Fix Backlit Face

Fixing a backlit face means brightening a face that came out dark because the light was behind the person, without turning the bright background white. In this example, a graduate in her gown and blue stole holds her diploma on the campus lawn late in the afternoon. A parent took the photo facing the low sun, so the sky looks right but her face is almost in silhouette, in the one photo from the day with her by herself.

What changed in this photo, and what stayed the same?

• Brightened: her face, neck and hands, so her features and smile are clearly visible.
• Balanced: the gown and stole so they do not stay black next to the brighter face.
• Kept: the glowing sky and rim light on her hair, the lawn, trees and campus building, her pose and expression.

Why not just raise the brightness?

A backlit photo has two very different light levels. Raising the whole image enough to see the face pushes the sky to pure white and makes the dark areas look gray and noisy. The editor brightens the face and figure separately and matches their warmth to the evening light, so it looks as if a little light had been bounced onto her, not as if she were cut out and pasted in.

When can a backlit face not be fully recovered?

• When the face is pure black with no detail left, as in a true silhouette.
• When the photo is a heavily compressed copy from social media, which throws away shadow detail.
• Night photos against bright lights are harder than daytime ones.

Phone photos usually keep more shadow detail than people expect, so it is worth sending even a very dark one.

What should you send?

The original file from the phone or camera. If your phone saved a RAW or HDR version, send that too.

For harsh light that leaves patches of shadow on the face, see remove shadows from a face in a photo. For other graduation edits, see graduation photo editing.

Private: recreated on our own images, not customer photos

The before/after shown here is recreated on images created or licensed for this site — never a real customer's photo. Your upload is seen only by the editor working on it, and the edit comes with free revisions within 14 days of delivery if anything needs adjusting.