A Shot in the Dark

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays to scrapbook. All those fun red, white, and blue stickers, and stars and stripes papers make me feel patriotic. I also love dressing my kids up in red, white, and blue so they look festive and match the scrapbook pages.

Have you ever considered trying to capture pictures of the fireworks for your scrapbook? They make awesome pictures, but can sometimes be hard to photograph.

One of the most important things to remember is to choose a good location. Make sure you have a clear view of the fireworks. And also make sure you know which way the wind is blowing, as this will determine which direction the smoke will move. You want to shoot upwind so it goes camera, fireworks, smoke. Otherwise, your pictures will be hazy.

A tripod is helpful to eliminate the pictures being blurry from shaky hands. A camera with a remote button is helpful, but not absolutely necessary. As soon as you 'hear' the explosion, press the button to take a picture. If you wait until you can 'see' the firework, all you'll get is the smoke.

One of the most difficult parts of photographing fireworks is deciding where to aim your camera. The challenge you’ll face in doing this is that you generally need to aim your camera before the firework that you’ll be photographing goes off--anticipation is key.

Some people think you need a fast lens to capture fireworks because you are shooting in the dark, but the opposite is true. The light the fireworks emit is actually quite bright and any good digital camera should do. You will not need to use a flash.

If you are using a digital camera, periodically check your results and make adjustments as needed.

I hope you have a FUN and SAFE holiday and create lasting memories you'll be excited to scrapbook.

Below are some 4th of July Scrapbooking Quotes you can use to embellish your pages:

"Freedom is never given, it is won." --Author Unknown

"Where liberty is, there is my country." --Benjamin Franklin

"Life without liberty is like a body without spirit." --Kahlil Gibran

"Sparkling glitter way up high, fireworks light up the sky!" --Author Unknown

"Freedom isn't free." --Author Unknown

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