Backlighting
Hello All…
It’s Cyndi, here to give you this week’s Photography Phriday!
Remember when you were a kid, and it was Easter morning and you were all dressed up in your new Easter clothes. You mom would be fussing over your hair and she’d want to get a picture of you in your pretty new dress. She would take you outside where it was nice and bright to get a great shot. And then would diligently face you toward the sun, in turn blinding you for a good chunk of your egg hunting time, not to mention preserving the memory with your contorted face and squinting eyes. Wait a minute… I think I’ve done the same to my own kids!
It’s what we’ve been told for so long. To get a good picture you need plenty of front light. And while there is truth to the theory, with the technology of our cameras today, backlighting may just become your new best friend.
What’s backlighting?? Well, it’s lighting your subject from the back. And different angles of backlight will give different effects. The point is not to rule it out because it doesn’t follow the “rules” of proper picture taking according to mom. Have fun and experiment a little.
Look at these two pictures taken by my friend Heidi (scrappurple) at a recent photography class.
(no post processing on these photos)
The first is really a beautiful picture (good job Heidi!) but the backlighting in the second just adds a new level of warmth and drama with the light coming in over her hair. That’s just one example.
Check out the article ** HERE ** for some more, fun backlighting suggestions and even more great examples.
Hope this helps to stretch your creativity just a little! Happy shooting!!
Cyndi
November 14th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Great post! Thanks! We have photos from today that have me squinting into the sun for this reason, I’m definitely going to try this!
November 15th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Great tips–will have to try backlighting more. TFS.