Your special events are around the corner which means celebrations, a lot of fun, family gatherings, and fireworks would be a part of your joy. Grab your camera for sparkler photography. Sparkler photos would be as fun as they are beautiful. Most people make it more interesting to know how to take a sparkler photo with an iPhone or any camera.
Based on your attendees, sparkler photos logistics demand a bit of preparation than a typical night shot. A magnificent scene might be created with proper planning or fizzle out with a dismal conclusion. Photography of Sparklers is the ideal method to brighten up the evening even without hazards and rules. Because they’re a safer, easier substitute for consumer explosives that are more dangerous and unsuitable for use around children and families.
Nowadays photography is a prominent part of any event because these events are always memorable not just by your brain’s memories but also by photographs. For photographers, automatic or moderate controls must be abandoned. A tripod and a slow frame rate are essential for getting the shot.
You can master the art of taking sparkler pictures with a little creativity, persistence, and enjoyment. Sparklers are ideal for many occasions, including weddings, Fourth of July celebrations, birthday parties, and fun at the beach. Use the advice above to be ready and discover how to snap stunning sparkler shots. Just make sure you are utilizing the fireworks in a secure and open area, and keep in mind that it’s acceptable to experience some trial and error.
Essential Equipment for Sparklers Photography
1. Camera

Camera Shutter speed settings that you’ll fiddle with the most. Also, the kind of photo you’re aiming to get will influence how long you need your shutter to be open. The optimal shutter speed for capturing motionless sparklers is about 2 to 5 seconds faster. Nevertheless, depending on your layout, you’ll need a frame rate of the design you’re making, and you’ll need a speed of somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds if you wish to depict the activity of a sparkler. To prevent your photo from being very blurry, set your ISO to around 100. If that’s too black, then can increase the ISO to 400 to lighten the picture without making it excessively bright.
2. Tripod
Professional photographers suggest staying still while taking pictures with sparklers. For this purpose, you need a tripod stand with adjustable length settings. Go for a budget-friendly, good-quality frame that can firmly hold your camera setup. A cheap quality tripod can make your camera moveable in high windy weather. In another case, you can get a camera holding hand, so choose which one is friendly for you before buying.

3. Sparklers
For wedding sparkler pictures or any other event photography, you need to research what type of sparklers will go best for your event. You will get much nicer firework picture effects with the longer-lasting, more giant 36-inch sparklers instead of the smaller 10-inch sparklers. The more significant sparklers enable everyone to take ample time to position themselves and fire their sparklers for community activities like marriage sparkler departures.
Related: 10-inch Wedding Sparklers
4. Lighting
Adding light in the sparkler photo session would be nice, especially at the bridal entrance and exits at wedding events. At the same time, illuminating the couple, direct light toward the bride’s sides so that her face is better lighted for a more attractive appearance. Both subjects should ideally be bathed in an attractive light, although the bride almost always receives preference. And for other events use natural lights in the background.
Creative Ideas for Sparkler Photography: Capturing the Magic of Light and Motion.

You can bring new ideas for taking pictures with firecrackers at your events. Ask your clients to share their thoughts and then choose those that will challenge you more. Some examples are, drawing and writing with sparklers in photography. But for that purpose, you have to guide your clients properly with safety precautions.
Capturing Moments with Family
The results of shooting the kids and your family with a sparkler after dark are usually not very impressive. So because the light out from the sparkler by itself is typically not bright enough to light your guest’s face, you can choose the sparkler writing technique for this photo shoot. However, the flash on your camera will either pop up and wipe out all the ambient light or focus on the firework and reveal that, has left a tiny dot of light in the shadows.
Sparklers Wedding Photos
A professional wedding photographer can use a long exposure camera lens. He or She can use it with an off flashlight which develops some stunning wedding portraits. It does take some time to prepare for this kind of picture. However, not all shooters have the talent to accomplish this. Alternatively, if either you lack the expertise or simply prefer something more manageable. Verify that an overlay is available to your photographer. The fastest method for taking a sparkler image is this one. Hence, you can explore more Photography ideas for sparklers.
Tips for Capturing Sparkler Photography
Planning and Preparation

