A challenge/annoyance when working with back light is the blown-out sky that results from exposing for the subject. Blah, washed out results can make for a dull image. Off-camera flash to the rescue to add a little drama to the subject at hand.
A Boy and his Pickup
The above portrait is available light only. Flash did not fire. Sometimes the soft lens flare look is one I want, depending on the subject. I wanted a strong, vibrant look for this situation so the lighting above does not match my goals for this portrait.
A Man and his Truck
For the portrait above I used 1 Canon Speedlight on ETTL triggered by Pocket Wizards about 6 feet or so from camera right and about 8 feet from subject. I had the flash on a light-weight light stand held by an assistant (Mom) and moved it when necessary for correct effects. I was able to keep detail in the sky and rim lighting on subject is from the late day sun.
F11 at 1/200 ~ ISO 160 ~ 5D Mark 2 ~ Canon 70-200 IS L lens
I often like a shallow depth of field for portraits, but in this case I also wanted the truck in sharp focus. High speed sync would have been something to consider to allow a wide open aperture, but this aperture seems to work fine for now.
RJ Meyer Arts 