If you are curious, as I am, about how to create those dreamy, naturally backlit portraits, this article follows my own learning process. I have always liked placing the sun behind the subject. It can produce a beautiful rim of light around the hair and shoulders, while allowing the face to remain softly lit.
What matters when you head out
- Timing: The golden hour, shortly after sunrise or before sunset, often provides softer and warmer light. The exact quality depends on weather, location and the position of the sun.
- A fast lens: I planned to use my 50mm f/1.4. A longer lens can also work well, particularly when you want more working distance or a tighter composition.
- Location and preparation: A darker background can make the rim light around the subject stand out. The window of good light may be short, so plan the location, composition and clothing before you begin.
- Lens hood: Use a lens hood to reduce stray light and unwanted flare. Sometimes flare is part of the look, but it is better to make that choice deliberately.
Positioning the sun and your subject
There are several ways to work with backlight. You can hide the sun behind your subject, place it just outside the frame, or include it directly in the composition. Hiding the sun behind the subject is usually the easiest approach because it reduces the risk of severe flare and gives you more control over the exposure.
Camera settings
I prefer to start in manual exposure mode so that the camera does not change the exposure unexpectedly as the composition shifts. RAW capture gives you more flexibility when balancing the subject and the bright background, but it does not create unlimited highlight recovery. Protect important highlights and check the histogram where possible.
Choose an aperture to control depth of field and the look of the background. I often work between f/1.4 and f/5.6 for this kind of portrait, but the right setting depends on how much of the subject needs to be sharp. Set ISO as low as practical, then choose a shutter speed that gives the exposure you want. There is no universal shutter-speed range; it will depend on the light, aperture, ISO and whether your subject is moving.
Expose for the face if you want to retain detail in the subject. If you deliberately want a silhouette, expose for the brighter background instead. Spot metering can help, but it is important to know exactly what the meter is reading. Manual focus can be useful when autofocus struggles against strong backlight, although modern autofocus systems can often cope if you place the focus point carefully.
Use fill flash when needed
Fill flash can lift shadows on the subject while retaining the backlit look. Start with low flash power and adjust it to suit the ambient light and the distance to the subject. A setting such as –2 EV can be a useful starting point, but the result depends on the flash system and metering mode. Too much fill light can make the portrait look flat and remove the atmosphere you were trying to create.
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