Lighting question - backlit subject

[JulieM]

Sometimes I get this effect and I don't know what it's called. I was shooting almost into the sun to get the backlit effect. What are the round light effects in the background and is there something I might do to prevent it from happening? Thanks for any help!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1hsR8ZA9NgnCLjF3GchkDwxPYKHv11_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1hsR8ZA9NgnCLjF3GchkDwxPYKHv11)

ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/250, manual focus on macro setting

[gez]

Julie--Those are called Specular Highlights and are usually a welcome addition to a photograph. If that's the look you wanted. In your photo they are round indicating that you shot this with the lens at or near wide open. I gave away my copy of "Understanding Exposure" but if I remember correctly there is a chapter on this. I know it was covered in the on line course. It's a nice shot btw. You aren't hapy with it?

[JulieM]

George: A welcome addition you say? Then of course I wanted it to turn out like that! ;) Seriously, I thank you for your explanation. As it happens, I was just reading the aperture chapter in Understanding Exposure yesterday but I hadn't gotten to the page on specular highlights (p. 68) yet. Reading that, along with your comments, helped a lot. When I planned the shot, I knew I wanted a shallow depth of field but hoped for a different background effect - less obvious, I suppose. So, stopping down will reduce the specular highlights? It's pouring rain today but when the sun comes out I'll do some experiments with aperture under similar conditions. To answer your question, I guess I sort of like the picture but was concerned that the specular highlights would be considered a flaw. :o Thanks so much for your response...

[GaryK]

Julie

Its been a while since I read the book but I think stopping down (under the same circumstances) will give you a less round highlight more hexagonal sort of look to it.:confused:

[JulieM]

Gary, so I can't avoid the specular highlights if shooting more or less into the sun but can change the shape from round to hexagonal?

[LeeOtsubo]

The actual term is "bokeh", probably from the Japanese word o-bakeh (ghost). Bokeh is the smoothly blurred background of an image with shallow depth of field. Bokeh is subjective but better lenses generally have smoother bokeh. A specular highlight can be seen in the bokeh but it can also be seen in any photo where a light is illuminating a shiny surface such as bright shiny sun reflections off automobile chrome.

The reason you see hexagonal shapes in your bokeh is because it's reflecting the hexagonal (six sided) aperture blades in your lens. More expensive lenses will have 8 or more blades and some will have curved blades. All this goes into creating smoother, creamier blur that is the hallmark of high-end lenses.

[pixlbandit]

Julie,
It is simply a beautiful shot.
Vicki

[msbrad]

Thank you for the question, and thanks all for the answers.
Always happy to learn something new.
m

[GaryK]

Julie

I think the effect comes from the fact that you have blurred a highlight with the shallow DOF. It is not so much of the backlighting, as it is there is a highlight, which are more prevalent in a backlit photo. Especially for us amateurs.. mind you, the fun is in the learning.

I have similar shot in my gallery (sepia toned) and I got lucky because I had a lot of them and they sort of blurred together.:D

[JulieM]

Julie

I think the effect comes from the fact that you have blurred a highlight with the shallow DOF. It is not so much of the backlighting, as it is there is a highlight, which are more prevalent in a backlit photo. Especially for us amateurs.. mind you, the fun is in the learning.

I have similar shot in my gallery (sepia toned) and I got lucky because I had a lot of them and they sort of blurred together.:D

I knew I had seen a similar shot before! :p Yours is beautiful!

[JulieM]

The actual term is "bokeh", probably from the Japanese word o-bakeh (ghost). Bokeh is the smoothly blurred background of an image with shallow depth of field. Bokeh is subjective but better lenses generally have smoother bokeh. A specular highlight can be seen in the bokeh but it can also be seen in any photo where a light is illuminating a shiny surface such as bright shiny sun reflections off automobile chrome.

The reason you see hexagonal shapes in your bokeh is because it's reflecting the hexagonal (six sided) aperture blades in your lens. More expensive lenses will have 8 or more blades and some will have curved blades. All this goes into creating smoother, creamier blur that is the hallmark of high-end lenses.

I'm glad you chimed in here, Lee. Bokeh was a term I'd run across before but never understood. Thanks for the explanation...