Always put the sun behind your subject. For one thing, it means they won’t be squinting in the picture. But another reason is to get cool backlight effects. Usually you can get a nice bit of rim lighting or some nice highlights on the hair, but when the sun is very low and you stick it behind your subject, you can get all kinds of crazy light-spill effects going on, which can make for some neat-o looking pictures.

Earlier this evening Brence and I were coming home from a photo session (Brence, as usual, providing essential assistance with lighting gear during the location shoot). We pulled into our driveway around 7:30pm and the sun was just about to go down, and was spilling all kinds of crazy light on the neighbours’ fence.

“Quick! Stand here!” and I grabbed the camera, which happened to have a 50mm prime on it. Whacked it on AV and snapped a shot – too dark. Cranked it to +2 exposure compensation and grabbed this second shot ( Canon 5D, 50mm, f4, 1/80th, ISO 400 for those of you playing at home).

It’s a pity about the parked van in the background, but you get my point – the sun can be a very cool light source if it’s in the right place. Be sure to check out the photos Brence then took of me a moment later – you can find them on his blog.

About the Author

I'm a freelance photographer in Christchurch, New Zealand who does promotional & editorial portraiture, and commercial & advertising photography.