Before starting your big events you need to plan and prepare the setup, time, and location for your photography with sparklers. While taking pictures of sparklers, the set locations are a priority to consider. It’s critical to locate a location with as little background light as possible to produce a clean image. That is a result of blur caused by artificial light. Both the configuration and the location you choose are crucial. You must need a tripod on priority. This is crucial when using sparklers to make words or designs because of a higher number of successive demands of absolute immobility.
Setting Cameras
If you want to capture stunning sparkler photos, setting up your camera correctly is essential. Follow these key steps to learn how
- Put your camera in manual control if necessary.
- The shutter should be set at f.22.
- Image quality should be set between 15 to 30 seconds.
- Use a 100 ISO setting.
- The camera should be in auto-focus.
- Sparklers in sunlight have an amber tinge to them; by setting your camera’s white balance toward sunlight, you can capture this orange glow more precisely.
Sparklers placement for shooting
Holding sparklers or firecrackers either for your wedding day or other special events would be a stunning moment for you. Remember to follow safety rules before setting up for photography with sparklers. The people behind you at your wedding or the crew in the background can hold these fireworks and make a swirl. Set up the photograph with enough speed to catch the sparkler’s desired motion. Finally, use a flash to light and freeze the subject immediately before the time is finished.
Light Painting in Photographing Sparklers
As you know that when the weather warms up people prefer to do events at night which is a great time to light up sparklers. So burn out those light sticks, and firecrackers and light up your stunning night. Light painting occurs when your camera clicks the lighting moment of the sparks of fireworks.
But there is a technique to capture such light painting. After morning peak hours, the sunlight is meager, but you should still have a fair bit to illuminate your scene. Since it isn’t completely dark, the light of your fireworks won’t be as powerful, but that’s okay. So it’s not recommended to take photos in complete darkness if this was your first attempt at it until you have mastered light painting using your lens.
Long Exposure Sparklers Photography
Longer exposure Photographic photography is a process in which the lens of the camera is left open for a sizable amount of time. The final image shows still objects in sharp detail while also capturing the path of moving stuff ahead of the cameras. For a long-exposure camera, settings keep the ISO low. Longer exposure will give you enough light to capture sparkling moments. Set your lens aperture at f8, giving you more depth of the lens field without getting technical.
Writing with Sparklers

Writing with sparklers is another way of creating fun with words. To make your photography more stunning you can make words with fireworks and click photos. You need to stay still while the camera lens clicks. Your lens will be wide for a longer period, which means that any move will look fuzzy.
They must remain entirely motionless if you wish your content to be seen. To ensure that the words are correctly seen by the camera, write the letters backward. If writing the letters back is too challenging, you can simply reverse the final picture in editing software.
Sparklers Light Trails
Light trails capture a moving light source with an exposure speed that is too slow to stop it in its tracks. As a result, a point of light appears with a trail that extends from its origin to its final location inside the image. This effect would be called the light trail of sparklers by creating or drawing with such illumination, such as sparklers, and having the image taken by a camera with a long exposure time.
If you are doing this photograph at night you need light for focusing your client’s image. But turn it off when your camera shutter clicks. You need to slow down the speed of your lens so that your camera can focus on the sparkling object. To get this kind of slow-speed shutter clicks you need to adjust the lens placement at the f site accordingly. You have to do some trials before making final wedding pictures with sparklers and light trails.
Sparkler Portraits
Photographing sparklers on your big days, weddings, and other festivals would enhance the beauty of your day. But unfortunately, if your camera and photographer are not professional you might face some trouble. Sparkler portraits are fortunately redeeming yourself for making your day memorable. The key behind clicking these portraits is the speed of your camera lens. Leave everything behind and adjust the shutter speed in the following pattern.
- Auto mode
- 3-second camera speed
- Opening: f/8
- ISO: 100
- White equilibrium: Sunlight
- After concentrating on the target, change to manual focus.
Sparklers Safety Tips
Use of Large Firecrackers
As they light for a long time and kids won’t feel the sparks going too near to their palms, they are great for photographs and also for security purposes.
Under Supervision
Make sure kids understand to avoid touching, tossing, or approaching another person too closely. Naturally, keep in mind the abilities of your kids and only provide sparklers to those who can handle them securely.
Keep Water Bucket
Keep a cold water bucket near your fireworks to put the sparklers after using them.
Conclusion
To conclude this topic about sparkler photography or sparkler wedding pictures you are now well aware of how to make your event memorable with stunning photo shoots. You can take and produce a unique set of shots that your client will treasure. And then ideally, promote on their social networking sites with a small time commitment to learning how to create sparkler photos. Remember to follow the photographic tips and safety precautions before setting up your camera.
What are the best camera settings for fire?
Try taking this photo in manual control with the following settings: camera sensor at 1/100 sec, lens at f/1.8 (or whatever your lens’s widest aperture is), and ISO Auto. To enhance the image brighter or dimmer, use exposure correction, and select a low angle to set the fire against the dusk-sky background.
Do you light up a sparkler from top to bottom?
While lighting, hold the firework vertically or keep the tip slightly lowered. The sparkler should always be lit at the tip that is farthest from the wire loop.
What is the best ISO to shoot at?
The ideal ISO for a clear day or for a light environment with a lot of sunlight is 100 or 200. For inside or overcast shooting, use 400 ISO. For indoor use without additional lighting, 800 ISO for dim light conditions, 1600+ ISO.
How do I take sparkler photos with an iPhone?
Adjust the ISO & shutter settings as needed. On an iPhone, you could also snap sparkler images in Live mode. After taking the picture, swipe up to show the available effects, then select “Long Exposure” for a rapid sparkler photo.