How to photograph objects with strong backlight

[Rooster4u]

I want you all experts to teach me how to photograph objects which has a strong back light with my canon EOS 600D camera mounted with 55-250mm kit lens?

Consider the example of taking photos of people playing on beach waves and there is strong back light. The beach will be the one where sunset happens and the i will be doing the shooting between 4pm to 5.45pm where the sunset time is at 6 pm. So now i hope that this has given much more idea of what kind of back light it will be there.

I have tried taking photos and what i got is all black people similar to shadow.

Try helping me with the settings for my canon camera to achieve perfect picture.

 

[JoePhoto]

Seriously there could be several options.

Fill-Flash has been suggested but it would take a strong flash and a camera with native flash-sync of 1/1000, which few DSLR's have, (but the Panasonic FZ-1000 can even sync to 1/4000).

Most modern DSLRs have hi-speed flash sync. Keep in mind, however, that such speeds will greatly diminish flash power.

YES ... GREATLY reduced power. Thus WORTHLESS for extended-range fill-flash like a native higher flash-sync speed can.

But note that it is not the "speed" that diminishes flash-power, (unless faster than 1/1000 and a combination of long-range).

The "HSS-mode" of flash-units has only about 1/10 the normal GN, so a normal flash range of maybe 40' can drop to only about 4'. (whereas having a native 1/1000 sync speed can DOUBLE the effective range of the same flash in "normal" mode to about 80'+)

A "graduated" neutral-density (GND) would also work perfect because you probably have a straight-horizon.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) could also work if you camera does it, (or you could do an auto-bracket @ +/- 3 stops and do it later in software).

That only works if people are stationary.

YES ... and NO ...

First of all, the (3) HDR shots on the FZ-1000 are extremely fast, (faster than a DSLR can shoot), so any movement will be relatively small. (and sometimes "subject" movement can be a "creative" benefit to an image)

Second, the (handheld) HDR on FZ-1000 is a "stacking" mode that digitally corrects for movement, (albeit that may indeed not work well on individually moving subjects).

So depending on the specific situation, it may work acceptably well.

But also note that it may be possible to simply ask the subjects to hold "still" for the shot, and then use HDR.

Note that the FZ-1000 has an "auto" (hand-held) that can auto-stich if only (hand-held) movement but I don't know if it would work with "moving" people, (or black people) ....

No, HDR pretty much depends on stationary subjects. It can compensate, to some extent, on camera movement - but not movement of elements within the frame relative to the rest of the image.

I AGREE with you, but see above.

 

[JoePhoto]

Seriously there could be several options.

Fill-Flash has been suggested but it would take a strong flash and a camera with native flash-sync of 1/1000, which few DSLR's have, (but the Panasonic FZ-1000 can even sync to 1/4000).

A "graduated" neutral-density (GND) would also work perfect because you probably have a straight-horizon.

You would get people with their top halves dark and bottom halves light.

Absolutely true unless you have the people "low" on the beach, (and the GND only starting at the horizon, with all the beach, rocks, people below where the graduation starts.

So a very good point, it would NOT work for the examples that were later shown of ladies "standing" directly with sun behind their heads.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) could also work if you camera does it, (or you could do an auto-bracket @ +/- 3 stops and do it later in software).

Not for moving subjects.

 

[Aberaeron]

Seriously there could be several options.

Fill-Flash has been suggested but it would take a strong flash and a camera with native flash-sync of 1/1000, which few DSLR's have, (but the Panasonic FZ-1000 can even sync to 1/4000).

Most modern DSLRs have hi-speed flash sync. Keep in mind, however, that such speeds will greatly diminish flash power.

YES ... GREATLY reduced power. Thus WORTHLESS for extended-range fill-flash like a native higher flash-sync speed can.

But note that it is not the "speed" that diminishes flash-power, (unless faster than 1/1000 and a combination of long-range).

The "HSS-mode" of flash-units has only about 1/10 the normal GN, so a normal flash range of maybe 40' can drop to only about 4'. (whereas having a native 1/1000 sync speed can DOUBLE the effective range of the same flash in "normal" mode to about 80'+)

A "graduated" neutral-density (GND) would also work perfect because you probably have a straight-horizon.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) could also work if you camera does it, (or you could do an auto-bracket @ +/- 3 stops and do it later in software).

That only works if people are stationary.

YES ... and NO ...

First of all, the (3) HDR shots on the FZ-1000 are extremely fast, (faster than a DSLR can shoot), so any movement will be relatively small. (and sometimes "subject" movement can be a "creative" benefit to an image)

Second, the (handheld) HDR on FZ-1000 is a "stacking" mode that digitally corrects for movement, (albeit that may indeed not work well on individually moving subjects).

So depending on the specific situation, it may work acceptably well.

But also note that it may be possible to simply ask the subjects to hold "still" for the shot, and then use HDR.

Note that the FZ-1000 has an "auto" (hand-held) that can auto-stich if only (hand-held) movement but I don't know if it would work with "moving" people, (or black people) ....

