Project 52 - Week 24: Backlighting

I promise this will be short and sweet. 

There is a difference between backlighting and background lighting.  In the first, your subject is between your light source and the camera, so the light is typically behind them.  But it doesn't necessarily ONLY have to be behind them.  In the middle of day it can be above them, especially if it's the hot sun.

Background lighting, on the other hand, simply means you've lit your background, so the source is likely pointing at your background.  Background lighting is most often used in studio.  Photographers often use gels to add color to a background light.

This week I have a few photos with different takes on backlighting.

This is one of my most favorite ways to take advantage of nice backlight:  sun going down at the end of the day.  You will notice that Billie is not directly in front of that light,  If she were, her face would be even darker than it is.  She is difficult to photograph because of her facial features, with the dark and light areas.  By using an off camera flash, I could have illuminated her face even more, but I liked the subdued look of her face in this photo.  I like the quiet and calm that is depicted in this story.  Finally, the trees in the background are acting like a filter for the light.  If they weren't there, I might have a sunflare across my lens, since the light would be shining right into it.

As you will see, the photo below has a much different look.

My second photo is taken during the harsh light time frame of mid day.  Lilah is reacting to one of her playmates and is thinking about joining them.  The sun is above and behind her, creating the shadow you see and lighting up her wispy hairdo.  There is light spill over, which helps to illuminate a portion of her face on the dark side. I turned this photo black and white because in the color version the eye is drawn to all the green around her and you lose sight of the lighting, as well as Lilah. A very typical Lilah expression and reaction, I think the shadows on her face help to tell this story.

I am sure there will be quite a variety of backlighting techniques in the blog circle today, so take a run through and see how others approached this week's topic.  Start with BARKography by Kim Hollis in Charlotte NC, and follow the links at the end of each blog until you are back here where you started.  Happy Father's Day to all fur and skin kid Dads out there!  I hope you all have a nice and relaxing Sunday!