I love to photograph back lit images. I love the halo of light around the subject, especially hair - whether it's dog, horse or human! But backlighting can be tricky. When the sun is higher in the sky, the lens hood helps block the sun from directly hitting the lens causing lens flare (which can be nice) and low contrast (which while is definitely an accepted style and even a popular one in some circles, it's not mine - I like contrast in my images). 

But I like to shoot backlit throughout my session, right up to the point where the sun is really low on the horizon and behind my subject so I can try to add a starburst image to the client gallery. Here's where things get a bit tougher, especially with smaller subjects like dogs. When the sun is that low, smaller subjects can't totally block it and the light can't help but hit the lens, even if it's off to the side. Here's where my handy dandy little friend comes in; the Flex Lens Shade. 

I remember talking to another dog and equine photographer about it one day and she said "When would you ever use that?" to which I replied "I use it all the time, especially for backlit images at sunrise and sunset", she seemed unconvinced. Sure enough, we were together in Florida a few months later photographing horses on the beaches of St. Augustine at sunrise when she said "Argh, the sun is hitting my lens" and I said "This is when I would use my Flex Lens Shade" and she laughed in reply and said "Ok, I get it". 

Below are some images from a recent session where I absolutely LOVE the backlighting in the afternoon, but it's threading the needle a bit. I have to be there for the few minutes that the sun is over the tree line, but not yet below the barn, which is usually also straight into your lens. I took a few frames, checked the back of the camera and ran back to the car to get the shade, which was all I needed to block the direct light that was reflecting off the grass causing that low contrast. 

(click on any image to view screen)