The 4th of July is just a few days away so it’s time to think about the best ways to shoot pictures of fireworks.

The trick to shooting fireworks lies in a long exposure and a steady camera. If your camera is set to a short shutter speed or wiggles at all during the shot, the long fireworks trails won’t show up and the shot can appear underexposed and out of focus. Here are some tips to think about for capturing the electric night sky.

1) USE A TRIPOD. This is one of the most important things you can do to shoot great fireworks shots. The camera needs to be rock steady during the shot or it will blur blur blur. If you don’t have a tripod, then I recommend finding a steady place to set the camera like the ground or the hood of your car. To keep the camera from slipping and to give you the proper angle to shoot the sky, place the camera on a bag of dried beans or coffee beans. A gallon-sized Ziplock bag filled with sand or damp dirt works great too. Use as little pressure as possible on the camera when you press the button. If you have a remote control for your shutter, even better.

2) CHOOSE A LONG EXPOSURE.

• For SLR camera users, set your camera to Shutter Priority and select a shutter speed of 1-4 seconds. Try different shutter speeds as you shoot to see which looks the best for your fireworks display. By setting the camera to Shutter Priority, the camera will choose the best f/stop for your selected shutter speed.

• For point and shoot users, some newer cameras actually have a fireworks setting. This setting can be found under the “Scene” menu. But if your camera doesn’t have this great feature, try setting your camera to “Night Portrait.” This is usually an icon of a person’s face with a star next to it. Explore your camera’s menus, buttons and knobs to see what you’ve got. I don’t recommend the “Night Action” setting because that will select a fast shutter in conjunction with a bright flash.

3) USE A SMALL ISO. Choose a film speed of 50 or 100 ISO. Faster speed settings can cause your shots to be grainy. Your camera’s main menu has this setting and you’re able to control this function with almost all digital cameras.

4) USE FINE IMAGE QUALITY. Choose the highest image quality you’ve got. This can be found in your camera’s main menu. Keep in mind that the higher the resolution of your image, the fewer images you’ll be able to save on your memory card. It’s best to download your image card before you set off to shoot so you don’t run out of memory before the big finale.

4) TURN OFF YOUR FLASH. It’s very easy to turn off the flash of compact cameras. Press the lightning bolt button and then select the no flash option. When using the scene buttons on compact camera, you sometimes cannot turn off the flash. The solution to this is to cover the flash with something dark. A small piece of black paper taped to the flash or some black electrical tape will work fine. (Just remember to take the tape off right after shooting or you’ll have gummy gunk on your camera for years to come).

5) FIND A GREAT SPOT TO SHOOT. Choose an area with an open space and an unhindered view of where the fireworks will be exploding. Be on the lookout for trees or lamp posts or buildings that might get in your way. A silhouetted tree or even a person can sometimes look great in conjunction with fireworks. You may need to do some research about the best places to set up to get a great view of the display.

6) SHOOT LOTS OF PICTURES. Shoot lots of shots with different framing and exposure settings. Experiment. Oh, and don’t forget to enjoy the electric display with your eyes, not just your viewfinder.

It’s easiest to set up your camera with all the proper settings before you head off to the fireworks display. Once the sun goes down, it can be hard to see the menus, so you might want to bring a flashlight. Fireworks displays can start all of a sudden, so if you’re not ready, you might miss some of the fun while fiddling with your menus.

Happy shooting, and have a great 4th of July!