Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Creative Use of Back Lighting

Be Careful With Backlight:- Backlight is, so to speak, the icing on the cake. It’s one of the most useful “tools” we have, but its excessive, inappropriate, or unmotivated use can look very hoaky. In other words, don’t be afraid of backlight, but don’t use it automatically.

Back Lighting effects:- Back lighting is ideal for emphasizing steam, smoke, mist, fog, ice, dew drips, transparent and translucent objects. Keep the background as dark as possible to maximize the effect. As an only source, backlight can be very dramatic. Position backlights high enough to keep them out of the lens but not so high that they become top lights.

Background light:- Background light illuminates all or part of the area behind the subject. Generally it shouldn’t be too flat. Lighting from an angle increases character, depth and texture. But try to motivate it by sources in the scene, such as windows and lamps. The more backlight you use, the less background image you may need. If you light your subject with softlights, under some circumstances there may be enough spill on the background. Don’t let the B.G. go completely black, with rare exceptions, because you will lose the sense of depth, location and motion.