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8/11/2015

Silhouette Photography Tips - How to Shoot a Silhouette

Hot air balloons are wonderful subjects because of their bright colors and shapes. Photographing a hot air balloon while its being filled makes for interesting imagery. Here the photographer silhouetted two people who are standing inside the balloon as it fills, for a photograph with strong graphic elements.
Randy Ziegler photo of a cowboy silhouetted against a flag Randy Ziegler
In this photo, the colorful flag fills the frame, while the subjects in the background are in sihlouette (the cowboy, tree and fence).
David Handschuh photo of people on a bridge silhouetted against a sunset David Handschuh
Taken at sunset, the people gathered on the bridge are in silhouette. Its fun to read the body language of each of the people seen in silhouette.
David Handschuh photo of three cowboys and a dog silhouetted in the doorway of a ranch building David Handschuh
This photo is a great example of how one image can tell a story. Three cowboys and a dog are silhouetted in the doorway of this ranch building. We know its a ranch building by the title visible above the door, we see the cowboy hats silhouetted on the heads of the cowboys and we can see the various tools and other items along the back wall of the room.
David Handschuh silhouette photo of a lizard on a screen in the Bahamas David Handschuh
This little lizard was caught in silhouette, crawling along a screen door. With a silhouette, you don't need fine details to make out the subject matter.
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Silhouettes make for dramatic photographs, relying on shape and oftentimes vibrant, saturated color to tell a story. Photographers use the silhouette to convey drama, mystery or mood in an image, but you can also create silhouettes when shooting video. The subject of a silhouette can be people, animals or objects, identifiable by their outline or black shape against a colorful or well-lit background. The stronger the shape of the subject, the more successful the image will be. While a silhouetted subject can show some detail, the less detail visible will add more drama to the photograph.

The key to a successful silhouette is backlighting. To create a silhouette, place a subject against a background and expose for the background, leaving the subject in shadow. Sunsets are great for silhouettes, because of their vibrant colors. You can also create silhouettes indoors by making sure that there is more light on the background, which you’re exposing for, than on the subject. Another way to shoot silhouettes is in the studio. Set up lights to backlight a subject, against a white background, and add colored gels to the lights, for a fun look.

When photographing a silhouette of a person, have your subject wear tight clothes instead of loose fitting clothing and shoot them in profile. The profile of a person whether a full-length or close-up shot of their face, will be more recognizable than if they were facing the camera. This is because there will be little to no light on the subject so it is the shape of the person that will tell the viewer they’re looking at a person.


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