City of Lights...what a photographer's paradise. I've never been, but I plan to do so someday after the kids are grown (or are willing to pay their share).
Just do it in the family room. Have a fire extinguisher handy. Make sure your insurance is paid up. What's the worst that can happen?
You don't really need a completely dark area. It just helps if your subject isn't too brightly lit.
There is not "correct" way to do sparkler shots. It's one of those creative areas where everyone has their different approach for getting the look they want.
Here is my technique:
Mount the camera on a tripod. Not necessary, but it helps a lot if you want the background to look good.
Shoot in bulb mode. You could get away with shooting in another mode if you are careful to make sure that you get a long (at least one second, usually 2-4) shutter speed. If you do shoot in an auto-exposure mode like shutter or aperture priority, consider dialing in -1 EV of exposure compensation. That will make the background darker than usual, which will contrast well against the sparklers.
Consider using flash. Using flash helps give you a more well defined subject holding the sparklers. Sometimes you just want the sparklers and not the holder, so there is no point in using flash. Sometimes you want to see the person with the sparklers. Using flash will illuminate them in a moment of time rather a blurry 2-4 second rendition of them.
If you do use flash, you probably want to use rear (second) curtain sync. That is a photographer jargon way of saying that you want the flash to fire at the end of the exposure rather than the beginning. If your subject is standing relatively still making circles with the sparkler, it probably doesn't matter. If they are running around with a sparkler, second curtain sync will illuminate them at the end making it look like the sparkles are trailing behind them. If you use front or first curtain sync, you will illuminate them at the beginning of the movement trail. That usually looks goofy, but it can be fun for creative effects like someone shooting a trail of sparkles out of a "wand".
Consider stuff other than sparklers. You can use light sticks, flashlights, or anything else that provides illumination. Of course, if you do use sparklers, be safe. I usually always bring out a bowl of ice water in case anyone's fingers get burned.
The best time to shoot is during twilight between sunset and dark. You get a pretty glow in the sky rather than a boring black look.
If you use flash, consider putting an orange gel over the flash. That will make the light from the flash look more like the light from most sparklers. Also consider zooming the flash in tight so that only part of your subject is lit by it.
These are just suggestions on how I've done it in the past. Experiment and come up with your own creative ways of shooting.
If you are using something that will shine brightly on your subject and they won't be moving, you might want to play with flash exposure compensation as well, knocking it down about 1 stop.
Here are a few examples of what I did last year:
First curtain sync (so it would like the sparkles were shooting from the wand), manual exposure, 2 seconds, f/4, ISO 200, 50mm (65mm equiv). Notice that the high overall lighting for the scene caused my subject to ghost.
2 seconds, f/4, ISO 200, 32mm (42mm equiv), manual exposure. You can see that the flash doesn't completely freeze the subject, but he is much more distinct than if I hadn't used the flash.
Fireworks shot. Manual exposure, 5 seconds, f/8, ISO 400, 17mm (22mm equiv), no flash. Smoke lit by streetlight behind me.
Kids with glow sticks. No flash. I'm moving the camera in a cricular pattern during the exposure:
I'd be grateful for any ideas!
I can't wait to see how they turn out...
Gotcha, tv off to avoid reflection right?
