Backlighting, when understood and controlled correctly, can produce amazing results in portrait photography. Many of you may already know this, but have you tried it with your pets?
Internationally recognized dog photographer and educator Jessica McGovern has been photographing dogs and other furry friends since she was 16 years old, so she certainly knows a thing or two about how to make the most out of a dog photoshoot. In her latest video, she describes how she uses backlighting to create her signature dreamy dog portraits.
As she mentions at the start of the video, she's shooting at golden hour, because like with most other genres of photography, it's the time of day with the most pleasing light. Not only is the ambient light more colorful, with shadows appearing less harsh, this also allows her to get the sun behind her subject. If she were to shoot at or around midday, the sun is too high in the sky to get it behind her subject. Using backlighting results in a more flattering light on the subject while also adding more color to the image.
Fstoppers interviewed McGovern a few weeks ago in relation to mental health during the pandemic; you can read it here.
