Backlit
A handful of images from the past few days, all of them made more interesting by seeing to it that they were backlit.
There’s Moonlit, of course; an excellent way to see exotic wildflowers in a new light…
…and then there’s Backlit, which is arguably, more accessible than ‘moonlit’ and really only asks that you pay attention to the direction your camera is pointing on days when you can see the sun.
Backlit is one of my favorite kinds of ‘lit,” whether for portraits, plant portraits or landscapes. Our eyes just love translucency, seeing how light passes through things, as opposed to merely bouncing off of things. Backlit subjects and scenes have an enhanced sense of depth and help us understand both the edges of things and sense the spaces between them.
You may already, habitually frame up your pictures in such a way that the sun is positioned somewhat behind your subjects, so that the edges of those things that fascinate you enough to get you to stop to make a picture, simply glow. If you scroll through your pics and realize that you don’t, I encourage you to make a game of it. Try taking a picture of whatever is tickling your fancy with the sun behind you, which means it will be falling on the front of your subject, ‘frontlit.’ Now, walk around to the opposite side of the thing or scene and try again. The sun may or may not be included in your picture (your choice), but it will be positioned somewhat behind your subject so that the front of it is slightly darker, standing there in its own shade, if you will. Check out those edges, all bright, crisp and glowy, and for portraits, no hard shadows on the faces and no squinting from looking into the sun… I’m guessing that, oh, at least seven out of ten times, the backlit shot will be more beautiful and more interesting than the frontlit shot. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Once you start getting yourself to notice where the light in your pictures is coming from (it takes a little practice but is very doable and instantly rewarding), you can refine your sensibilities even more by making choices about ‘sidelighting.’
You’ve heard the term ‘Rembrandt Lighting,’ yes?
So, this morning, a playful bit of awareness for my friends who aren’t offended by such things and an apology to any who already know all of this stuff and really don’t like being told how to think or what to do. (You probably know who you are…)
May your day be kind and ‘lit’. And if you’re especially lucky, may parts of it be backlit.
Thank you!
Thanks for the lesson and good idea🤔 I’ll try it.
I really worked hard to choose a fave backlit picture, but I liked them all. Thanks for the fun post!