Backlit subjects

The classic back-lit subjects are the person in front of the window or a bird in front of a bright sky. There are two basic ways to deal with these situations.

The first and most reliable method is to set your camera for Spot metering. In this mode the camera uses a small spot in the center of the viewfinder for determining the exposure. If the object that you are trying to expose to is not in the center of the viewfinder, move the camera so desired spot is in center of the viewfinder and then half press the shutter and move back to the framing that you desire. Then press of the rest away to take the photograph.

The second method is to allow your camera to find the exposure for the general subject. Take note of what that exposure is, and then set the camera for manual exposure and purposely over expose the image by several stops. You may need to take several exposures to find the correct offset needed to bring your subject into proper exposure.

If you are not sure what what the proper exposure is, I suggest that you err on the side of under exposure, since detail can be more easily brought out of shadows then burned-out highlights.