We all like photography of silhouettes . The silhouettes give photography a dramatic, mysterious and very beautiful touch. We love silhouettes because they are simple but captivating. A silhouette can convey ideas and messages that a well-lit portrait with a thousand colors could not. If you like this type of photography today I will give you the basic rules so you can make your first steps on the subject. Please do not be intimidated by the technical terms. I will try to make this article as plain, simple and easy to understand as possible. I just want you to pay me a little attention, you'll see how easy it is.
HOW DO SILHOUETTES WORK?
Before going into details let's see how this effect is achieved in general, as well as above. The camera normally works in such a way that:- If there is a lot of light , the camera itself tries to "darken" the photo a bit to compensate for so much light and that in the end a balanced light is achieved. The technical term here would be underexposure , for those who want to know it.
- If there is low light, the camera will usually try to "illuminate" the final photo. It is overexposure .
A RECOGNIZABLE SUBJECT OR OBJECT
The silhouette game could be practiced on almost anything, however I recommend that you choose subjects with a typical, easily recognizable, prominent, striking, etc. This is because the photo normally, in addition to the form, is supported by other elements such as color, contrasts, focus / blur, etc. When we work on silhouettes, we lose these elements, and we keep only the shape of the silhouette , so we have to give great importance to the shape.FLASH OFF
Evident. If you leave the camera fully in automatic mode, the flash may skip. Try to have it well deactivated. You know, if the flash pops up, the subject you are photographing is illuminated and the silhouette goes to wasteGIVE PROMINENCE TO THE SUBJECT
Decide what thing or body you want to draw as a silhouette, and ensure that it has all the prominence in the photo. Take care of the details, and try to avoid more undesirable silhouettes that will later distract the viewer's attention. There is no problem in wanting to give prominence to several silhouettes at once, for example a group of people, crowd, etc., the only thing is that it has to be because you want, not to be a mistake. Control the prominence. Do not let anything "steal" your subject role unless you want it in advance like this.PORTRAITS, BETTER IN PROFILE
Most of the time it is better to photograph silhouettes of people from peril, to highlight their nose, mouth, eyes, forehead, etc.STEPS TO PHOTOGRAPH SILHOUETTES WITH A COMPACT CAMERA
If you use a digital compact camera follow these steps:- Focus the most illuminated area of ??the landscape, for example, focus directly on the light source.
- Press the shutter button only halfway.
- Move your hand with the camera and now frame your subject well to take the picture, all this by keeping the shutter button pressed halfway.
- Now that you have your subject well framed, press the shutter button deeper and take the picture.
STEPS TO PHOTOGRAPH SILHOUETTES WITH A SLR CAMERA
The only step I will recommend here is to photograph in RAW mode . On several occasions I have explained that the RAW mode is fabulous but it was not appropriate to always use it, but only on some occasions. Well, this is one of those occasions in which the RAW mode will help you get real virguerías. In our blog there are articles that explain how to lose your fear of RAW mode and how to get the most out of it. Read them please.LAST TIP
The best silhouettes are usually achieved during sunset or during sunrise. Obviously with clear skies or unless the sun is visible. Do you like what you have read so far? As an example and inspiration I leave you a photograph that I took last year in Asturias and that came out relatively decent, where this technique is appreciated.