Photography Tips

Handling Lighting

I love this photo for so many reasons—the color, the mood, the butterfly as the center of visual interest—but I'm especially intrigued by the way the photographer handled the lighting. Backlighting against a clear, sunny sky can create a huge challenge. You're forced to either underexpose the subject or overexpose the background. Here, the photographer split the difference. Since the photo already employs a shallow depth of field, the overexposure of the blurred background doesn't cause a problem. The area in shadow to the right of the butterfly is slightly underexposed, but it doesn't diminish the subject itself. Lighting situations such as this are tricky, and it's best to bracket your photos, meaning to shoot several at different exposure levels to test the results. Also, changing your angle can help control the outcome.

(Photo by Katie Shapiro, taken in San Antonio, Texas. Visit her website: The Magic Season)