{What I Learned…} How To Shoot Backlit Photos

Ever see a picture where the sunlight peeks behind the subject giving off a beautiful halo effect? It’s called backlighting. It’s an easy way to add visual interest without the need for fancy equipment. All you need is a light source behind your subject, light flowing behind the camera too (so no obstructions like walls or tree) and to switch your camera setting to spot metering. It’s usually best to try this in the early morning or evening when the light is simply yummy (like these photos), but you can also try it midday like I did for this example.  Let’s start with my initial picture:

This was a photo taken during my “In The Heights” session on the George Washington Bridge. Given the time of day (11am) ,it was impossible to get a decent shot  from this angle (with a view of the bridge) because the the sunlight (coming from the side) was overpowering a large part of her face and casting a shadow on the other. So I chucked that idea and decided to try some backlighting shots instead. I had Kiara turn with her back to the sun and I positioned myself slightly in front. I got this shot.

There’s no longer a large highlight or shadow over her face and you can start seeing the sunlight peek through her hairline, so we’re half way there. However, the problem with this photo is that I forgot to change the meter setting on my camera. It was set to “matrix metering” (on Nikons // aka multi-zone metering), which means that the camera took into account all the light in the frame to expose this shot – including the overpowering sunlight behind Kiara – and that’s why this photo came out way too dark.

After realizing my mistake, I switched to spot metering. This way the camera only takes into account the small area of the shot that I want to properly expose –  her face.  As you can see, some areas of the photos are now a bit overexposed (the pavement, the sky, the metal railing), but  more importantly, my subject is now properly exposed. Add a sexy gust of wind and presto! Ok, gust of wind is not required, but it definitely adds to the drama.  Not bad for a midday shot!