Contre-jour (
French for "against
daylight
Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunlig ...
") is a
photographic technique in which the
camera
A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...
is pointing directly toward a
source of light and an equivalent technique of
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...
.
Description
Before its use in photography, contre-jour was used in painting, where the
shadow
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two- dimensional silhouette, ...
s would fall to the left on the left, to the right on the right and forward in the lower centre. The edges of the subject would show surprising colour effects.
Contre-jour produces
backlighting
A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light by themselves—unlike, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma (PDP) or OLED displays—they need illumination ( ambient light or a ...
of the subject. This effect usually hides details, causes a stronger
contrast between light and dark, creates
silhouettes and emphasizes lines and shapes. The
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, or other light source, is often seen as either a bright spot or as a strong
glare behind the subject.
Fill light
Fill may refer to:
* Fill dirt, soil added to an area
** Fill (archaeology), the material that has accumulated or has been deposited into a cut feature such as ditch or pit
** Fill (land), dirt, rock or other material added to level or raise the ...
may be used to illuminate the side of the subject facing toward the camera. The subject is generally considered silhouetted when there is a
lighting ratio Lighting ratio in photography refers to the comparison of key light (the main source of light from which shadows fall) to the fill light (the light that fills in the shadow areas). The higher the lighting ratio, the higher the contrast of the image ...
of 16:1 or more.
See also
*
High-dynamic-range imaging
In photography and videography, multi-exposure HDR capture is a technique that creates extended or high dynamic range (HDR) images by taking and combining multiple exposures of the same subject matter at different exposure levels. Combining mu ...
References
External links
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{{photography subject
Photographic techniques