LaurynG Loc: Antioch, IL

Hi...can someone help me figure out why I have all this haze in my photo? I love the idea of backlighting especially during sunset and I just got a new lens (Canon 85mm 1.8). If anyone has any advise on using this lens or how to get rid of a bit of this haze, please let me know.

85mm f/3.2 1/100 sec ISO 1250

docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

its not haze - its glare - when you shoot directly into the sun you need either a lens hood or a good hat but most of all you just need to see it and in this case - with the kids - you didn't.

JoboX Loc: Liverpool UK

Used photoshop cs5 to balance colours, contrast, used high pass filter on eyes and mouth then tweaked curves. The lad on the right is slightly out of focus and still appears slightly hazy so would have to select outline head and tweak seperately until balanced in photo... if I get a chance will have a go at the weekend

I think DoF is a bit tight and too much forward in front of subjects just starting to lose it around the lad on the right his hands are starting to blur but grass in nfront of subjects is clear as a bell..Nice photo composition.

LaurynG Loc: Antioch, IL

Thanks. So I should probably have been a bit more careful and stopped it down a bit to have more of the two of them in focus. But then I would have had to change the ISO to make sure I got enough light as well. Appreciate the advise!

Danilo Loc: Las Vegas

I need to ask you a question, Lauryn, and I'm sorry if it appears rather blunt.
What is it about backlighting you find desirable? Of course, I would be disappointed with the excessive lens flare you find in your photo. I would also be disappointed in the rather dull looking eyes because they are lacking a "catch light".
I'm not criticizing, I'm being curious. If you continue to like backlighting, you will be plagued by these problems time and time again, unless you watch the position of the sun, and learn to use a fill-flash.

Clicker2014 Loc: Canada

I too like back lighting. It is a difficult task to complete sometimes though :-) Despite the problem with the flare you didn't have dark shadows on the faces so you must have used a reflector (?) I happened to just read an article by Bryan Peterson in "Understanding Digital Photography" which I borrowed from the library. The library is a great place to find good advice and I find that I will practice more if I have a book beside me. There is always "google" which is very helpful, but somehow practicing and having a book beside me works better.
Good luck with this! Cheers!

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

I'll second that! Fill-Flash is the way to go.

johnske Loc: Townsville

Most of this is simply a levels adjustment (autolevels) then autocolor to remove cast, a quick sharpen and replace color (desaturate) to fix the still-reddish face, then a run through Noiseware.

If you want higher-key or a bit more low-key use the centre slider on the levels tool :)

Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE

[quote=LaurynG]I am posting your camera data to help others with your problem. David

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

I just had to chase this one, too. Gimp 2.8.2

Good Looking Boys

Danilo Loc: Las Vegas

[quote=Meives]

Very interesting, Meives. How can I find fault with EXIF Data?
But this indicates a 9 stop differential from a typical "sunny 16" exposure. If this data is correct, it would have been so dark out the OP would not have known there were children in her yard!

EstherP

Well, seeing the others, I had to try my hand at it too!
I opened the image as "RAW" in PSE8.
Changed the settings to:
White Balance: Auto
Exposure: -0.60
Blacks: 50
Contrast: +10
Clarity: +50
Saturation: +10

This was definitely a "quick fix" - certainly it can be improved even further in RAW.

EstherP

Used "Open as RAW"

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

The camera settings are all wrong. No need for an ISO this high - especially on a body with a sensor that is more prone to noise at this high of ISO setting. It seems a bit over exposed too. Probably should have exposed for the background and used fill flash with a speedlite off to the side with a diffuser.

gessman Loc: Colorado

The biggest problem appears to me to be the position of the sun behind your subjects - it's coming in at an angle from the right rear. The replying posts up to now seem to be chasing the idea of getting rid of "the haze" in these images. I should think the most important part of your question would be how to avoid this in the future and a couple of suggestions have been offered, to wit, the fill flash idea.

This is a matter of technique. I also like backlit shots and the technique I use most often to avoid this effect is to position my subject directly between me and the sun, move in within a few inches of the face of my subject, meter, lock in the exposure, back up, recompose and shoot, adding fill flash if necessary which sometimes it is. You can also note the meter reading and put the camera in M mode and set those meter readings with the aperture and shutter speed.

When you have your subject correctly placed between you and the sun, if you choose to meter from where you are as opposed to moving in and metering directly on your subject, you will need to open up the aperture a couple of stops or more to compensate for the backlighting closing your lens down so much the subjects are too dark. Shoot, check it, adjust the aperture and shoot again, repeat... repeat... repeat until you get what you want. Anytime you allow the sun to enter the lens from an oblique angle from behind your subject, you will get flare.

coco1964 Loc: Winsted Mn

You got exactly what I was thinking---why the high ISO and when shooting with backlighting it's always good to shoot a few shots with fill lighting. This is a 1.8 lens and it's still light out---possibly instead of jacking up the ISO you may have wanted to try some exposure compensation. Just a thought.........