A lot of people ignore light because they don’t think it’s important. However, those who work in the visual arts do. The use of light is crucial to the success of your images. Without a firm grasp of how to adjust your camera’s settings, dealing with light will continue to be a challenge. It’s great fun to experiment with light in photographs, but only once you’ve mastered your camera. Backlighting is fantastic, in my opinion. It enhances the aesthetic value of your photographs by creating a dramatic effect.
I’ll demonstrate backlighting in many photographic contexts, including food, landscape, and portraiture (in studio and outdoors).
Where Can We Find The Benefits Of Backlighting?
Backlighting is one of my favourite photographic techniques because it gives a two-dimensional image a sense of depth and drama. The texture of your subjects will really pop against the backlight (sidelight is good for this as well). Highlights and shadows work together to provide texture. Two-dimensional images lack depth, but by applying textures, you may create the illusion of more space.
The dramatic effect of a flash from behind can really make your shot pop. Imagine the flashes of light that accompany a rock concert or other performance. The warmth (or coolness) of the lighting enhances the dramatic effect of the picture.
It’s possible that the backlighting source will also be included in the shot alongside the subject (as with the sunset photo above). It’s also possible for the source of illumination to be off-camera (as long as it illuminates your subject). Creative use of backlight is possible with any available light source, although natural light, windows, and strobes are especially common. All cameras, even smartphones, follow the same basic rules when it comes to backlighting.
Food
It’s a good idea to get some experience with backlighting using food as a subject. The steam is highlighted, and the food’s texture is brought out by the use of backlighting. There is no “right” kind of lighting for photographing food, although many photographers find that natural window light produces the most pleasing results.
Using back (or side) light can give your food shots additional depth and dimension. Find a window or other source of light, and you’ll be fine. Make do with whatever illumination you may find, such as that which comes from windows, ovens, and lights.
The best part of practising backlight with food is that you can simply adjust yourself and the food if you need to move the light source but can’t move the subject.
The Natural World, Or Terrain
When you’ve mastered the technique of backlighting with food, you can apply it to landscapes for the same dramatic effect. In most circumstances, the sun will serve as your backlight source, making it impossible to move. Yet, you may easily shift your body’s orientation to either the sun or your topic.
Portraits
When I take portraits, I often use lighting to emphasise the subject’s expression. A well-placed backlight may magnify an already stunning scene or heighten the emotional impact of a dramatic scene.
Studio
The versatility of a backlight in a studio allows the photographer to place the light anywhere they desire.
In Natural Light
You and your subject need to be at the optimal location for the light to fall upon them while shooting in natural light.
Some Troubleshooting
When shooting in backlight, one of the greatest risks is that your subject will become a silhouette, even if that is not your intended effect.
You are probably using an aperture- or shutter-priority option, which is somewhere between fully automated and manual. Your camera’s metering system detects the strong backlight and compensates for it. To prevent unintended silhouettes, adjust the exposure compensation. Experiment with an exposure compensation of +2 to see what happens. You’ll have to play around with different settings depending on the lighting. Manual mode might be preferable if you have a lot of expertise.
