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Whether you’ve got the latest iPhone 17 Proan affordable Android phone like Nothing Phone 4A Pro Or an old phone, your phone’s camera can still take some great pictures of 4th of July fireworks. The bright lights and vibrant colors of Independence Day fireworks contrast incredibly against the dark night sky, making your photos look beautifully dramatic with little effort on your part. So, whether you’re going to a public viewing or simply leaving some people in your backyard, don’t forget to take out your phone to capture the moment.
While taking photos at night used to be something you needed a big DSLR for, today’s best camera phones are capable of it Take amazing photos after dark. I was Professional photographer For more than a decade, I’ve taken a ton of fireworks photos in my time — not to mention testing almost every phone on sale today. Here are my top pro tips on how to take fireworks photos that are sure to wow your friends.
Try night mode
Since most fireworks displays happen at night, you’ll likely need to use your phone’s night mode to take a bright photo. While some phones, like the iPhone 17 Pro, have night modes that automatically turn on when they detect it’s dark enough, other phones may have a dedicated mode for taking photos at night. Before heading out to your viewing, make sure you know how to turn on night mode on your phone.
Captured on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, the fireworks aren’t quite as spectacular as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, but this shot shows the importance of having more compositional elements in your scene than just some fireworks alone.
Exposure lock
Night mode is probably the easiest way to get good-looking results with little effort, but it’s not foolproof. Its main problem is that it will try to make the whole scene brighter, and that may not look great – that dark sky has to stay dark for the fireworks to really stand out.
If you find that your Night Mode shots look a bit washed out, try tapping and holding on an area of the photo to lock the exposure, then use the slider to darken the photo until you think it looks good. By locking the exposure in this way, it will stop resetting back to the default after each photo is taken. If your phone has a Pro mode, you’ll likely be able to manually adjust dark point exposure.
Get creative with manual controls
Most phones should be able to take a great-looking photo with little extra effort on your part, but sometimes it pays to get a little creative with your camera settings. One of my favorite tricks for taking fireworks photos is to use a long exposure—perhaps one second—which turns obvious fireworks into streaks of light in the sky. It’s a completely different look, but I really enjoy the abstract impression it gives.
Using a one-second exposure, I was able to blur out the movement of the fireworks to create this abstract result.
Some cameras have pro modes that give you manual control of shutter speed, but there are many camera apps for both iOS and Android that will give you this functionality. My suggestion? Play around with your settings and see what happens to your photos when you press the shutter button — you might be surprised by how much you like the effect.
Keep a steady hand
Keeping your phone steady is crucial if you want a clear image, even when using Night mode. Just holding it firmly can make a big difference. Hold your phone in both hands and keep your elbows bent inward to give you a strong, stable stance. Try to take multiple photos at a time, as this will increase the chances that at least one of them will be nice and sharp.
Although it’s not always convenient, if you can put your phone or camera on a tripod, you’ll appreciate the extra effort you put into transporting that extra gear.
Think about the composition
Although taking a photo of fireworks alone in the sky may look very impressive, you can make your photo even more impressive by thinking about the composition within the shot. Try to include introduction details, such as other people enjoying the show or interesting buildings or food stalls. By including ground features, it gives volumetric context to the overhead fireworks, making them appear larger and larger in comparison.
I loved placing this hugging couple in the bottom half of my frame. It tells not only the story of fireworks, but also the story of the people who enjoy them.
Shoot in raw, and edit later
Although your phone may take a great-looking shot just by tapping the shutter button, I often find that some post-processing in apps like Google Snapped or Adobe Lightroom makes a big difference. On the iPhone 17 Pro, I’ll be shooting with ProRaw, which gives me deeper control over the colors and contrast in my photo later.
I’ll often adjust the white balance to suit the scene, increasing the contrast and perhaps even introducing some sharpness to the image which can really help those bright details in the sky pop more. There’s no right or wrong way to edit an image, so my best advice is to spend some time playing with the sliders in your editing app of choice and see what you can come up with.
