Master the Art of Backlight
for Bold Landscape Photography
When you’re aiming to inject a bit more mood and intensity into your landscape photography, shooting with backlight is one of the most powerful tools in your kit. Forget that age-old advice about always keeping the sun at your back. Instead, turn toward the light. Literally.
By positioning yourself so that the sun is in front of you and your subject is lit from behind, you enter the magical world of backlighting. This lighting technique can result in bold contrast, strong silhouettes, and glowing, translucent subjects that seem to radiate from within.
But as with anything striking, backlighting comes with a few quirks. Here’s a practical guide to help you make the most of it.
1. Switch to Spot Metering
Under normal conditions, your camera likely uses matrix or evaluative metering. These are smart modes that analyze the whole frame to figure out exposure. But backlit scenes are typically filled with extreme highlights and deep shadows, and that can confuse the camera’s default modes.
Instead, switch to spot metering so you can zero in on the exact part of the image that matters most. Whether you’re metering for the subject or the sky, this setting gives you control. Let the rest of the frame fall where it will.
Switch to spot metering so you can zero in on the exact part of the image that matters most.
2. Silhouette a Striking Shape
Sunset or sunrise is prime time for backlit images. The colours in the sky do a lot of the heavy lifting, but to really pull the viewer in, you’ll need a strong foreground subject with an interesting shape like trees, rock formations, structures, even people.
Once you’ve got your shape, meter on the sky using your spot meter. This will preserve the vibrancy in the sky and push your subject into deep shadow, creating a bold silhouette with graphic punch.
Silhouette Pro Tip:
Don’t panic when you see pure black in your histogram – that’s exactly what you want in a silhouette. You’re aiming for deep shadow with no detail in the subject. Avoid the temptation to lift the shadows in post-processing; doing so can muddy the contrast and kill the impact. Let the black stay black. That’s the whole point.
3. Look for Translucent Subjects
Certain subjects like flowers, leaves, feathers, even ice, take on a glowing, ethereal quality when the light passes through them. These are prime candidates for backlight. Frame them so the sun is shining through from behind, then meter directly on your subject.
Let the background fade into brightness or darkness as needed. The subject is the star here, lit from within like nature’s own stained glass.
One time, I used this technique in a cave, of all places. A stalactite was being lit from behind by an artificial source. Its translucency and strange shape made it look like a glowing crystal chandelier.
Glow Pro Tip:
Those glowing areas can be deceptively bright and are easy to overexpose. To keep the detail and texture in your highlights, try using a bit of negative exposure compensation. Start with minus 1/3 stop and adjust from there. This subtle tweak can help preserve that luminous look without blowing things out.
4. Bring in a Reflector (If You Don’t Want a Silhouette)
Sometimes you want to preserve detail in both your subject and the sky. That’s where a reflector can save the day. It allows you to bounce a bit of light back toward your subject, brightening it up without killing the drama in the sky.
In one of my desert shots, I used a reflector to bounce light onto a prickly pear cactus. Without it, the cactus would’ve vanished into silhouette. With it, the plant retained its detail and the sky stayed moody and colourful. Win-win.
A reflector allows you to bounce a bit of light back toward your subject, brightening it up without killing the drama in the sky.
5. Create a Sunburst
Golden hour gives you low, warm light which is ideal for sunbursts. Position yourself so that the sun is just peeking around the edge of your subject, stop your aperture way down (f/22 or so). This creates a clean, spiked sunburst that can serve as a brilliant focal point in your image.
Bonus tip: You don’t need a perfect sphere of sun in the shot. Just a sliver peeking from behind a tree or rock will do the trick, especially when your aperture is narrowed down.
Sunburst Pro Tip:
When you’re shooting straight into the sun, lens flare is almost unavoidable, and that’s not always a bad thing. Try moving slightly to control where the flare lands in your frame. Sometimes it adds atmosphere, sometimes it’s a distraction. Don’t fight it. Use it with intention.
Final Thought: Turn Around
Next time you’re out shooting, take a moment to stop, turn toward the sun, and see what the light is doing from that angle. Backlight is one of the most evocative and underused tools in a photographer’s arsenal, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll start to see it everywhere.
I’d love to hear what this brought up for you – a technique you’ve tried, a challenge you’ve faced, or a favourite photo where backlight made all the difference.
Even a simple “thanks” or “me too” is always appreciated!
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What a beautifully written guide on harnessing backlight in landscape photography! I really like how you explained the different creative options—whether it’s capturing silhouettes, highlighting translucent subjects, or embracing the dramatic contrasts.
The practical tips on metering and using reflectors to soften contrast are super helpful. This post definitely inspires me to look for new ways to work with that golden glow instead of avoiding it.
Thank you so much Mihai for the wonderful feedback! I’m glad you found the tutorial helpful 🙂
Thanks again, Anne! I really appreciate how approachable you make these techniques—it makes me want to head out with my camera right away. Can’t wait to see more of your landscape tutorials!
Thanks great tutorial and mirrors where many if us that do bird photography have also been heading in recent times. Bird on a stick is fine but using back and side light to tell a different story is much more engaging.
Hi Graham, I couldn’t agree more! I love using backlight for bird photography and getting that beautiful silhouette or getting the nice rim light on the feathers. Have you seen my tutorial on bird photography? If not, you can see it here:
https://blog.annemckinnell.com/2016/06/12/how-to-photograph-birds/
Thanks for your visit and comments!
