#53 – Backlight: When to use & avoid it in food photography

What is the backbone of photography?

What makes food look, “oh, so delicious”?

What brings out the glossy texture of frosting?

If you answered “light”, you’re absolutely right!

Light is everything and most of us know the importance of light in food photography.

Whether you’re working with soft light or hard light, natural or artificial, there are three lighting directions in food photography and they remain the same no matter what kind of light you use.

Side light.*

Backlight.

Side-back light.

*I have a full episode on side light and when to use it. If you haven’t tuned into that one, check out episode 40 after this one. Linked below.

Today, though, we will talk about backlight.

What is Backlight?

Backlight is the light that falls exactly at 180 degrees to the camera. When the light source is opposite to the camera, it is called backlight.

How to read Backlight?

When we work with different sources of light (i.e. the balcony or a living room flooded with natural light), how do we make sure that the light is pure backlight?

Like any other light, the indicator of the lighting direction is in the shadow. Observe where the shadow falls on the backdrop. For backlight, shadows fall directly in front of the food – not to the left, right, or side.

That’s pure backlight.

If you are using artificial light, you’ll have to make sure your softbox is set up behind the composition, facing the camera and behind the composition to create backlight from your source.

The Nature of Backlight

Most photographers love backlight because of how powerful it can be. At the same time, given its powerful nature, it needs to be tamed and adjusted for it to be used best.

1. The nature of backlight is to intrigue you.
2. It is not the easiest to work with as it creates deep shadows and high contrast.
3. It needs to be shaped and modified to create the desired balance between brights and darks.
4. Since the source of light is behind the food, it creates bright whites and deep darks.
5. It isn’t the most versatile light and has to be carefully chosen based on the food and mood to be created.

When to use Backlight

1. To create drama

Backlight usually gives a dramatic contrast with light throwing itself at the back of the food and casting a shadow in front, towards the camera. If you’re looking for high contrast and dramatic effects, use backlight.

2. For transparent food and beverages

When light is thrown from the back, it filters through transparent objects and passes through them. That makes the food or beverage glow or shine. Light passes through to create that effect.

To emphasise the colour of transparent or translucent food, backlight is the way to go. If the food is opaque, additional light modifiers may be needed to reflect the light back to the subject.

3. To avoid reflections

Many of us struggle with getting that rectangle reflection of our windows or artificial light on any glassware or metallic surface we might be working with. The reality is that shiny surfaces ARE reflective and glass surfaces show reflections.

When we place the light at the back of the glass and shoot in a straight-on angle from the front, the reflection is on the back of the glass. We may not see it from where we are standing behind the camera. Backlight is an effective direction to go with to avoid unwanted reflections.

4. When we want to create highlights esp. specular highlights

Specular highlights are exaggerated highlights that result in an accentuated shine.

Even when our food isn’t transparent, translucent, or served in glassware, backlight is a great setup tool. As mentioned above, backlight creates dramatic light (high contrast) so it has the potential to create beautiful highlights on shiny foods such as honey, chocolate ganache, or blueberries.

It can produce beautiful highlights on the top of the food or the side, depending on the food used. Using backlight to bring out that delicious glossy texture through specular highlights is a powerful way to create next-level food photos.

When to avoid Backlight

1. When you’re creating bright and airy photography

For a bright and airy photo, you need to allow light to flood the composition in a controlled way. At the same time, it has to give the impression of freedom rather than seduction.

If you’re looking for bright and airy photos, side light might be an easier option to work with because backlight creates deep darks and high contrast.

2. When you’re looking for even lighting, balanced lighting

If you’re looking for even lighting in composition that floods your composition evenly, backlight is not the best way to go. When placed behind the food, there is more light between the light source and the back of the food and more shadow in front between the camera and the food.

The light is more dramatic and not spread out evenly throughout the composition. It would not be an intuitive direction to go with.

3. When you’re shooting in a flat lay or top-down angle

The direction of the light is always in relation to the camera. If the light is 90 degrees to the camera, it is side light. If it is 180 degrees, it is backlight.

For a flat lay or top-down photo, the camera is on top so 180 degrees from that would have to be the back of the food. Unless this is a backdrop such as a glass table, any other lighting direction in a flat lay would technically qualify as a sidelight.

Conclusion:

So there you go. The 101 of Backlight. You can now make an intentional choice about which light direction to work with based on the food and the mood rather than being at the mercy of the light available to you.

Listen to episode 40 on sidelight here.