5 Silhouette Photography Tips and Techniques

Photography silhouettes means photographing an object in front of a bright background. Objects are placed such that its shape is only a dark shadow. Generally silhouette photographed in front of the sun or other light sources, but some are taken in the water. The object was left black and appear only through the outline only. Silhouette photography is superb techniques to describe the mystery or emotion through a simple but effective way.

One thing about this type of photography is that it does not reveal a silhouette images with lots of detail but to give up some of his picture to the imagination of those who see. Many novice photographers are ingintahu how to create a nice silhouette. Here are some techniques that can help to get a magic touch in capturing the shadows.

Set Object

The first and most basic thing to remember is -tentu- placing objects in front of a bright light. Nice silhouette can be generated when there is only one source of light behind the object. Bright light is to be covered by the object to keep the ratio of the exposure. Choose an object that looks clear and crisp when placed in front of the light. If the object is a human, you can try to highlight the shape of the face (nose, lips, eyelashes, arms). You can also try to separate the detailed outline of the object instead of making a straight flat. That way it would be interesting siluetmu photo.

Lighting In Silhouette Photography

About the lighting, you must make sure that the built-in flash on your camera is turned off. Try to improve the lighting in the background rather than the object, because the object is to be made without damaging the dark background. If there is too much light, it will illuminate the object and make the details visible, not the shadow. Conversely, if there is not enough light, then the background will look gray and ruin the silhouette. The best way to organize this kind of lighting is to make sure the background is brighter than the object.

Because a total silhouette is sharp images and powerful, you can also consider the partial silhouette where there is little detail of the object that touched the light. This will make the silhouette look more three-dimensional and real.

Exposure lock

Once you have set an object in the right position and adjust the lighting, the next step is to set the frame and lock the exposure based on the background, not an object. You can do this by pointing to the camera metering light areas of the photo and take a reading of the exposure by pressing the shutter button half way (and not released). By doing this trick, your camera will think that the lighter part of the photo is located in the mid tones. Then the darker parts will be exposed as a shadow. Meanwhile, keep in mind that the shutter measurements shall be taken away from the bright sun light or other light source to obtain proper exposure.
This will make the object under-exposed and dark even completely black. Some digital cameras have a metering mode 'spot' or 'centered' that you can use to help gain exposure to the entire silhouette basis. Also make sure there is no light source and camera object.

Sharpen Focus On Object

Focus on the object and not the background. This will ensure the objects appear sharper, not opaque, and give perspective to the silhouette. Come closer to the object so that you can put the most powerful light behind the object, and you can change the angle of the photo to get a variety. If you and the object are equally unable to move, then try zooming.

Lastly Tips

Most photographers use the time around sunset because the sun makes the sky appear brighter than the surrounding circumstances and can produce better contrast. Some photographers use a narrow aperture (figure f / stop higher) to be able to capture the whole scene in focus. Use Aperture Priority mode so you can control the aperture and shutter speed to hand over the camera. Also recommended to use a lens hood lens flare that do not fit in the frame.