This is a guide covering backlights and backlighting in photography.
Backlighting can create beautiful images when used correctly, so let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
What is Backlighting in Photography?
Backlighting is all about positioning the key light to aim at the camera. It also involves positioning the subject between the key light and the camera.
Backlighting can render some cool effects to your images, provided you know exactly what you are doing and have complete control over the exposure.
Backlighting is a challenging genre because it requires you to light the subject from behind.
That means the subject of focus is in silhouette or partially lit. The technique involves both a good knowledge of metering and post-processing.
Every photographic composition requires lighting. The main light is always referred to as the key light.
For a quick refresher on the main light, key light, and backlight (three-point lighting system), check out this visual:
The subject should be facing the camera. However, this is not mandatory because in some compositions, as we will see in the following paragraphs, the subject is completely in silhouette. Therefore, it makes no difference whether the subject is facing the camera or not.
As a technique, backlighting can be achieved using both ambient light and artificial lighting.
You can achieve backlighting in multiple different ways, the result being always that the subject comes in between the key light and the camera.
Why Is It Called Backlighting?
The simple reason that this lighting process is known as backlighting is that the key light is placed behind the subject and aimed at the camera rather than the normal process where the light is aimed at the subject.
What is Backlighting Used For?
Backlighting can help you create several interesting compositions depending on how you place the subject and play around with the key light.
Backlighting is extremely useful for shooting portrait photography as well.
You would normally expect to shoot portrait photography with the key light before the subject rather than behind.
So, using backlighting techniques is going against the conventional method. But the results can be very pleasing.
When you are shooting portraits using backlighting, you will notice that the subject has a thin strip of light going across his or her shoulder up around his or her head and then across the other shoulder.
This is known as rim lighting and is a beautiful example of how backlighting techniques can be used in portrait photography beautifully.
When using the backlighting technique in portrait photography, ensure the subject stands against a dark background. Otherwise, the rim lighting effect will not be as effective.
If the subject is standing against a very bright background, such as the sky, the rim lighting effect will be lost.
Another advantage of using this backlighting technique, especially in portrait photography, is that you can avoid hard shadows, especially when you are shooting under the mid-day Sun.
If you have experience shooting under the midday sun, you must have seen that this is an extremely challenging light in which to shoot portraits.
The subject will have shadows under the nose and the eyes, plus the chin area.
We recommend that you use this technique only when the subject is facing away from the sun; therefore, the illumination is more homogeneous across the face.
In this discussion, we shall look at several scenarios and backlighting examples and understand how backlighting can be useful and the best-case scenarios when backlighting is best done.
What Does Backlighting Do for an Image?
Backlighting can add depth to an image and is one of the primary reasons many photographers prefer to use backlighting in some of their compositions.
Apart from depth, backlighting adds an interesting perspective to a photograph, which is impossible to achieve using standard front or side lighting techniques.
Major Problems in Using Backlighting Technique
Backlighting isn’t without its side effects, though. Let’s take some backlighting examples to understand them.
One of the major problems of using the backlight lighting technique is that the camera’s metering system can go haywire when it sees a completely dark silhouette in the frame while the rest of the frame is very bright.
Consequently, the camera is unable to meter properly for the scene, often overexposing the brighter areas while trying to push the shadow.
Which is fine if the camera is set to the right metering mode.
However, if your camera does not attempt to push the shadow, you may, in that case, use the exposure compensation button to push the exposure slightly so that the face of the subject is properly exposed.
Another suggestion is not to use the exposure compensation method at all.
If you have one of the latest DSLR cameras which has excellent dynamic range and a very low noise threshold you should be able to expose the bright background and yet retain enough detail in the shadow areas which can be recovered during post-processing.
How Do You Backlight Someone?
As has been explained above, the backlighting technique involves putting the subject between the backlight source and the camera, with the backlight source facing the camera (whether it’s the sun, studio light, etc).
Some photographers prefer to use a fill light or a reflector to bounce some light back onto the subject’s face.
This helps to bring out the subject against the bright background. Ideally, these are the best setups for shooting backlit subjects.
