Photoshop How To

Backlighting is a popular technique used by both studio and outdoor photographers when shooting portraits and other types of images. In the tutorial below, you’ll learn how to use Photoshop layer masks and filters to mimic this popular effect.

Unmesh Dinda of PIXimperfect is one of our favorite image-editing instructors, and in this video he demonstrates everything you need to know about adding a realistic backlight or rimlight effect to your photos. He begins by explaining the lighting principles required to create shadows, and then demonstrates several simple steps to duplicate the effects in Photoshop by combining masks and groups of layers.

Dinda also illustrates how to add a bit of “oomph” using filters before completing the project. You can find more helpful videos on the PIXimperfect YouTube channel. And be sure to watch another tutorial from Dinda we shared recently, demonstrating how to use Photoshop to expand the dynamic range of your images.