Alright, so I figured I’d share what I got up to the other day. The mission? Backlight photography. I’d seen a bunch of these cool photos where the subject just kinda glows, and I thought, “Yeah, I want to try that. How hard can it be?” Famous last words, right?
So, I grabbed my camera. Nothing super fancy, just my trusty old thing. The sun was starting to head down, giving that nice golden light everyone talks about, so I thought, “Perfect timing!” I dragged my kid out into the yard to be my model. Poor thing, always getting roped into my photo experiments.
My first few attempts? Oh man, they were bad. Like, really bad. Either my kid was a complete silhouette, just a black shape against a crazy bright background, or the background was so blown out you couldn’t see a thing. It was a mess. I was just pointing and shooting, hoping for the best, which clearly wasn’t the way to go.
I started messing with the settings. I’m not gonna lie, I was mostly guessing. Turning dials, pushing buttons, taking a shot, looking at it, and groaning. Then I remembered something about positioning. So, I started moving around, trying different angles. I told my kid to stand still, which, as you can imagine, lasted about five seconds each time.
Here’s what I sort of fumbled my way into figuring out:
- Positioning is EVERYTHING. I had to get the sun hidden just right behind my kid’s head or shoulders. If too much sun peeked through, BAM, whiteout.
- The camera’s auto mode just couldn’t handle it. It got confused by all that light. I had to switch to manual, which always feels like I’m trying to fly a spaceship with no training.
- Focusing was a nightmare. The camera kept trying to focus on the bright background instead of my kid. I tried manual focus, squinting at that little screen, probably getting it wrong half the time.
- Taking a LOT of photos is key. I mean, a ridiculous amount. Most were junk, but every now and then, one would be… okay-ish.
There was this one moment, after maybe a hundred shots, where I got something that looked kinda cool. The light was catching the edge of my kid’s hair, making it glow, and you could still see their face, not just a dark blob. The background was soft and blurry. It wasn’t like a pro photo or anything, but for me, it was a little victory!
What I learned from this little adventure? Well, backlight photography is definitely trickier than it looks. You’re basically having a wrestling match with the sun. Patience is super important, and you’ve gotta be okay with taking a ton of bad photos to get a few decent ones. And honestly, you don’t need the fanciest gear to just try stuff out and learn. It’s more about just getting out there and doing it, messing around until something clicks.
So yeah, that was my afternoon spent chasing the light. I got a few photos I don’t totally hate, and I actually learned a bit. Plus, it was a good excuse to be outside. I’ll probably give it another go sometime, maybe with a plant next time. Plants don’t run around as much.
