The best way to photograph fireworks with your iPhone
The best part about the Fourth of July is the fireworks, but the worst part is all of the mediocre pictures of fireworks that end up flooding your Instagram feed.
If you scroll back far enough back in your pictures, you can probably find a subpar fireworks picture you took from last year.
Nothing ruins a spectacular moment like an unspectacular photograph.
Never again!
This year, you can shock your Instagram followers by taking an amazing picture like this one:
Here are four simple tips, courtesy of OSX Daily.
1. You'll definitely want to enable HDR.
The HDR function on your iPhone allows your camera to take multiple photos at different exposures, then combine them into one image. Using different exposures will "capture light-trails and other details that a single image may not capture," according to OSXDaily.
To turn on the HDR, click on the HDR button on the top of your screen and make sure than "On" is yellow.
(Since fireworks were not at our disposal, we took some pictures of our mouse pad.)
2. Once you've found the right exposure, use the exposure lock
Most people don't even know that they can do this on their iPhone. Exposure is the lightness of darkness of your photograph, and it's very tricky to master. After you've taken a great picture of the fireworks, locking your exposure will ensure that all of your subsequent shots are equally amazing.
To lock your exposure, click on the section of the image that you want to focus on. Once a yellow box appears, hold down your finger until you see this yellow "AE/AF Lock" sign.
3. Make sure your iPhone has enough free memory to take lots of photographs.
Behind every amazing photograph is a few dozens mediocre ones. The secret to getting the perfect shot is to take as many photos as possible, and picking the best later on. But be sure there is enough free space in your phone, the last thing you want to see during the Grand Finale is this warning.
4. Try Burst Mode during the Grand Finale.
If you hold the camera button down for multiple seconds, your iPhone will take multiple photos in rapid succession. On an iPhone 6, burst mode can take 10 photos per second, according to Apple. At that rate, there is no way you'll miss the perfect moment.
Happy Fourth of July!