Technique
What Is a Backlight?
A particular variety of backlight, hair lights are used in portrait photography to create separation between a subject’s hair and the backdrop. This is a useful lighting technique when the colour of the background is similar to the subject’s hair. While backlights are deployed in portraiture to emphasise a subject’s form in general, a hair light should only cast light onto the hair. To engineer this effect, hair lights are often placed behind the subject at a 45° angle, or directly behind your subject. Backlight vs Hair Light
key light. For portraiture, position the backlight above the subject, pointing it downwards so it creates a rim along the top of their shoulder and side of their head. For a classic look, the backlight should be about as bright as the key, if not slightly brighter. Remember, most of it will be blocked by your subject. So, it should show up in the photo as a very bright, but thin strip along the edge of the subject.
Also known as an edge, kicker, separation, accent or rim light, a backlight exposes the back edge of your subject, creating a highlight that emphasises depth and grants a more three-dimensional look, while simultaneously separating the subject from the background. There are countless ways to position a backlight, but for a typical three-light set-up, try putting it behind the subject and pointing it in the direction of the
28 FUJIFILM Focus Magazine
Summer 2025
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