Sixth Bloom

  • Photography Tips
    • Start Here
    • Photography Courses
    • Edit Pictures Like a Pro
    • Grow Your Business
    • Learn Your Camera
    • Childrens Photography Tips
    • Family Photography Tips
    • Newborn Photography Tips
    • Senior Photography Tips
    • Wedding Photography Tips
    • Photography Projects
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Desserts
    • Food
    • Instant Pot
    • Meals
    • Snacks
  • Kids Activities & Crafts
  • Family
    • Gardening Tips
    • Travel
    • Money Saving & Budgeting
    • Home & Lifestyle
      • Our Family Life
      • Decor & DIY
  • About Me
    • Featured On
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Me
    • Guest Post Application

October 7, 2015 By Sixth-Bloom 8 Comments

How to Take Perfect Back-Lit Photos

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure and Privacy policies here

Sharing is caring!

28018 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

 

Hi! I’m Lauren with Lauren Weeks Photography and today I’ll be showing you how I shoot my subject with light behind them – also known as a backlit picture. These are my favorite types of photos because I think shooting a backlit image is what makes the light look romantic and dreamy.   So here goes!

back lit picture

The main thing to keep in mind here is to expose for your subject. If you have a properly exposed subject, you have a beautiful backlit photo, and this is how I do it:

1- I almost always have my camera set on spot metering. What’s the difference? Spot metering basically exposes for the area you focus your camera on (the subject) and only that area. This is different than the matrix metering that takes the whole image in your viewfinder into account when exposing the image. I find that doing this always guarantees that my subject is properly exposed.

2- I make sure my ISO is exposed for the subject only. For example, if I have my subject in front of the light and everything around her is bright, but she is lighting darker, I make sure that I bump up my ISO a bit so that I will get a clearer shot of her.

To Understand more about ISO: Tutorial on ISO

A 5 Minute Crash Course to Learn your DSLR Camera

3-  I play around with my aperature and shutterspeed. Most of the time I need to shoot wide open to let more light in. Other times I need to open my aperture AND slow my shutter speed to let a TON of more light in. It really just depends on how harsh the light is and who my subject is. If it’s a child who is not going to sit still, slowing down my shutter speed will not be an option. In this case I will usually shoot wide open and then lighten as needed in post processing. (And speaking of post-processing, I know you’re shooting in RAW because of the amazing amount of changes you can make to your image when post-processing, right?? RIGHT?!)

4- I also love to play with different angles. Depending on where my subject is in relation to the light source will depend on what settings I use in camera. Different angles can add a romantic or more dramatic look that can change the feel or emotion of any image.

The following are examples of some of my backlit photos. All images were shot with my Nikon 700 and Nikon 50mm 1.4 prime lens.

You might also like: How to Rock Your Shot with Lens Flare

 

 

ISO 360, 1.4, 1/800

back lit picture

ISO 1000, 2.2, 1/1250

back lit pictures

ISO 900, 3.2, 1/200

back lit image

ISO 200, 3.5, 1/100

backlit picture

 

backlit photosGuest Blogger: Lauren Weeks Photography

FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | GOOGLE+

Lauren Weeks Photography offers wedding and on-location portrait photography in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Marine wife, mommy, and lover of coffee and dark chocolate.

(Headshot is courtesy of Andrea Hauck Photography)

 

Filed Under: Learn Your Camera

Popular Posts

Handprint Christmas Wreath

Handprint Christmas Wreath – STEAM Activities for Preschoolers

ragu homestyle

WAHM Meal Planning Tips

13 Places You Never Thought to Disinfect

How to capture the beauty in the everyday

« 3 Tips to Stellar Self Portraits
5 Brilliant Photography Hacks You MUST try »

Comments

  1. Lysha says

    October 12, 2015 at 9:31 am

    Gorgeous photos and great tips! Love sunlit photos like these. Pinning!!

    Reply
  2. MsYBBG says

    October 12, 2015 at 9:35 am

    That is some phenomenal lighting! I recently did a photo shoot that was conceptually great, but fell flat in the end.

    Reply
  3. Samantha says

    October 12, 2015 at 9:51 am

    Great info! I’m always looking to perfect this type of shot 🙂

    Reply
  4. natasha says

    October 12, 2015 at 3:36 pm

    Awesome photos and awesome tips! Thanks so much for sharing…I’ll be sure to incorporate these! #SGBC
    -Natasha | http://www.lovelyyoublog.com

    Reply
  5. FabEllis says

    October 12, 2015 at 4:03 pm

    Thank you for the tips! You have taken gorgeous photos! Even after having my DSLR camera for two years, I’m still learning new things all the time.

    Reply
  6. Saidah Washington says

    October 12, 2015 at 7:24 pm

    I want to invest in a dslr but am apprehensive about the learning curve. I love the way your photos turned out.

    Reply
  7. Erica @ Coming Up Roses says

    October 14, 2015 at 6:16 am

    Excuse me as I dive headfirst into your ISO and DSLR tutorials…your tips are great!

    Coming Up Roses

    Reply
  8. Linz says

    February 15, 2016 at 7:53 pm

    Thank you for this article! 😊
    I was wondering how you avoid haze in your image when shooting backlit photos? Any advice?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


I'm Erin owner and chief editor of Sixth Bloom! A wife and mom living the small town life in Mississippi just outside of New Orleans Louisiana. A retired piano teacher of 19 years, currently a professional photographer and blogger. I love Jesus, my family, coffee, french fries and traveling!

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023