There are some photos I just don’t want to take.
For example, the family photo for a distant relative from Albuquerque – no
matter how hard you try, they end up looking funny and you don’t want your
name associated with the image. OK, I made that up… kinda. This image is
another example of a photo that, at the time, I really didn’t want to take.
I was shooting a senior portrait session for our house/child sitter (and
daughter of some ridiculously good friends), and she wanted to shoot an
image heavily backlit by the sun. Images with this style are all the rage
right now, but it’s never been me. But, she’s come through for Sarah and I
on more than one occasion, so I decided to stretch myself a bit. I’ve had
zero experience shooting in this style, so the camera settings were a guess
at best. After several frames, we got one we both liked. Nope – didn’t
want to go this route at first, but now, I am glad I did!
Technical Details: 1/640 sec at f/5.6 - 70-200mm lens at
70mm - RAW ISO 200
After several failures, here’s the formula I found that works for me:
spot-meter the subject and overexpose from that reading 2/3 to one full
stop, use a cheap front filter to add light scattering & some flare and
moderate aperture for a smooth blurred (but recognizable) background. I’m
still not a big fan of the style, but at least I’ve got it in the bag now.
The full gallery from this session can be found here.
