How to take good photos under backlight?

Editor's note: Many people will say "This is stray light, you should turn around and take the photo" when taking photos. In fact, this also shows that it is difficult to take photos with backlight, but on the other hand Generally speaking, photographers should be able to overcome environmental factors and create good works under any conditions. Backlighting is a kind of lighting with artistic charm and strong expressiveness. It can make the picture produce an artistic effect that is completely different from the actual light seen by our naked eyes at the scene. I hope this group of backlit photography masterpieces in this issue can bring you some inspiration. When you encounter backlight, don’t avoid it and create wonderful works. Taking photos against the light may seem easy, but it's not. Taking photos in which the light comes from behind the subject requires certain skills and must be distinguished from silhouette photos. Compare the photos below with the silhouette photos and you’ll see the difference. These photos were taken using the sun or other light sources, I hope you like them. First, it can enhance the texture of the subject. Especially when shooting transparent or translucent objects, such as flowers, plant branches and leaves, etc., backlighting is the best light. Because, on the one hand, backlighting can improve the color brightness and saturation of translucent objects, making plain transparent or translucent objects under forward lighting show beautiful luster and better transparency, adding to the enhanced transmission On the other hand, the brightness difference between light-transmitting objects and opaque objects in the same picture is obviously widened, and the contrast between light and dark greatly enhances the artistic effect of the picture. Second, it can enhance the rendering of the atmosphere, especially in the morning and evening in landscape photography, using low angle and large backlighting light and shadow modeling methods. The backlight will outline the red clouds, steaming clouds, mountains, villages, The trees are like ink, and if mist, boats, and birds are added to set off each other, it will trigger a deep resonance visually and spiritually, making the work deeper in connotation, higher in artistic conception, and richer in charm. Third, it can enhance the visual impact. In backlight shooting, due to the increase in the proportion of dark parts, a considerable part of the details are covered by shadows. The subject pops out of the picture with simple lines or a small light-receiving area. This large light ratio and high contrast give people a strong impression. visual impact, thus producing a strong artistic modeling effect. Specifically, first of all, it can purify the background under backlight, underexposure, and poor color reproduction, thereby obtaining the effect of highlighting the subject; secondly, it can vividly outline the clear outline of the subject, It separates the subject from the background, highlights the undulations and lines of the subject's shape, and strengthens the subject's sense of subject; thirdly, it can deeply depict the character's personality. Due to the small light-receiving area of ??the entire picture, most of the face and body are in shadow. , forming a dense and low-key picture mainly in dark colors, which helps to express the character's deep, reserved, solemn or melancholic personality. At the same time, due to the large contrast of tones and the strong arrangement of light and dark light, some imperfections on the characters' faces can be diluted with the help of strong light, and the shadows of the backlight can be used to hide them, so as to maximize strengths and avoid weaknesses. Fourth, it can enhance the depth of the picture, especially when shooting under backlight in the morning or evening. Due to the different medium conditions in the air, the color composition changes at different distances: the foreground is dark and the background is bright; the foreground color saturation is high and the background is bright. Color saturation is low. As a result, the entire picture moves from far to near, and the colors change from light to thick, from bright to dark, forming a subtle sense of spatial depth. Backlight shooting skills How to shoot with backlight The basic condition for photography is forward light. Backlight has always been a taboo in photography, but in many cases we have to shoot under backlight conditions. Backlight shooting refers to shooting when there is a light source behind the subject or the background is relatively bright. When backlit, the object being photographed will appear darker compared to the brightness of the background, easily forming shadows. If the backlight is too strong, the subject will be severely underexposed. When encountering this situation, you can take the following methods to deal with backlighting. Photography means there is a light source or background comparison behind the subject. 1. The key to using a reflector when shooting backlighting is to fill in the light. Because the light source is behind, the front image will be relatively darker, causing shadows. If we use a reflector on the front, we can solve the problem. Regarding the problem of backlighting, reflectors can be purchased in general photography stores. Friends who have the conditions can buy a reflector for emergencies. 2. Use the backlight compensation function. Digital cameras currently on the market are generally equipped with a backlight compensation function. Using backlight compensation technology, the subject can be brightened by backlight compensation. When shooting backlit objects, if you use the automatic mode that comes with a digital camera to shoot, then the former will definitely result in the subject or character being completely dark and the background bright and dazzling, while the latter will result in blurry lights in the dark, making it difficult to see what is being photographed. To solve the above problems, we can press the backlight compensation button when backlighting. When the indicator light appears in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen, we can shoot with backlight. At this time, we can clearly see what we want to shoot. object, after shooting, press the backlight compensation button again to release the backlight compensation state, and the indicator light on the LCD screen will disappear. It should be noted that the backlight button does not work when manually adjusting the exposure. By comparing the two screenshots of dynamic images I took from a digital camera, you can find that using the backlight key in a backlight environment still has a certain effect.

The photo on the left is a still photo effect before the backlight key is used. We can see that the main body of the photo is dark, and it is impossible for you to see clearly what is in the photo; the photo on the right is after using the backlight key. You can see the effect of the backlit keys clearly this time. It is a bottle of shower gel, and the fonts on it are clearly legible.

3. Use manual aperture to adjust the exposure value. If your digital camera does not have a backlight compensation function, then when shooting with backlight, you can also turn on the manual aperture adjustment function and appropriately increase the exposure value, which can also achieve the purpose, but at this time It depends on your manual adjustment skills. Some friends can’t get a satisfactory picture even after adjusting it. At this time, the object you want to shoot may have passed by, so you must use the manual function of the digital camera more often. Practice, so that you can be "calm in the face of battle"!