Direct Light VS Backlight

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Direct Light VS Backlight, text and photos by Juza. Published on 08 Giugno 2012; 1 replies, 5211 views.

Canon EOS 20D, Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX APO Macro HSM, Sigma 2.0x TC, 0.3" f/16, iso 100, tripod. Trebbia Valley, Italy.

I was crawling around between the bushes with the tripod in front of me, trying to get close to an elusive dragonfly, when I've seen a green thing few meters from me. I slowly got close and I was really happy to see that it was a marvelous mantis! I had the best light that I can wish for (I was at sunrise), and the 360mm focal length helped me to get a nicely smooth background, and it gave me a working distance of 1.5 meters. There was no wind so I was able to use ISO 100 and f/16 for the best image quality and great depth of field. I used mirror lock up plus remote release to avoid vibrations, and the Canon Angle Finder-C to frame the photo - while it is not perfect, now I use it all the time for my macro photos, the angle finder really helps a lot in macro photography!

The mantis was pretty collaborative, so I photographed it in direct light, than I moved on the other side and I photographed it in backlight. The backlight is more difficult than direct light - with some subject is gives great result, while other subject looks much better in direct light. Usually, you get good photos in backlight with translucent or semi-translucent subjects, as this mantins.

Canon EOS 20D, Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX APO Macro HSM, Sigma 2.0x TC, 1/5 f/16, iso 100, tripod. Trebbia Valley, Italy.

When I checked the histogram, I realized that with the default exposure (Evaluative metering, exposure compensation on 0) the lightest areas were overexposed: when you photographer a subject in backlight, pay attention to avoid blowing out highlights. I've set the exposure compensation on -0.3, and the histogram confirmed that there were no longer hot areas.

Wich one is my better? Sometimes, direct light is clearly better than backlight or vise versa; here I think that it is a matter of personal tastes, I like them both. Whenever possible, if you have a translucent subject, I'd suggest to try to photograph it both in direct light and backlight: once you have downloaded the photos on your computer, you can choose the best one, or keep both of them. Digital is cheap, experiment as much as possible!

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Juza	sent on 08 Giugno 2012 (10:40) A couple of photos of my usual macro setup: Sigma 180 + 2x, 20D, Angle Finder C, remote release RS-80N3, Manfrotto 190MF4 tripod and Manfrotto 410 gear head.