Ever want to take great Fireworks Photos? Well, the Photography School I attended has a great article on their website of how to do just that! And it works great too if you follow their advice!

NYIP Guide to Photographing Fireworks


The following is a composite that I did shooting individual fireworks using the techniques in the article and then cutting and pasting over the pyramid building shot that I also did from the same location on the same night.

For important life events, or important stages in our lives, photography should not be looked at as an expense, but instead as an investment. Senior Portraits, Weddings, milestone birthdays and any number of other important events only happen once in our lives. You never have the chance to get these photographs again. These photos become priceless keepsakes that remind us of those special times. These are good times to hire someone that can handle the task and free us to focus on the event that we want to enjoy in the first place. Unless these events are photographed by a trained and skilled photographer, there are many little things that can make these pictures less than ideal for our needs. There is a saying, “It’s not the camera, it’s the photographer!”. That is so true. The most expensive and sophisticated equipment is only as good as the person using it. And the camera can’t replace the photographer’s eye, skill or experience. A good photographer can make a great picture with almost any camera, but a poor or untrained photographer can ruin a shot with the best equipment. With good equipment, a good photographer can do even more amazing things if they understand how to use their equipment. Most of today’s cameras have a ton of fancy features and automatic settings. Sometimes these features work great, other times they do not. It may take some special settings in the camera to overcome certain problems or to create the desired effect. The camera can’t read the photographer’s mind. Another thing many people fail to consider, is what they want to do with their prints such as size of prints, etc. Some people think that they can easily fix and crop the images on their computer and get what they want. This is not always the case. For example, if an image is going to be blown up to poster size, not any image will do. Many images like fine on the camera’s preview screen or at smaller sizes, but they can look soft or slightly blurry when enlarged beyond a certain point. Also, various sizes have different proportions, so they need to be cropped differently. If the lab does this for you, the print you get back may not be what you want. Also, if you don’t account for this when you take the image, you may not be able to crop to the size you want without loosing important parts of the image. These among other factors need to be considered when taking the picture. Some things can’t be fixed the way we’d like after the fact. Finally, when excessive adjustments must be done to a picture on the computer, it can reduce the quality of the image ultimately affecting the print quality.

Is it worth the risk of trusting important event photography to a friend or relative simply because they have that nice new camera and will do it as a favor or free? If they are trained in photography and can consistently show good work, then maybe it is. If not, some extra consideration may be a good idea. You have to ultimately make this decision and be willing to accept what you get.

In some ways, Wedding Photography has not changed much in decades in that the happy couple wants to remember their very special day. They have certain things that they want to have captured and they will choose their photographer based on a number of factors including price, photography style, photographer’s experience and reputation, etc. There are a few things that have changed dramatically over the past 5 years. For the most part, mainstream photography has gone digital and this is what brought these changes to the Wedding Photography Scene.

Wedding Clients Now Want

• The High Resolution Digital Files to make their own prints and for backup purposes
• Web Sized Images to post on their websites, blogs and send through email
• In many cases, they want faster, better service at lower prices

A new trend I’m seeing is what I call “The Digital Wedding”. The photographer is hired to do the photography and provide the digital image files to the client and let them take care of getting prints made and putting albums together. While this is something many photographers are not happy with, it’s increasingly what the clients want. The balance will be to provide quality images, service and support to the client to enable them to get the best possible prints. If handled properly, I see this as a win-win situation for both the photographer and client.

The weather is getting hot and not always the most comfortable for doing outdoor portraits. However, outdoor location portraits offer a variety and uniqueness that just isn’t found in the studio. With carefully selected locations and times, especially morning hours, it’s possible to do great portrait sessions while maintaining comfort. It’s often best to avoid outdoor portrait sessions during the middle of the day when the sun is often too bright and the temperature is peaking. Uncomfortable subjects and photographers can make for less the desirable portraits.