- a light source placed behind an actor, object, or scene to create a highlight that separates the subject from the background: Put a backlight on that rain to make it more visible in this evening shot.
- the light source, often LED arrays, behind the screen of a flat-screen electronic display, as a television, computer monitor, or smartphone: A full-array LED backlight gives the picture a deeper color range than an edge-lit screen would.
- to illuminate from behind: One of the wedding photos is just a silhouette of the couple backlighted by the sunset on the beach.The hallway lamp backlit Mom when she cracked our bedroom door to check on us and whisper goodnight.
- light falling on a photographic or television subject from the rear
