How do I properly light a subject when there is overexposure in the background?

[neonsunset98]

I have been wondering lately how photographers get such beautiful picture of a person with overexposure in the background. How do they have perfect lighting on the person with the beautiful overexposure (most of the time from the sun) in the background? When I try this I end up with more of a silhouette.

 

[KmH]

By using flash, the ambient light exposure can be controlled separate from the flash exposure.
Shutter speed controls the ambient light exposure and lens aperture controls the flash exposure.

The background can be so bright that a shutter speed faster than the camera's flash x-sync speed (usually 1/000 or 1/250) is needed.
In that case high speed flash sync is needed. Canon calls that HSS (high speed Sync). Nikon calls it Auto-FP sync.
Both the camera and the flash unit need to be high speed flash sync capable.

With back lit subjects the flash is fill light.

http://www.dg28.com/technique/why_we_use_lights.htm

 

[480sparky38 38]

They increase the light on the subject until it equals the exposure of the background. Then the camera is adjusted and both are exposed properly.

 

[nycphotography]

I first set an exposure based on the sky.

Say the camera wants 1/125 @ f11 @ iso 400 if spot metering on the subject's face
And 1/1000 @ f16 @ iso 400 if spot metering on the sky

I'll set my camera up in M(anual) mode for an EQUIVALENT exposure to the sky.
Say 1/250 @ f11 @ iso 100. Two stops more light via slower shutter offset by two stops slower film.

Then I'll compare that exposure to the meter reading for the face...
1/250 va 1/125 = needs one more stop of light. iso 100 vs iso 400 needs two more stops of light.

Now tell your speedlight to add +3. (alterntively, I'll put it in full power Manual mode).

Give it a try and see what you get.

If the sky isn't dark enough, I'll stop down one more, or tr a faster shuffer (if the flash will still sync at that speed).

If the subject is too dark or too light, I'll adjsut the flash (either +/- ev, or add / reduce power in manual mode). Sometimes I'll adjsut the aperture to lighten the subject, and adj the shutter to offset darken the sky keepign it the same.

ADJSUT THE SKY w/ the shutter, and the subject w/ the aperture and/or flash power.

With practice you should be able to get it to something useful in a couple minutes or less.

HINT: all the works because the flash burst lasts microseconds, so the shutter speed is (mostly) irrelevant to the foreground / subject.
This decoupling lets you adjsut foreground and background separately, even when your flash is seemingly not adjustable.

 

[nycphotography]

For example this was taken at sunset, backlit, with an LX5 (more or less non adjustable flash).

 

[table1349]

Flash 101 (Fill Flash In Use) | The Wonder Of Light

 

[TCampbell]

I have been wondering lately how photographers get such beautiful picture of a person with overexposure in the background. How do they have perfect lighting on the person with the beautiful overexposure (most of the time from the sun) in the background? When I try this I end up with more of a silhouette.

I'm a bit rushed for time at the moment... but when I get some time later I'll respond back with a video tutorial showing you exactly how this is done.

Basically you can't control the light in the background -- so don't. But you CAN control the light in the foreground... so DO. If you can get the light in the foreground boosted so that it's within about 1/3rd of a stop of the exposure reading for the background then you'll get a balanced exposure that looks great.

 

[Tiller]

Are you saying you want the background to be overexposed? If you want both the subject and background to be properly exposed, then do use flash.

But if you want the background to be overexposed while having your subject correctly exposed, then you need to spot meter on your subject to get the correct reading for them. Then recompose and take the shot. If the background is brighter than your subject, it will get blown out.

 

[kundalini]

....Basically you can't control the light in the background -- so don't. .....

So, what you're saying is those pesky aperture and shutter speed controls mean nothing? Methinks you are confusing the OP because I'm completely befuddled with that statement.

 

[Derrel]

I have been wondering lately how photographers get such beautiful picture of a person with overexposure in the background. How do they have perfect lighting on the person with the beautiful overexposure (most of the time from the sun) in the background? When I try this I end up with more of a silhouette.

One of the easier methods is to use a very large reflector, or even two large reflectors, to "kick" some of the light from behind back and onto the shadowed side of the subject. Working in backlighting like this can yield very nice lighting effects, with the background being allowed to go "hot", or even to "blow out".

If one works in a large area of open shade, this is pretty easy to do, and can create the look and feeling of bright, bright light behind, and a generous exposure in the low-contrast light of open shade can in effect, do what is called "key-shift" the background (making it brighter than it is in reality).

 

[TCampbell]

....Basically you can't control the light in the background -- so don't. .....

So, what you're saying is those pesky aperture and shutter speed controls mean nothing? Methinks you are confusing the OP because I'm completely befuddled with that statement.

That is correct. You can fiddle with those pesky aperture and shutter speed controls 'til the cows come home... and it wont help the image.

If you were exposing for the background, in isolation, with no foreground... or the foreground, in isolation, with no background, then you could do something with those pesky aperture and shutter speed controls. Just not in THIS situation.

In THIS situation the challenge is that the background and foreground are very different exposures. You'll have to bring the two different exposures into balance to capture the image.

To balance the image, you'll need to add light.

Hence my statement that you meter and set exposure for the BACKGROUND (where you cannot control the lighting) and then take control of the lighting in the FOREGROUND (where you CAN control the lighting) to bring it to an exposure which comes close to the background exposure.

Here's a video (a free recorded webinar to sell Sekonic brand light meters) which explains the concepts: Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 2 ? Better Environmental Portraiture
You don't need to run out and buy a Sekonic brand light meter (although they are good meters) to make this work. The concepts work regardless. BTW, probably most of the concepts you want for this situation are covered in the first 16 minutes of the video (though the video does run more than an hour long if you want to watch the whole thing.)

 

[Gavjenks]

I like reflectors a lot more than flash for this task. Unless you gel them very carefully, the flash is going to look differently colored than the background light, and there's no way to fix it in post unless you want to go in and outline the entire background vs. foreground with a selection tool.

Whereas a white reflector will reflect whatever color hits it.

Also, on location, people often don't both to put huge umbrellas or softboxes on their flashes. So flash consequently often look kinda harsh, compared to a huge reflector which is a lot easier to carry around (fold up better and weigh less) and thus is more likely to be on hand for nice soft, natural looking fill light, as if reflected from the environment at dusk.

 

[hirejn]

Sounds like you're talking about shooting against a bright background, but the question isn't precise. It's easy to overexpose a background. What's not as easy is balancing a subject with a bright background. You have some choices with bright backgrounds. You can add fill flash, blow out the background, let the subject go dark, or do HDR.

 

[Newtricks]

I have been wondering lately how photographers get such beautiful picture of a person with overexposure in the background. When I try this I end up with more of a silhouette.

Spot meter to expose the subject at the distance you plan to take the shot from and take notes shutter speed, aperture and ISO, set the camera in manual for the metered exposure and take the shot. The subject taking longer to be properly exposed will result in the background being more or less washed out.

Here's an example of exposing for the foreground without regard for anything beyond that.

AA_006_-_Copy - The Photo Forum Photo Gallery

Be well,

Anthony

 

[Robin_Usagani]

WTF.. People do not read the question???

OP, change your metering to spot metering. Then point the spot metering to the subject forehead.