Which Are the Best Times to Shoot Backlit Photography?
The best times to shoot backlit photography are during the early part of the day and the later parts of the afternoon, the proverbial golden hour when the Sun’s rays are almost parallel to the earth’s surface.
During these times of the day, the light is extremely directional and, therefore, produces the best results.
3 Backlighting Photography Tips
Backlighting is an interesting photography technique, but it is easy to go overboard with it if you are not careful.
We have curated a few pointers for you so that you can understand the best ways to use this technique.
Backlighting is nothing more than a technique of lighting up our subject for a photograph. It is an experimental lighting process, and the results are always proportional to the risks you are willing to take.
Not many photographers would prefer to backlight the subject because they are unsure if the results will be close to what they envision.
This is completely fine because backlighting is an experimental technique, after all.
And that brings us to the caveat emptor part of this tutorial. Backlighting is likely to fail as often as it is likely to succeed.
There are plenty of reasons not to choose backlighting, and there are plenty of situations where it will not work.
1. Don’t Try When Sun is Directly Overhead
For example, backlighting will not work when the sun is directly overhead.
When the sun is directly overhead, the light comes down straight, almost perpendicular to the surface.
Backlighting, if any, will happen only at the top of the subject’s head.
Or if you’re photographing architecture, backlighting will happen only at the top of the buildings.
2. Try For Silhouettes
Silhouettes are essentially subjects appearing completely dark in the frame, with the foreground brightly illuminated and the source of the key light, usually the Sun’s rays, saturating the rest of the frame.
Backlighting allows you to capture silhouettes, which is one of the primary reasons why photographers prefer to use this technique.
The technique of creating silhouettes is not a new one. Photographers have been using this technique for ages, even during the time of film cameras.
3. Lens Flare
Lens flare is yet another by-product of the backlighting technique. As a beginner photographer experimenting with backlighting techniques, we don’t recommend starting with this technique.
This is because it is very easy to go wrong with this technique and end up with completely washed-out images or images with large blobs of light on them.
However, if you want to try this out, make sure that you are very careful when trying to photograph lens flares.
It is recommended that you use the subject by shooting from an angle that partially obscures the light flare.
Otherwise, it can cover the entire composition and ruin the backlighting shot.
To further explore the subject of backlighting and how to master it, check out this in-depth video by Julia Trotti:
Final Remarks
The backlighting technique is interesting, but fine-tuning it requires a lot of practice and experimentation.
It is probably one of the most difficult lighting situations to shoot in because of the limitations of a camera’s metering system. It often requires a lot of practice before one can reach a certain level of proficiency.
Hopefully, the above points will give you a strong footing as you begin your journey into backlight photography.
You can fine-tune your techniques as you grow in experience and use what gives you the best results.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of a backlight?
The purpose of a backlight in photography is to create separation and a sense of depth between the subject and the background. It illuminates the subject from behind, highlighting the edges, contours, and textures, and can produce a pleasing glow or halo effect, adding visual interest and dimension to the photograph.
Why is backlighting important in photography?
Backlighting is important in photography because it can add drama, depth, and visual interest to the image. It can create silhouettes, rim lighting, or a glowing effect that enhances the subject, separates it from the background, and adds a sense of atmosphere and mood to the overall composition.
What mood does backlighting create?
Backlighting can create a variety of moods in photography, depending on how it is used. It can evoke a sense of warmth, serenity, or ethereality when used to create a soft, glowing effect. Alternatively, it can convey a sense of drama, mystery, or intensity when employed to produce striking silhouettes or strong contrasts between light and dark areas.
Nate Torres, with over seven years of professional photography experience, founded Imaginated, an educational platform designed to teach photography enthusiasts. Nate Torres is also a professional portrait and headshot photographer in the Orange County and Los Angeles areas. He specializes in portraits of individuals, couples, groups and headshots. Nate Torres is also a photography writer and content creator and educates other photographers on exposure, photography composition, photography editing, photography gear, and photography business. You can find his content on his personal website, social media, and YouTube Channel, as well as on blogs such as Fstoppers, Photofocus, and SLR Lounge.
