A fact of photography is that you are representing a 3 dimensional world on a 2 dimensional medium. So, while you may think you are taking a picture of your dog, that tree, your daughter; you are actually photographing everything in front of, to the side of and behind your primary subject. When you don't consider this, the image can come out differently than what you saw in your head.
Backlighting (just what it sounds like) is when there is a lot more light behind your subject than in front of or on your subject. This is why when you take a photo on the beach or on a sunny day, everyone comes out dark. The easy way to resolve this is to get more light onto your subject. You can either (via camera settings) darken the background and use a flash on your subject or if you have a powerful enough light, just blast your subject until they are exposed properly. But, backlighting isn't necessarily a bad thing if you know how to work it. Here are some examples of how backlit photos can be beautiful.
Because the background is brighter than the subject, using camera settings to darken the background darkens the subject as well giving me a silhouette. Notice the emphasis is on the shape making the image much more interesting.
You can also create a hi key image by having an extremely bright background and matching that light on the subject.
Lastly, you can blow out your background and 'properly' balance the light on your subject to essentially isolate your subject against the background.
So, be aware of your environment and your light. If you know what you are doing, backlighting can be another tool in your toolbox.
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Website: www.asharpphoto.biz
A Sharp Photo is a Central Florida based (Orlando to Ocala)
photography company specializing in Actor/Corporate headshots, Film
& TV Production photography, Boudoir, Portrait photography and Art.
Michae E. Allen started this company in 2012 and his aim is to use
photography to show people the beauty in themselves and the world around
them.
