Diwali 2016: Here are things to keep in mind while shooting photos this Diwali

The festival of lights is approaching. Apart from shopping, gifting and meeting friends and family, Diwali is a great time to click interesting pictures. Diyas, LED lights, firecrackers and similar elements can be used to produce some fantastic looking shots. If you are looking forward for a picturesque Diwali, then here are a few tips that could come in handy. Use a tripod Since the essence of Diwali, be it crackers or the variety of lights, candles or diyas, is best viewed during the evening or night time, it is wise to keep a tripod handy. It will help in reducing shakes and get some amazing firecracker shots. Of course a flash can also be used, but you will end up making the pictures flat which looks a bit unnatural.  Setup your camera on a tripod and experiment with shutter speeds. A 1/60 to 1/20 second should be good for shooting portraits and people (considering they are not in motion). You can also create some light trails by further slowing down the shutter speed. Shooting firecrackers If you are keen on shooting firecrackers, especially sky-shots, then all you need is a camera with a slow shutter speed (in tens of second), a tripod and patience. Capturing them with a smartphone won’t be as good as shooting with a DSLR or a point and shoot, but hey you can always give it a shot.  A good zoom lens equipped camera would be great. However, If you have a wide lens, you can still capture good shots, for instance you can add the skyline making it a landscape shot. A long exposure (say 5-10 seconds) can capture trails of skyshots. Go to your terrace or if possible a high-rise building for best results. Timing and patience matter. You can’t always predict the timing, but if you wait long enough, you won’t miss it. Additionally you can use ND filters and polarizers so that you can cut the extra light, although they aren’t a necessity. If you have a remote shutter release, that can also come in very handy. If you have a super-wide lens, or even a 360-degree camera, then you can get the whole sky filled with skyshots, it can get tricky though.  Personally, I love shooting silhouettes. So I make use of crackers, especially flower pots, as a back light. It gives for an interesting visual.   Make use of depth of field Playing with depth of field can be fun especially during Diwali. Of course you need a lens with a big aperture opening. If you happen to have anything below f/2.8 then that’s perfect. You can create bokehs by using LED lights or even candles as a background. Make sure you focus on the subject and be careful of your distance as it is a factor to increase or decrease the amount of DoF. Time and place  These two are important and apply to any festival or an event. Timing is essential, don’t wait till night to start shooting. You should start once the sun starts to set. A lot of people start firing up the good ones earlier on. When taking pictures with people, try to capture action, like someone with a sparkle stick or someone rushing after lighting up a flower pot. You also need to move around. You cant just sit on a terrace and get good pictures. Go around your neighbourhood, go around the streets and capture the essence of Diwali. Sweets, decorations, lit up houses and streets, people shopping, etc. Final tips Don’t hesitate to experiment, if you don’t get a good shot, like shakes or dark images, try fiddling with the exposure settings. I personally don’t recommend a flash, but if you can use it smartly like bounce it off a white wall, then you can get well lit natural looking pictures. Each camera has its limitations, if you can’t get good results using a smartphone, it means that it isn’t meant for this. If you don’t have an expensive camera, please don’t invest a lot of money in a new one until and unless you really want to go ahead with photography or well, have a lot of money. Lastly, stay safe and alert. Don’t risk yourself to get that professional looking, out of this world picture. It will not be worth more than your health and life. Enjoy yourself and have a great festive season.