There are 2 times a year when you can expect an incredible fireworks show in Miami. One is on the Fourth of July and the other one is the last day of the year. I have created this post so you know exactly where to go when looking for the best Miami fireworks photography spots.
Keep in mind this is for photography, if you want to go watch them, there are a lot of places you can go, but to photograph them this is the best possible spot from a photographers perspective.
Best Miami Fireworks Photography Spots
This is the best possible spot to photograph the fireworks. From here you get an entire view of the Miami Skyline and it looks absolutely incredible. I shot the photo you see below the last new years. It is was amazing because they usually have fireworks on the side. This time however they had them right in front of the buildings, making it extra special.
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THE GEAR
The gear I used for all my photos: Nikon D850 with Nikon 24-85mm. A MeFOTO tripod. I highly recommend using a 24-70mm or anything in that range. I edit all my images with my Lightroom Presets download them and give them a try.
Get there early as it will get packed. Make sure you get there by 8 PM at the latest. This will allow enough time to find a spot you like and set up. Tons of people will show up so if you get there earlier even better.
There is paid parking at the Miami Children’s Museum. Park there and walk over to the bridge and walk up the bridge. Bring something to drink and a snack as you will be there for a few hours.
Do you want to know how to take pictures of fireworks? With 4 July just around the corner I have put together some tips and tricks that will help you get that perfect shot this holiday weekend.
Fireworks can be lots of fun to photograph, but you have to know what you are doing and you have to be ready for the action.
1. Scout your location. Get to the place you are shooting early and make sure you walk around and look at all the angles. It’s always best to do this when there is no body around even a day before.
2. Use a tripod. When you figure out where you are shooting from set up your tripod. Make sure nobody will be in front of it and make sure you have plenty of room around you, this way no one will trip over it or bump into it.
3. Use a shutter release cable or the built-in timer in your camera. This is very important as it will prevent you from having blurry or out of focus photos.
4. Frame your shot. This is very important, you do not only want to shoot the fireworks but you want to tell a visual story. Make sure you include a landmark in your photos and make sure you are able to get all the fire works within your frame. You can test out a few different frames but make sure you are quick as the fireworks display can be over before you know it. Shoot wide.
5. Focus. This is a tricky one but it does not have to be complicated. What I always do is I focus on my land mark and make sure that there will be enough room in the frame to get the fireworks within my photo. This will guarantee that your land mark is in focus and that your fireworks come out crisp and fill the rest of your frame.
6. DO NOT USE FLASH. Make sure you turn off your flash, you want to create a nice long exposure effect and having your flash on will trick your camera into thinking it needs a short exposure. NO FLASH.
7. Shoot in Manual mode. Make sure you are in manual mode this way you have complete control of your camera. This will guarantee you get the exact results you are looking for.
8. ISO. Shoot at a low ISO try to keep it at 100. The fireworks put out so much light that this should not be a problem. This will assure you have a nice non-grainy photo.
9. Aperture. This is personal preference like with anything else, but if you are shooting a landmark and want everything in focus make sure you are at F9 and up (I always shoot at F11). This way you will have a nice sharp image and everything will be in focus.
10. Shutter speed. This is the most important setting. Creating a long exposure will assure you get the nice light tracers form the fireworks creating a dramatic and compelling photograph. You can experiment from 1 second to 30 seconds. A very safe number is about 8-15 seconds. If you put your camera on bulb mode you can use your remote trigger to experiment allowing you to get that perfect exposure.
Most important of them all is to experiment and have fun out there. Happy shooting!!!
