cake, and sparklers

July 9, 2009

Anita and Haady were my 4th of July couple this year. From the dance floor placed on the edge of a hill overlooking Los Angeles, we could see lots of fireworks displays across the valley as tiny little explosions of light.

Theirs was an intimate reception in the yard surrounding their ranch-style home. Because it was so dark and there was no tent to help bounce and diffuse my light, I used a homemade white bounce card attached to a canon speedlight off-camera to provide some natural-looking fill. Thanks to my husband Ali, who was holding the light on a monopod high to camera left, we got some great results.

I want to make a note about sparklers. I’ve been to receptions where the couple has an exit and envisions a tunnel of friends with sparklers surrounding them. The problem is that small sparklers burn out so quickly, usually people don’t even know where to stand before their sparklers are out. Anita’s brother Bijan thought of the perfect solution and found some GIANT sparklers — these things are like holding a small walking stick — and last for several minutes. It was fun, hilarious, and a little dreamy to have Anita and Haady cut their cakes with all the sparkler magic happening around them.

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