Help with backlit subjects

designdog wrote:

The fountain was a bad example, because of course it would be at night.

More better would be a recent trip to a neighborhood lake community. My wife, our border collie and golden retriever are sitting on a bench at the edge of a covered pagoda. It is a prefectly sunny day, blue skies, no clouds, and all of that is in the background, with the three subjects in shadow.

So I am thinking to use the spot meter on her, but then the background would be blown out. And so the converse. Using the average meter does not work so well, nor does the evaluative.

Instinct tells me to spot meter the bright background, then adjust the exposure until I can make out some details of the subjects. "Exposing to the right" I guess...