Photography tips

Backlight

The sun sets behind the hills over Lake Lucerne

Key tips

  1. Adjust your ISO, such as the ISO 250 used here, to balance image noise and proper exposure in strong backlight.
  2. Pay attention to the deliberate placement of the sun in backlight conditions to emphasize the contrast between the bright horizon and the dark clouds.
  3. Pay close attention to strong contrasts in backlight to accurately capture the reflections on the water surface.

Photographs on this topic

3 photographs with tips

The exact camera settings for each shot are shown below it - a starting point for recreating the look yourself. Click through to a photograph for detailed photography tips on that specific shot, under "Photography tips for this image".

All subjects Landscape Mountains City Architecture Lake Lucerne Pilatus Lucerne Central Switzerland
The sun shines from behind the sharp edge of a modern architectural roof. 45 mm · f/22 · 1/500 s · ISO 200 Close-up of wooden stairs in a dark interior 100 mm · f/6.3 · 1/100 s · ISO 800 Dome of the Federal Palace in Bern with backlight 56 mm · f/18 · 1/1600 s · ISO 400

Related topics

  • Landscape
  • Mountains
  • City
  • Architecture
  • Light
  • Camera settings
  • Composition
  • Perspective
  • Lake Lucerne
  • Pilatus
  • Lucerne
  • Central Switzerland
  • Sunset
  • Evening light
  • Snow
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