Portrait photography tip: Use a window as backlight

Friday 15 January 2021, 20:10 by Elja Trum | 5,714 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

It may seem obvious to let light from a window fall on your model from the side. That immediately gives you a nice result. But you can create something really special by using the window as backlight.

Michelle - f/2.2, 1/80s, 1600 ISO @ 50mm
Place your model in front of the window and photograph him or her with the window in the background. On automatic, your camera will expose for the large bright area behind your model.

This makes the face very dark. You therefore need to compensate, either by adding positive exposure compensation on your camera or by setting your camera to manual.

Now make sure your model's face is nicely bright in the image. The background, the window, will now be heavily overexposed, and the light from the window will create rim light on your model.

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

About the author

Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.

Portrait photography tip: Playing with backlighting
by Elja Trum
Portrait photography tip: use a window's reflection
by Elja Trum
Portrait photography tip: Avoid direct sunlight through a window
by Elja Trum
Flash, Sunlight and Backlight
by Erik van Rosmalen
The three directions of light
by Nando Harmsen
Switching to the Mac Studio or not? Part 3 - the decision
by Nando Harmsen

Show every article in Portrait photography

home

2 comments

Henriette Korner-de Monchy wrote on Tuesday 19 January 2021 at 15:44 | reply
unfortunately then not that nice desired (?) glint in the eyes..
Translated from Dutch.

Elja Trum wrote on Tuesday 19 January 2021 at 16:38 | reply
@Henriette; No, indeed. Then you miss it.
As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't always have to be in every photo, but you can of course still add it with a flash or reflector.
Translated from Dutch.

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,077 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by