All these photos were taken with the key light in the exact same spot – just off to the side and just over the subject. It was a strobe with an octagon softbox. What is changing for these is the back light position. In all shots the backlight had a reflector dish on and a pinkish gel (my subjects current favorite color).
In the first shot, the light is behind my subject on the floor aimed straight up. As you can see it hits the back and some spills off on her hair a little. Next up is one you’ve seen me use before, which is as a rim light. The light is directly behind her and aimed about at upper torso level. Notice that the color shining through her hair looks more reddish – what is happening there is that her hair is acting as a different color gel, mixing to produce a reddish color. The pink is still there, you can see it spilling over on clothes a little. That’s just something to keep in mind for this type of lighting with a gel. The third and fourth ones are similar. The third one the light is off to the light and aimed right mostly at the backdrop. That’s why there is a cone effect. The fourth is similar in that the light is on the ceiling aimed down. In both cases the light goes from pinkish to purplish ever so slightly. Finally, the last one has the light aimed at her hair acting as a hair light while also lighting up the background.
There are more ways to do this, but that’s 5 basic ways to utilize a backlight in photography.
Anyway, I currently have openings for photos sessions especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. Now would be a great time to start booking that. Book during the next two weeks and I will do a session in the park for $150, that’s $100 off my normal asking price.