What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are time and light.

— John Berger

Backlighting is dramatic. It often creates silhouettes, yellow halos around the subject, and/or a brilliantly bright background.

Therefore, backlighting is great if you want to create stunning, eye-catching effects. Here are a handful of specific images you can make with backlighting: Street and portrait silhouettes, bird-in-flight silhouettes, portraits and macros with beautiful background bokeh, landscape silhouettes and sunset/sunrise landscapes.

One of my favourite subjects for backlit photography is flowers. Then I rely on the sun as the light source.

Essentially what photography is is life lit up.
— Sam Abell

However, the sun is not always shining…and some plants bloom only when it is dark, so this night blooming cactus was lit up from behind with a soft lamp.

Another favourite is autumn leaves and autumn scenery. Some years we have very little sun and/or little colours in the leaves, but when everything comes together – the results can be stunning.

Winter offers different possibilities when there is snow and ice. Light and shadow can show off for example fur, uneven ground and a shining layer of frost or snow on top.

If we look at things where backlighting is a must, we will find for example aquariums, various screens (phone, TV, computer, camera, etc…). Stained glass windows are perfect examples of how backlight always have been used. And they are still, today, eye-catching beauties.

The camera is much more than a recording apparatus, it is a medium via which messages reach us from another world.
— Orson Welles

Backlight is a versatile instrument in making pictures really come alive, even if they are only silhouettes or very dark. For landscapes it can be magical.

I am not interested in shooting new things – I am interested to see things new.
— Ernst Haas

My home and my garden are always in my lens – and often in backlight. If you photograph the same things every year, you must vary your approach!

Photography is a love affair with life.
— Burk Uzzle

Finally, I was presented with some lovely roses from my husband last week – I could not leave you without them! The sun is shining in through my windows, and on top of that, I made a double exposure.

Many thanks to Patti for having us try Still Life last week – a really challenging subject, but we all rose to the occation! So many interesting and unusual answers!

Now I hope to have given you a taste of backlit photography, and we are looking forward to seeing your images and posts. Tag with Lens-Artists and link to my original post. Hope to see you soon, but until then, please be as kind as ever to others – and to yourself.

Next week it is Sofia who is hosting on the theme Mood. Places, photography styles, situations or portraits where moods are recognisable.