Using Contre Jour in your Photography

Contre jour, a French word literally meaning “against daylight” and it is possible to take stunning photographs when shooting into the light. Whilst this may contradict advice given to beginners to always shoot with the light coming from behind the camera the art of contre jour or backlighting in photography is a technique that can produce wonderful images.

However, many photographers are intimidated by the idea of pointing the camera towards the light and shy away from some of the photo opportunities.

There is much to consider when using this backlighting or contre jour technique if disappointment is to be avoided. Once mastered however, there is little doubt that backlighting can be magical and will add drama and visual impact to your photographic portfolio. There are many subjects to try, some of my favourites are flowers and foliage or trying to catch the rim lighting around animals and birds. Mist, rain and haze will be enhanced by backlighting adding creativity and atmosphere to landscape images.

” The two most challenging aspects of photographing contre jour subjects are to adequately eliminate flare and ensure correct exposure. These concerns can be allayed with a little practice, good technique and an understanding of the exposure process. “

Flare gives rise to a loss of definition and is probably the most significant area within contre jour pohotography that requires attention, so a measured and methodical approach is needed. Flare is produced when intense rays of light hit the front element of the lens causing lens refraction, leading to specula highlights, image softening and a loss of definition. There are several ways to overcome this undesirable effect in our contre jour photography.

Lenses show individual characteristics but in general the more lens elements used in their construction the more vulnerable they will be to flare. So zoom lenses are more likely to be flare susceptible that prime fixed focal length lenses. Lens coatings also have an impact on flare, modern multi coated lenses consistently outperform earlier models and this alone can significantly reduce most potential flare problems.

In many backlighting situations using a designated lens hood will greatly improve the chances of eliminating flare by keeping stray light from striking the front element of the lens. Indeed, the use of a good quality lens hood can improve saturation in contre jour subjects and is genearally beneficial to all images.

Having taken the above precautions a final visual inspection of the image through the viewfinder, preferably with the lens stopped down, will show any remaining areas of softness or highlights resulting from flare and may only require a slight repositioning of the camera to eliminate.

The other challenge in photographing backlit or contre jour subjects is how best to handle exposure. Underexposure is a common problem in backlighting, as the brightly lit background will overly influence the camera’s meter; this will turn the subject very dark, indeed almost silhouette like.

Exposure compensation is the answer and it is best to give between one and two stops extra exposure from the exposure suggested by the camera. Alternatively, take a spot meter reading from the shadow area and expose at the camera’s reading this should require no compensation. As exposure for contre jour subjects is tricky it is best to practice various exposure metering patterns and overrides until you are comfortable in approaching various back lighting opportunities as they present themselves.

So there really is little excuse for not getting out there and giving it a go, there are plenty of contre jour opportunities waiting to be found and with care they can become some of the most creative and satisfying images in your photo portfolio.