Yes I have read it thanks. Very good overview of bird photography 101. I actually teach it here and cover all the same territory- we have exactly the same approach. If you are interested my insta is @gallpix
Cheers
Graham
Followed! I love that close up pelican shot, gorgeous!
Thanks Anne.
I loved the example photos that you provided to illustrate your content.
Do you have a preference for sunrise or sunset to do this?
Or is dependent on the situation?
Hi Denny, it is all dependent on the location and the weather. On the west coast, I find that sunsets are best. But when I visited the east coast sunrises were definitely better. Thanks for your kind comments, I appreciate it!
Thank you, Anne, for kindly sharing your knowledge and expertise with us. All your tutorials based on your extensive experience are truly appreciated.
You are welcome Mark, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the post, thanks for your comments!
Thanks for the tips Anne. I’m always trying to pull some detail out of the shadows. Your tip about letting the blacks be black is great.
Hi Wayne, I’m so glad you liked that tip. Yes, there is nothing wrong with having solid blacks in your frame. I have always really liked those dark moody images that have a lot of black. That is why your subject needs to have an interesting shape though for backlit shots. If it is just a black lump it doesn’t really work. Thanks for your visit and comments!
Although an obvious step to achieve the desired effect when shooting sunrise and sunset photos, the use spot metering is something I had not considered. I also have not considered using exposure compensation. A good learning, Thank you!
You are most welcome Jim! I use exposure compensation a lot when I take a shot and then just want to adjust the exposure up or down. It is quick. But if I am being more deliberate in the first place, spot metering is the way to go. Remember that on some cameras, your shutter button is doing many jobs – usually including metering and focus besides the shutter. You can use your exposure lock button to lock the exposure once you read it with the spot meter. That allows you to focus on something else in the frame without changing the exposure. I hope that makes sense. Focusing on one thing and metering on another is essential in backlight. I should have added a section on that! Because the thing that is in shadow, your subject with the interesting shape, needs to be in focus or it will be all soft around the edges. If you want a sharp edge, it must be in focus, which is not easy given that it’s black.
Thanks for the tutorial. I appreciated the tips in the boxes. I’ve always loved your images and it is generous of you to share your knowledge with us.
Thank you so much Kathy, it is wonderful to get such positive comments. These posts actually take quite a bit of time to make between the writing, photos, formatting, graphics, and emails, so it is really great to know that they resonate with people. Your comments are much appreciated.
What a helpful tutorial, Anne! I especially appreciate your tip about bouncing light back onto the subject with a reflector. Brilliant!
Thank you so much Cathy, I’m so glad that tip was helpful. Reflectors are great little tools to keep in your camera bag. I have one of those twist up kind that pop out into a big round piece and it sits quite flat in my camera bag. It’s really cool because it is white on one side and gold on the other, so you can reflect warm light if you want.
Good afternoon, Anne and Ray – Once more you have posted “wow” photographs!!!! Each post you make provides more proof of God’s creative work in our world. And by adding your creative instincts makes for, not only informative reading but also, a sense of trust in that whatever is being shown or written is genuine, real and heartfelt. I’ve got to get out there and ‘turn around’ and apply your shared skills to see His creative touch – even in the shadows. Thank you for sharing your passion and heart with us your readers.
Hello David! I appreciate what you said about what is shown and written being genuine. These days with AI, it is getting hard to know what is real. What a scary thought! But I think those of us who spend a lot of time in nature have a better instinct for what is real. Adding our creativity to what the natural world presents to us is what artistic photography is about. Thanks for your visit and comments!
Thank you, Anne. Such useful tips, well illustrated with your photos on the correct utilisation of the backlit for landscape photography. Excellent.
Much appreciated Bernard! I’m glad to hear the post was useful and appreciate the kind feedback.
Fabulous info, and the example images are definitely alluring…just the sort of images I long to make!
That is wonderful to hear, thank you very much for the comments Margo!
Beautiful backlight landscape photos. I’m an amateur photographer since I don’t use software to make big changes using layers, overlays, etc.. I want things to be what my eye sees. Your content/advice are very helpful. Thank you!
You are most welcome Chief! Getting it right in camera is so important. Even if you do plan to post-process your photos, having a solid place to start from makes all the difference. If you do not process your photos, it can actually be better to shoot in jpg and allow the camera to make some processing decisions for you like adding a bit of contrast to the scene. And of course setting your while balance is important if you shoot in jpg. If you shoot in raw, those photos will look sort of blah and grey coming out of your camera because they are waiting for your processing decisions. They have more data in them though, so that’s why it’s better to shoot raw if you are going to process them. Glad the tutorial helped, thanks for the feedback!
Thank you so much for your advice and input. I am learning to do some adjustments in Apple Photo. I also have Affinity. I really want to make the most of my investment. I have a Nikon Z6iii and the 14-30mm f/4S, 24-120mm f/4S, 105mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 S (with the 2X teleconverter). Sometimes I use a Nikon P900 when out and about. Your posts and beautiful photos are inspirational to say the least. Again, thank you so much for your sharing and response.
I loved the example photos in your post!
Thank you very much Jessica, I appreciate it!
thank you, most informing content!
So glad you found it helpful CW, thanks for the feedback!