Filming fireworks can be one of the more difficult events to record with your GoPro. The darkness and remaining smoke will both be working against you. With the right settings and a few accessories you’ll have a much better chance of getting usable footage while enjoying the show.
Since you’ll be recording at night and from a distance adding light isn’t an option. Instead you’ll want to adjust some settings within the camera. The resolution we like best is 1080, shooting at 30 frames per second. This will slow down the shutter speed a little and allow as much light as we can get to enter the lens which helps reduce blur. Depending on your location in proximity to where the fireworks are being detonated you’ll probably want to use the Wide angle setting to make sure you capture everything.
Next you’ll go a little deeper into the settings and change the White Balance to 3000K. Different fireworks are going to emit different hues and intensities of light, setting the white balance to a specific kelvin (K) instead of Auto will help reduce noticeable light changes in the footage. While on the topic of color, we recommend using Protune. Protune will help capture more detail in the bright highlights of exploding fireworks. Finally, limit the ISO to 400. Typically you would increase the ISO in dark settings but we don’t want the increased grain when the firework exploded and fills the sky with light. The smoke will also look more grainy with a higher ISO so it’s best to set it low.
On to accessories, really the only thing we consider a must have is a way to mount your camera in a fixed position. You can do this with any tripod, a suction mount, or just placing the camera someplace safe and sturdy. It all depends on your location but steadying the camera goes a long way in reducing blur.
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