One of my favorite ways to shoot outdoors is with the subject backlit. This kind of scenario creates unpleasant shadows, so it's necessary to fill them with light. The way I like to do this, is with a combination of a strobe and reflector. The perfect strobe for this particular situation is a Profoto ring light. It's portable, powerful, and no light stands are necessary. This type of light is omni-directional and it's not really necessary to use a reflector as a secondary light source. However, I like to use reflectors to introduce color and add additional light if needed. When using a ring light, distance is a very important factor in determining your final result, so practice to gain an understanding of the effects achieved at different distances.

The exposure for this shot was metered for the ambient light, then I balanced the strobe to that reading, and underexposed the shutter by one stop to give me more saturation in the background. This technique is what gives the strong color of the grass. The model was lit with the ring light and reflector fill, and there you have it! A beautiful backlit exposure. This type of lighting scenario works well with many subjects. Try it out and have fun!