Depending on the type of light and the level of contrast, you may not need to do post-processing for this to be most effective. In lower contrast scenes, you may need to darken the shadows when you are editing your portraits.
On a sunny day, I will often position my subjects so the light is behind them and they are just inside the shade. When they stand near the edge of the shadow, sunlight will often bounce back into their face and act like a fill light. When you have a background in the shade, a location like this is ideal for helping you isolate your subject using contrast. The tone difference between your subject’s skin and the background is sufficient, so there is little or no visible detail in the background. With darker-skinned people, this technique is more challenging.
One key composition tip when setting up a portrait in these conditions is to make sure you cannot see any patches of sunlight in the background. When you want a completely dark background, you cannot have any lighter areas. One or two patches of sunshine behind your subject will be very distracting.
You can also use the opposite lighting scenario to isolate a person when you are taking natural light portraits. When you position your subject so the background is brighter than they are, you can isolate them against a white background. Managing this technique is more challenging than using a shaded background.
The light behind your subject, especially if you can see the light source, can affect your exposure. If the light is very bright, it can also spill over the edges of your subject and even cause lens flare. There’s nothing wrong with this if it’s the look you are aiming for. But when you want a clear, sharp image of your subject, you will need to find a background that’s not so bright
On a sunny day, I will often position my subjects so the light is behind them and they are just inside the shade. When they stand near the edge of the shadow, sunlight will often bounce back into their face and act like a fill light. When you have a background in the shade, a location like this is ideal for helping you isolate your subject using contrast. The tone difference between your subject’s skin and the background is sufficient, so there is little or no visible detail in the background. With darker-skinned people, this technique is more challenging.
One key composition tip when setting up a portrait in these conditions is to make sure you cannot see any patches of sunlight in the background. When you want a completely dark background, you cannot have any lighter areas. One or two patches of sunshine behind your subject will be very distracting.
You can also use the opposite lighting scenario to isolate a person when you are taking natural light portraits. When you position your subject so the background is brighter than they are, you can isolate them against a white background. Managing this technique is more challenging than using a shaded background.
The light behind your subject, especially if you can see the light source, can affect your exposure. If the light is very bright, it can also spill over the edges of your subject and even cause lens flare. There’s nothing wrong with this if it’s the look you are aiming for. But when you want a clear, sharp image of your subject, you will need to find a background that’s not so bright
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