How to photograph the silhouette. 5 tips to get it.

In terms of photographic composition and lighting, the silhouette is probably one of the most fascinating types of shots.

The less experienced may find it difficult to make this type of photographs, where the backlighting of the subject and the strong chiaroscuro are the predominant elements.

However, there are some small tricks that can make the task of taking perfect outdoor silhouette photos much easier.

First of all, a small clarification is necessary: we speak of silhouette photography when we shoot a subject in order to show only its outline. Because the subject is shadowed by the position of the lights, you cannot see its texture, you cannot see its three-dimensional shape, and you cannot even see its color.

The only factor visible in the image is, therefore, the beauty of the contours of a shape and it is on this incredible element that we are going to focus the lens.

Types of Silhouettes

To take a successful silhouette photo, it is first of all necessary to have a clear subject or object in mind that can be clearly identified by its two-dimensional shape.

In fact, a strong contour alone is not enough: it is necessary to photograph the subject from the most appropriate point of view to accentuate the shape you want to obtain.

A silhouette of a person , for example, works best when shot in profile rather than head-on. For a larger subject, such as a building, however, you will have to identify the best angle from which to shoot, perhaps by walking around it and then eventually returning

Backlit and silhouette photographs

Furthermore, it is clear that in order to have better photographic opportunities, there are situations or moments of the day in which this type of image can be particularly suitable (Photo against the light).

For example, when a subject can be isolated from the sky or a very bright background, its silhouette is much clearer and more precise.

Furthermore, it is much more difficult to obtain a silhouette of a building in a built-up area than one located in an open space.

While you can seemingly take a silhouette photograph in any weather, silhouettes will look most impressive when shot against a deep blue sky or scarlet sunset.

In this regard, I suggest you choose the beginning or end of a day, when the sun is low in the sky, as the ideal moments to get a better silhouette.

Brightness

The biggest problem with silhouette photography is managing brightness.

In fact, the essential element is not that the sun is behind the subject, but that it is in front of you: think about it… it's not exactly the same thing!

It is obvious that the silhouette will have to be darker than the background, but how can you get such a contrast?

If you shoot in Auto mode, the camera will refuse to give a perfect exposure, but you want the outline of the shadow to be as black as possible and not a muddy gray

So it is necessary for you to take control of the settings in manual mode . Here's how to do just that.

Take control

After finding the perfect spatial location and identifying the optimal angle from which to press the shutter button, you need to deactivate some camera settings that normally act by default.

The preset of some cameras, in fact, provides a sort of dynamic range that is activated automatically to improve the visibility of the shadow areas.

Nikon cameras have D-Lighting, while Canon have Auto Lighting Optimizer, to name a few.

For taking silhouette photos , however, it is important to disable these functions, as they would act to adjust the contrast of the photo, preventing you from taking a picture of an all-black subject.

Manual camera settings

At this point you can manually set the camera to Aperture Priority (AV) mode and use a low ISO level, between 100 and 200, up to a maximum of 400. Select an aperture of around f/8, which it should help you minimize the amount of chromatic aberration ( color fringing ), which is problematic when shooting directly into the sun.

As for the exposure, with the settings already set, your silhouettes may not be dark enough yet, so you need to compose them in a frame between -1 and -3 EV (Exposure Value).

This value tells the camera how much light it needs to capture: the greater the amount of light in the photograph, the less negative the exposure compensation must be.

Also, most digital cameras have several metering modes that you can choose from.

The best modes for silhouettes are "spot" or "centered" which, once selected, allow the camera to locate the point you want to use to best set the exposure.

Finally, I advise you to increase the shutter speed.

It's important to be able to underexpose your subject against the background, so you may want to try increasing your shutter speed (starting at 1/125 if your subject is static or 1/250 for a dynamic subject) until you don't find the best value that makes your silhouette as dark as possible, in total contrast with the background.

Turn off the flash and aim at the subject

An experienced photographer probably assumes that they must turn off the flash before taking a silhouette photograph.

But not everyone is an expert in the field and therefore it is worth emphasizing that using the flash, both that of the camera and external, it is not possible to obtain the silhouettes of a subject.

To eliminate this basic error it is sufficient to disable the relative automatic function .

Also, while the exposure value depends on the amount of light in the background, it's the subject you should aim the lens at.

For this reason, it is essential to lock the focus on the subject while holding down the shutter button to compose the shot. When you're ready to shoot, just press the button all the way down.

Silhouette inspirations

It's possible that you want to try out this fascinating way of photo composition right away, but you're not sure what to shoot or in what context.

Here are some silhouette photography tips that can inspire you.

1. Silhouette of a person

Since the silhouette photographs serve to illuminate the contours of the figures, we must not dwell on the facial expressions, but only on the lines .

To ensure that your subject stands out from the background, so that the individual in the photograph remains clearly recognizable by looking only at the outline, you can ask him to turn his head to one side, to capture the profile of his face.

This mode is a great start to photographing single individuals in a still position.

Pay attention to clothing: clothes that are too loose don't help define the shape. A further suggestion is to look for another clue on the scene, such as an imposing tree, to place next to the person to increase the degree of drama of the composition.

2. Photograph couples kissing

On this photographic occasion you can ask the subjects to keep their hands together or to bring their faces closer in profile until only their lips touch. Try to have some light gaps between the shapes if you want to highlight both outlines.

The poses in which two subjects embrace are not the best in this type of shot, as, although there may be a point of contact (advisable for a romantic scene), it is essential that there is sufficient free space between a subject and the other to avoid the "blob" effect.

The stark contrast and lack of detail in the subject infuse a psychological component to the image which can be very emotionally engaging.

3. silhouettes of landscapes and nature

Not necessarily the best silhouettes are those that define the shapes of human beings: a plant, a large tree or other natural elements, if taken in a large outdoor space can show enormously attractive shapes.

The only thing to watch out for in this case is the lack of depth in the image.

Since the interest is aimed at revealing some details of the forms, it will be good to choose natural subjects that have particularly interesting motifs and make sure that each element (if there is more than one) is clearly distinct from the others.

4. Family silhouette

If you like photographing families with children , being able to capture their silhouette can be a beautiful memory to keep forever, like a work of art that freezes a precise phase of a life cycle.

To do this, I suggest asking family members to stand in an imaginary line and bond to each other by simply holding hands, elbows slightly bent.

If there is a very small child, you can ask mum or dad to hold him above his head: the important thing is that there is always some space between them so that the light can pass through.

5. Silhouettes in action

Those who love to photograph moving subjects can find a fascinating starting point in the shooting of silhouettes in action.

Remember to increase your shutter speed by at least 1/250 to freeze the action.

The possibilities are numerous: you can ask a dad to play with his child by throwing him in the air, film a golfer rotating his body before the throw, take a picture of a group of people running at sunset on the beach, and so on, until you capture a Ferris wheel, a herd of oxen or a windmill.

To conclude

Set your imagination free and don't stop at the first shot: your best images will always be the result of a balance between enthusiasm, creativity, study and experience built up over time.

Before concluding, I'll let you in on one last secret: if you like playing with photography, you can take advantage of the Bracketing mode found in many digital camera models. By setting this function, the camera takes a series of photos (generally three) of the same scene by modifying the exposure parameters.

For example, you can select the best image from those underexposed or overexposed that have automatically been produced for comparison.

In this way, by trial and error, there is a good chance that one of the three images has given rise to an almost total silhouette (in which the subject is completely black), while the others have taken partial silhouettes in which some details have remained visible . Again, your aesthetic sense and your personal tastes will decide which silhouette photo looks best to you.