The field of light surrounds or infuses the edges of an object when the light comes from behind. When a subject blocks the lighting (standing in a lit doorway at night) the illumination is considered contre-jour lighting.

When a form is placed contre jour:

• Silhouette shapes become prominent
• Color loses saturation
• Shadows stretch forward
• Glare of light spills over edges of form
• Details disappear
• Light seems to shine from inside the frame of the picture

When you consider making a composition with contre-jour lighting consider light area behind the subject as a flash of bright vapor streaming out of the background and melting the edges of the form.