Sed cumque velit ut

Cameron Williamson

The following is our ultimate guide to capturing fireworks with a GoPro.

Step 1: Use a stable mount.

We recommend grabbing the 3-Way 2.0 mount. It comes with a built-in tripod that's paired with a ball joint that swivels a full 360° to change your camera angle without having to reposition the mount.Shorty, Flexible Grip Mount and the Magnetic Swivel Clip are more great, stable options. Shorty features a built-in tripod similar to the 3-Way 2.0. Whereas the Flexible Grip Mount and Clip allow you to get creative with using your surroundings to come up with unique mounting angles and locations.

Step 2: Dial in the proper camera settings.

For capturing photos:

Mode: Night Lapse Photo Mode

Shutter: 2, 5 or 10 seconds.
Shutter speed will depend on how large the fireworks are. In general, the sweet spot is a 5-second exposure, and a longer shutter speed will work nicely for larger fireworks. Mix it up for different looks!

interval: Auto

White Balance: 3200 - 4000K

ISO Min: 100

ISO Max: 800
ISO Min and Max also depends on the size of the fireworks. 100 will result in a cleaner and crisper photo but darker, while 800 will be noisier but much lighter. 

Sharpness: Low

Color: GoPro

For capturing videos:

Mode: Night Lapse Video Mode

Resolution: 4K 4:3

Shutter: 2, 5 or 10 seconds.

Interval: Auto

White Balance: 3200 - 4000K

ISO Min: 100

ISO Max: 800

Sharpness: Low

Color: GoPro

For capturing video using Night Effects

Newer GoPro cameras also have modes called Night Effects that offer an easy preset options for capturing pro-quality Vehicle Light Trails, Star Trails and Light Paintings. Vehicle Light Trails is the best option to quickly dial in low-light settings for capturing videos fireworks using the following settings:

Shutter: .5 seconds

Trail Length: Short

ISO Min: 100

ISO Max: 1600

The following video was captured by GoPro employee Shreenivasan Manievannan using Vehicle Light Trails.

Step 3: Enjoy the show.

Double-check the action is framed up properly by connecting your GoPro to the Quik app to use your mobile device to preview what’s in the frame. You can also use the app to edit footage, pull frame grabs and even share content direct to your social channel. All that's left to do after that is sit back and let the GoPro do the work while you enjoy.

Hopefully this guide has provided some helpful tricks for taking the best photos and videos of fireworks in all their glory. And if you really like what you capture, send us your fireworks footie for a chance to be featured on GoPro social channels through the holiday weekend. Submit at on GoPro.com/Awards or via the GoPro Quik app.

For more night photography tips and tricks, check out this GoPro Tips tutorial on night photography with GoPro engineer and night-photographer extraordinaire Shreenivasan Manievannan.