Kalista's Downtown Stillwater Model Photoshoot was nothing short of amazing. It was a little chilly since we live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it was the middle of March, but we were having a little bit of a break from the cold and it was about 50 to 60 degrees outside. The weather this day was a little touch and go most of the morning and afternoon it was cloudy, and then about 10 minutes after we started shooting in downtown Stillwater the sun came out and it was fabulous. Backlight images are my favorite they just fill me with happiness. The sun lighting up the hair creating a halo is magical, sometimes you can get sun flare and sometimes you get a clear image.
How to get the perfect backlit Image:
First you need to have the sun behind your subject and the effect you are going to achieve will change based on where you are in reference to the sun. For a more hazy sun filled image you are going to shoot directly into the sun with your subject right below the sun, shooting directly into the sun will fill your lens with the light and create that hazy look.
If you turn at more of a 45 degree angle still shooting into the sun you wont get all of the light flooding your lens and your image will have more contrast and more clear but you will still achieve the backlight and hair halo, this is what I did with the image that was featured in the Modern Teen Style Pictorial May Magazine! I had Kalista kneeling and I was at the same height, if you get a little lower to the ground this will also help your image come out more clear. Or if you want to block the sun from your lens try using your lens hood or even your hand if you need a little more distance in front of the camera to create some shadow for your lens. I have included my straight out of camera image of this shot so you can see exactly what I was shooting. I always always believe you need to shoot as close as possible to the final project. It makes your editing easier and end result your job because you don't have to spend as much time on the computer in Lightroom and Photoshop getting the right exposure.
I love the sun and the sun is my friend, learn to use the light and don't be afraid of trying new things and exploring your creative side. Another one of my passions is creating fun themed sessions for my girls, I created this dress from tulle, and I purchased the shirt from Charlotte Russe and stained it with tea to match the skirt. Tip: get the clothing wet before you put the tea bags in (I did not do this and below the skirt their are stains where it soaked in to the dry shirt) luckily I never intended for that part to show, but it's just good practice. We had so much fun walking around Stillwater and finding cool places to take photos.
This is the Image Straight Out Of Camera
