Background:
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The Special Project is Backlighting. While backlit and silhouette images may look different, they are variations of the same theme. In terms of exposure they differ only in how much light is given to the main subject.
In a silhouette, no discerning features are visible: the subject appears very dark or black. Distinguishing features should, however, be readily apparent in a backlit subject – the longer the exposure, the more these features will be distinguishable.
Backlighting should be dramatic; it is produced when the subject is between the light source and the camera position, creating a halo-like rim of light and possibly casting pronounced shadows. The challenge is to prevent the exposure from being over-influenced by the high levels of background illumination; if you don’t, you will end up with a silhouette which is not allowed in this project. Normally, an extra stop or half-stop over the standard meter reading is required (you can use the +EV adjustments in your camera for this purpose).
Your backlit image can be of anything.… experiment … use your imagination! It could be of a portrait, perhaps taken with light coming through a window. It could be taken in a studio setting or out of doors. Backlit flowers are a fine example.
One very effective way of creating mood in a photograph is to control the lightness or darkness of the tones. However, with this type of lighting, it is important to set your exposure for the main subject and allow the bright backlighting to become overexposed and diffused, but not so bright as to produce hotspots. Experiment with different amounts of direct light hitting the back of the subject, and different amounts of reflected or diffused light reaching the front of the subject (you may wish to use reflectors to assist in this regard) to see the different moods that you can create. Use of fill-in flash is generally a poor idea, although reduced-power flash may come in handy in place of or in addition to the use of reflectors.
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