Walt Disney World: the background matters almost as much as the fireworks.

A great burst is nice. A great burst over a recognizable place is a photograph with a story.

Give the Fireworks a Sense of Place

Some of my favorite fireworks photographs have been made at Walt Disney World.

Disney makes this relatively easy because the fireworks are designed around recognizable landmarks. Put Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth or another familiar part of the parks underneath the fireworks and there is no question where the photograph was taken.

But the same idea works anywhere.

The Gear Is Pretty Simple

You really don’t need much.

For the way I photograph fireworks, there are three things I consider important:

• A camera that allows full manual control
• A sturdy tripod
• A remote or cable shutter release

The tripod is the big one.

We’re going to be making exposures several seconds long, so trying to handhold the camera simply isn’t practical. Even a small amount of movement will show up in the photograph.

I also prefer a remote release because I can operate the shutter without touching the camera.

Once everything is set up, I don’t want to move the camera unless I have a reason to change the composition.

My Starting Camera Settings

I generally start here:

• Exposure Mode: Bulb
• ISO: 100
• Aperture: f/11

Those aren’t magic numbers. They’re just a reliable starting point.

The important part is Bulb mode.

Instead of deciding beforehand that I want a four-second or eight-second exposure, Bulb lets me open the shutter when I see a firework launch and close it when I think I’ve captured enough.

That gives me much more control over what ends up in the frame.

Timing Is More Important Than the Settings

This is the part that takes some practice.

When I see a firework launch, I open the shutter.

The camera records the trail climbing through the frame. The shell bursts, the light expands, and I watch what is happening rather than watching a timer.

When the trails begin to fade—or when I think the frame has enough in it—I close the shutter.

A lot of my exposures end up somewhere around 6 to 10 seconds, but I don’t consider that a rule.

Sometimes a shorter exposure works better. Sometimes I’ll leave the shutter open longer.

The pace of the show matters too. Near the finale, several fireworks may be exploding at once. Leave the shutter open too long and what looked spectacular in person can turn into a bright, cluttered mess in the photograph.

More isn’t always better.

Don’t Chase Every Firework

This may be the biggest lesson I’ve learned.

Once I have a composition I like, I try not to constantly move the camera around.

Fireworks are unpredictable enough without trying to reframe every launch.

I’ll establish the scene, lock the camera down and let the fireworks happen inside that composition.

Some frames won’t work.

That’s fine.

One burst may be too far left. Another may disappear behind something. Some exposures will have too much going on and others won’t have enough.

Then one lands exactly where you hoped it would.

That’s the photograph you’re waiting for.

Watch the Highlights

Fireworks are extremely bright.

That sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget when you’re standing in the dark.

If the center of every burst is turning into a featureless white blob, I’ll adjust the exposure—usually by stopping the aperture down. I’d rather protect the color and detail in the fireworks than brighten everything else in the scene.

This is also why I generally stay at ISO 100.

The fireworks are providing plenty of light. I don’t need the camera trying to manufacture more.

Focus Before the Show Gets Going

Autofocus can become frustrating very quickly when you’re pointing a camera into a mostly black sky.

I prefer to establish focus before things get busy.

If I’m including a landmark, stadium or other distant object in the composition, I’ll focus on that first. Once I’m confident the important parts of the scene are sharp, I can switch to manual focus so the camera isn’t hunting every time I press the shutter.

Then I can concentrate on timing.

Include Something Besides the Fireworks

If there is one thing I would emphasize more today than when I first wrote this article, it’s this:

Don’t automatically fill the frame with fireworks.

Think about the photograph as a whole.

Where are you?

Why was the fireworks display happening?

What could you include in the frame that answers those questions?

The photographs from Walt Disney World work for me because they aren’t simply photographs of fireworks. They’re photographs of fireworks at Disney.

The photographs from August 21 are different. They’re part of the story of Tiger Stadium reopening in Twinsburg.

That distinction matters to me.

Photograph the Event, Not Just the Explosion

I’ve become much more interested in this idea as I’ve spent more time photographing sports.

The obvious moment isn’t necessarily the whole story.

At a football game, the touchdown matters, but so does the celebration afterward. The players on the sideline matter. The crowd matters. The band, cheerleaders and atmosphere matter.

Fireworks aren’t much different.

The explosion in the sky is the obvious photograph.

Sometimes the better photograph is the explosion over something that matters.

That’s what I was looking for at Tiger Stadium, and it’s what I’ve been doing at Disney for years without necessarily putting it into words.

A Few Things to Remember

If you’re heading out to photograph fireworks, my approach is pretty straightforward:

• Get there early and find your composition before it gets dark.
• Use a tripod.
• Start around ISO 100 and f/11.
• Use Bulb mode and control the exposure yourself.
• Open the shutter as the firework launches.
• Close it when the trails begin to fade or the frame has enough activity.
• Watch your highlights so the fireworks retain their color.
• Establish focus and then consider switching to manual focus.
• Don’t keep moving the camera after every burst.
• Most importantly, look for something that gives the photograph a sense of place.

Then experiment.

There isn’t one correct exposure for fireworks, and there isn’t one correct composition. Part of the fun is figuring out what works for the particular show you’re standing in front of.

Still One of My Favorite Things to Photograph

I’ve photographed a lot of fireworks over the years, especially at Walt Disney World.

I still enjoy it.

But photographing the display over the newly renovated Tiger Stadium reminded me that what keeps me interested isn’t really the fireworks themselves.

It’s the opportunity to put a familiar place underneath them and make a photograph that couldn’t have been made anywhere else.

Years from now, I don’t think I’ll look at those photographs and simply remember a fireworks show.

I’ll remember the night Twinsburg reopened Tiger Stadium.

And that’s the photograph I want.