Silhouette Photography
Lights In The Firmament.
The Art Of Silhouette Photography
Silhouette photography is a fascinating method that photographers use to capture outstanding and striking images. The simplicity inherent in the approach to silhouettes means that shapes and forms rather than details are given pride of place. This makes silhouette images stand out distinctly against the fascinating background and thereby bringing out the beauty of nature. We will continue this guide with an overview of silhouette photography and how you can add them to your skills in photographing nature.
The “Trick” Behind Silhouettes
Fundamental to making exposures that create the effect of silhouettes is the understanding of the way in which your camera’s light meter operates.
To create a silhouette image, you should have your foreground subject stand in front of an ideally relatively brighter background such as a gorgeous sunset. You will then meter off the background (the sunset above) rather than off the foreground subject (the tree above). This creates a silhouette of the tree & the foreground as demonstrated in the picture above. This technique effectively allows you to expose for the brighter background (such as the sky) thereby underexposing (silhouetting) your main subject in the foreground. This is the “secret” of taking gorgeous silhouette pictures in different environments.
Essential Equipment for Silhouette Photography
There is no requirement that silhouettes be taken with the “best” available equipment, yet having the proper equipment is beneficial. A photographer interested in capturing silhouettes should ideally have the camera (full frame or crop sensor) set to manual mode to allow complete control of the exposure triangle. In addition, a tripod and preferably a wide-angle lens (under 35mm focal length). However, a standard lens (50mm focal length), a telephoto lens (at least 85mm focal length)will do just as good depending on the story that is to be told from the scene.
Camera Settings for Perfect Silhouettes
To create serene images and great silhouettes, try the following techniques: Switch to manual mode on your camera. Select a high f-number for a large depth of field such as f-11, and a relatively lower ISO such as 100 to ISO 800 to minimize the potential noise that could be generated in high ISO images. It is recommended you place the camera on a tripod to reduce motion blur. Enable image stabilization (IS) to limit motion blur from camera shake if you are not using a tripod.
Choosing the Right Subject and Background
Choose subjects with clear, distinguishable shapes such as trees, animals, or people. Optimize the image shape produced by shooting subjects from the side rather than from the front to allow a for a well outlined silhouette image. Position your subject against a dramatic background such as beautiful skies during sunset or sunrise, grey skies during a storm or even the full moon for an even more striking combination.
Timing and Lighting Considerations
Silhouette photography is best done during the ‘golden hours’, that is the first hour after sunrise or the last hour before sunset. These times are not cast in stone but give you a general idea. Remember each day is different. The kind of light radiating at these times is warm and soft, pleasing to the eyes and excellent for illumination of the background. However, do not limit yourself to the above-prescribed lighting conditions.
Composition Techniques for Striking Silhouettes
There is a lot of emphasis placed on composition in silhouette photography. Do not place your subject in the dead centre of the image because it may result in a boring picture; instead, use the rule of thirds. Try negative space to make your subject look lone or in a huge arena. Oh, and don’t neglect the horizon line – it’s as simple as keeping it straight on the upper or lower horizontal grid line.
Post-Processing Tips for Enhancing Silhouettes
Increase contrast to darken the blacks and increase the level of clarity between the subject and the background. Adjust exposure as necessary without blowing out your highlights. All these can be done using any photography tool such as lightroom or photoshop. Take advantage of preset tools in you editing software to enhance dramatic skies. Experiment with different versions of black intensity. You will never know what you can produce until you try!
Conclusion.
Through silhouette photography, one can express the beauty of nature in the absence of details. Silhouettes show the purity of shapes in nature, and the images that you create can speak to the awe of creation and lead viewers to take a moment to contemplate the magnificent creation that surrounds us.
Look And Live…
