Over the next few weeks there will be the sound of fireworks and bangers going off in the distance, an audio prelude to Halloween at the end of October and Bonfire Night at the beginning of November.

If you're taking part in these festive events and want to snap some colourful pictures for your photobook, we have just the guide to help you achieve some, how can we put, sparkling images.

Where will you be standing?

At a typical firework event, most people are huddled relatively near to where the fireworks are set off, but this isn't necessarily the only hotspot a photographer will want to shoot from.

The very nature of fireworks means their beginning point and end point varies – i.e. they start from the ground and shoot into the sky – meaning your composition will be dramatically altered.

Do you, for example, want to shoot a firework – or assembly of fireworks – from a low angle or do you want to get a wider shot? These are things you will have consider when deciding what effect you are going for. Also, your vantage will affect your enjoyment of fireworks – they'll either be very direct or detached.

To freeze or not to freeze?

As you're aware, there's a lot going on with fireworks, so the shutter speed of your camera is intrinsically important to helping you capture the best picture possible. More so than the aperture, although naturally this will divide opinions.

With fireworks, what you are ultimately capturing is the movement of the flares of light that follow their explosion. To convey movement best – especially of light – a long shutter speed is recommended.

For the more seasoned photographer, this will be second nature – long shutter speeds are suitable to night time shooting – so also consider going "bulb", i.e. the shutter is kept open for as long as you want.

The other bits

The first two points are, by and large, the biggest deciding factors when it comes to composing firework photographs, and so long as your bear them in mind you should have decent results with which to fill your photobook with.

Other things you should consider by way of "totting up" on your pictures are the ISO – keep it low (100 is a failsafe number); aperture – keep it relatively low; and, it goes without saying, a tripod – with a remote if you have one.