Tips for editing backlit photos on iPhone

The photos you take are not as perfect as expected because of the backlighting, making the subject in the photo darker than the background? Don't worry, iPhone has an extremely effective photo editing tool that helps you easily fix this problem, let's explore it right away.

What is backlit photography?

When taking a photo with a subject placed in front of a light source, the problem you will encounter is that the background is properly lit but the subject is too dark and vice versa when the subject is properly lit but the background is too bright. This is the case of the photo being dark due to backlighting.

This makes your photos less than perfect, but instead of deleting these photos, there are still ways for you to improve the situation.

Formula to fix backlit photos on iPhone

Correcting backlit photos on iPhone can be done quickly using the default Photos app on iPhone or using other editing apps like SnapSeed , Lightroom . Here's how to do it with the default Photos app:

Step 1: Go to Photos on your phone => select the photo you want to edit.

Step 2: Click the Edit button  in the top right corner of the screen.

Step 3: Select the Lighting item or click on the edit icon (light meter image).

Step 4 : Adjust the parameters, you can use one of the following 2 formulas:

• Formula 1: Exposure: 50, Luminance: 80, Highlights: -80, Shadows: 40, Contrast: -30, Brightness: 10, Black Point: 15, Saturation: 10, Vividness: 10, Warmth: -10, Sharpness: 5, Noise Reduction: 5.

• Formula 2: Exposure: 30, Brightness: 30, Highlights: -9 0, Shadows: 60, Contrast: -50, Brightness: 20, Black Point: 12, Saturation: 9, Hue: 20, Warmth: -30.

Other reference formulas:

• Exposure : +30 to +50: increase brightness to clarify the subject.
• Highlights : -50 to -80: reduces glare from the sky or strong light.
• Shadows : +40 to +70: brightens the dark parts of the photo.
• Contrast : -10 to -30: reduce contrast to soften the image.
• Saturation : +5 to +15: increases natural color.
• Sharpness : +10 to +20: increases image detail.

Step 5: Click Done to complete the photo editing process.

After applying one of the two formulas above, the subject in your photo will be somewhat brighter, no longer creating a feeling of backlighting.

Before and after edited photos.

Note : If the photo is overexposed, it may not be completely salvageable, so remember to use HDR mode on your iPhone next time to avoid backlighting.

Taking photos against the light can make your photos look unattractive and take you time to edit. However, if you know how to apply it skillfully, you can completely use this method to create artistic photos in your own style.

💯 Tips for taking backlit photos on bright sunny days

Through this article, you have learned another cool photo editing tip on your iPhone. Hope you will have the best photos for yourself, your friends and relatives.