No, HDR pretty much depends on stationary subjects. It can compensate, to some extent, on camera movement - but not movement of elements within the frame relative to the rest of the image.

I AGREE with you, but see above.

 

[Mark B.]

Seriously there could be several options.

Fill-Flash has been suggested but it would take a strong flash and a camera with native flash-sync of 1/1000, which few DSLR's have, (but the Panasonic FZ-1000 can even sync to 1/4000).

Most modern DSLRs have hi-speed flash sync. Keep in mind, however, that such speeds will greatly diminish flash power.

YES ... GREATLY reduced power. Thus WORTHLESS for extended-range fill-flash like a native higher flash-sync speed can.

But note that it is not the "speed" that diminishes flash-power, (unless faster than 1/1000 and a combination of long-range).

The "HSS-mode" of flash-units has only about 1/10 the normal GN, so a normal flash range of maybe 40' can drop to only about 4'. (whereas having a native 1/1000 sync speed can DOUBLE the effective range of the same flash in "normal" mode to about 80'+)

A "graduated" neutral-density (GND) would also work perfect because you probably have a straight-horizon.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) could also work if you camera does it, (or you could do an auto-bracket @ +/- 3 stops and do it later in software).

That only works if people are stationary.

YES ... and NO ...

First of all, the (3) HDR shots on the FZ-1000 are extremely fast, (faster than a DSLR can shoot), so any movement will be relatively small. (and sometimes "subject" movement can be a "creative" benefit to an image)

Second, the (handheld) HDR on FZ-1000 is a "stacking" mode that digitally corrects for movement, (albeit that may indeed not work well on individually moving subjects).

So depending on the specific situation, it may work acceptably well.

But also note that it may be possible to simply ask the subjects to hold "still" for the shot, and then use HDR.

Note that the FZ-1000 has an "auto" (hand-held) that can auto-stich if only (hand-held) movement but I don't know if it would work with "moving" people, (or black people) ....

No, HDR pretty much depends on stationary subjects. It can compensate, to some extent, on camera movement - but not movement of elements within the frame relative to the rest of the image.

I AGREE with you, but see above.

 

[Mark B.]

Seriously there could be several options.

Fill-Flash has been suggested but it would take a strong flash and a camera with native flash-sync of 1/1000, which few DSLR's have, (but the Panasonic FZ-1000 can even sync to 1/4000).

Most modern DSLRs have hi-speed flash sync. Keep in mind, however, that such speeds will greatly diminish flash power.

YES ... GREATLY reduced power. Thus WORTHLESS for extended-range fill-flash like a native higher flash-sync speed can.

But note that it is not the "speed" that diminishes flash-power, (unless faster than 1/1000 and a combination of long-range).

The "HSS-mode" of flash-units has only about 1/10 the normal GN, so a normal flash range of maybe 40' can drop to only about 4'. (whereas having a native 1/1000 sync speed can DOUBLE the effective range of the same flash in "normal" mode to about 80'+)

A "graduated" neutral-density (GND) would also work perfect because you probably have a straight-horizon.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) could also work if you camera does it, (or you could do an auto-bracket @ +/- 3 stops and do it later in software).

That only works if people are stationary.

YES ... and NO ...

First of all, the (3) HDR shots on the FZ-1000 are extremely fast, (faster than a DSLR can shoot), so any movement will be relatively small.

That only makes sense if it locks shutter speed at the max and varies aperture for bracketing. The top electronic shutter speed is 1/16000 on the FZ so yes I agree that's much faster than most DSLRs. I would venture to guess, though, that there are few situations that can be shot at 1/16000 at apertures smaller than wide open.

 

[Aberaeron]

Some cameras have a one-shot high dynamic range feature when used in jpeg recording mode. Panasonic call it i-dynamic while the more versatile Sony version is called DRO or dynamic range optimization. Canon might have a similar facility,, I don't know.

The purpose of the above is to optimise the dynamic range while shooting a moving subject.

Using one image for HDR can be done in post-processing, and would be better done with a raw image. Still not as good as combining multiple bracketed images, but if there are moving elements within the frame it's the only choice.

I just illustrated a second choice, where a camera has the facility. Post processing could still be done to fine-tune if necessary of course.

Hey-ho! [why do I bother?]….. :-|

 

[DaveLemi]

I want you all experts to teach me how to photograph objects which has a strong back light with my canon EOS 600D camera mounted with 55-250mm kit lens?

Consider the example of taking photos of people playing on beach waves and there is strong back light. The beach will be the one where sunset happens and the i will be doing the shooting between 4pm to 5.45pm where the sunset time is at 6 pm. So now i hope that this has given much more idea of what kind of back light it will be there.

I have tried taking photos and what i got is all black people similar to shadow.

Try helping me with the settings for my canon camera to achieve perfect picture.

Learning about exposure, perhaps by reading a book, would be most helpful. I'd also focus on metering and exposure compensation.