silhouette

Exposing for the sky rather than the aircraft turns an airframe into an outline, which is the one composition that turns a hopelessly back-lit approach into a deliberate photograph. It works because aircraft are recognisable by shape alone — a 747's hump or an A380's span reads instantly with no livery visible at all.

Nearby in Photography

• shutter priority — An exposure mode in which you set the shutter speed and the camera chooses the aperture.
• shutter speed — How long the sensor is exposed to light for a single frame.
• spot metering — Metering from a small area of the frame rather than the whole scene.
• teleconverter — A supplementary optic between lens and body that multiplies the focal length.