Friday Photo Tip | Silhouettes
Happy Aloha Friday! This week’s Friday Photo Tip is on making silhouettes - those lovely backlit photos where the subject is shown only as a dark shape with their outline as the focus.
Before we talk about how to achieve this, let’s talk about what makes a good one. The big thing here is overlap. Since the only details you see are in the outline of your subjects, you want to make sure the key details are not overlapping any other objects in the image. So, if you’re trying to showcase a baby bump for example, be sure to have a clear view of it again the backlighting. Avoid overlap with other elements in the photo like trees or other subjects. If your focus is the profile of someone’s face, same idea - don’t let those details overlap with other dark objects.
Now, how to do it - you can achieve the silhouette effect with any camera or smart phone as long as you place your subject directly in front of your source of light. That source of light can be a window, the low sun at sunrise or sunset, a lit Christmas tree, etc. Next, you’ll want to set your exposure manually. On a smart phone, tap on the brightest part of your photo, if the exposure doesn’t automatically set and make your subject dark, you can drag down on the exposure icon (the little sun on an iPhone) to lower the exposure and black out your subject.
On a camera, change your settings to properly expose for the brightest part of the photo. In auto mode, do this by selecting the brightest part of the photo with your focus point, and the camera should automatically adjust. In manual or a priority mode, adjust your exposure settings to properly expose for the brightest area of the image and your subject should become dark.
Pay attention to the outline of your subject as you set up the photo as that is all that will show in the final image. Facial expressions won’t matter since you won’t be able to see them. Instead, try to capture movement. Since your shutter speed will be fast to accommodate all that light, it’s the perfect opportunity to freeze motion!
Silhouettes can be a really fun way to make a striking photo. Play around with different sources of light and get your subject moving for some great shots!
