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Masterclass Silhouettes- Practical Photography
Shooting into the light may seem a little daunting and breaks all the usual rules of photography, but it can also produce successful photographs. More often than not, it also creates quite dramatic results, but the exposure of successful shots, needs care and accurate metering to get it right. This usually requires the use of filters like ND grads to control the contrast of the direct light and therefore still reveal enough foreground detail. Silhouettes on the other hand, can also produce dramatic compositions, but are a little more carefree regarding exposure. Even the most sophisticated camera meter will produce a silhouette if you point the camera at a bright light source, such as the sun. Whereas you would normally need to over compensate to produce a decent backlit shot, with a silhouette you can just go with the reading that the camera is giving, safe in the knowledge that the exposure will be bang on.
Silhouette compositions are all about shape and form rather than detail. So, you can forget how the subject’s colour or texture will look and just concentrate on the outline shape. It goes without saying then, that to make this type of photograph work, the outline shape of the subject has to be very strong and visual. It also usually needs to be a subject that can be identified by its shape alone and therefore recognisable in this format.
Ideal Subjects
Certain subjects just throw themselves at you as ideal candidates and you can easily spot them, because you see them against the strong light and their potential becomes obvious. Such subjects that would otherwise be ignored as being not very photogenic are a row of chimneys or electricity pylons, but as a silhouette, they are hard to beat. Certain buildings have a definite outline shape that makes them recognisable without any detail and you only have to look at an image of a London skyline to recognise the outline of the famous buildings to know that it’s illustrating London. With this in mind, all sorts of buildings can be shot this way too, from famous landmarks to lighthouses, windmills and even castles.
Statues- These often are very plain in design with a strong outline making them ideal for silhouettes. Their black colour will help keep them as a bold shape only with no detail revealed.
Bridges- There are many striking looking bridges around the country and those made with girders or of the suspension type are ideal subjects as they have lots of graphic lines ideal for silhouettes.
People- A person in profile makes a very strong subject as well as an interesting and powerful alternative to the normal portrait.
Industry- Subjects of industry become more dramatic when backlit. Their power and immense size are revealed and somehow they become a thing of beauty and an icon of industry instead of a blot on the landscape.
Technique
Unfortunately, our eyes automatically adjust against a bright source to reveal detail in a backlit subject, so if you see a potential subject, you can do a quick visual check by squinting your eyes a little to reveal the shape more. Other subjects come about through pre-planning, either because you have noticed them before or because either their shape is an obvious one and one you can visualise in your mind. On these occasions, you can arrange your visit for the best time when the silhouette will be at its strongest.
This of course, means that not all subjects will work as a silhouette and its often when the subject isn’t working as a composition with light falling onto it in the traditional way that you think about shooting in a different way. Any bright sky will do as a backdrop, but it always adds to the composition if it at least has some colour to it, whether it’s a clear blue sky or a dramatic, rich sunset. Looking for potential silhouettes is therefore best timed with a low sun and more colourful sky and I often find that adding a silhouette also makes the most of a sunset if you are not in an ideal location for it.
Exposure
It’s best to avoid the sun being in the picture when you take a silhouette and for this reason the sun is often hidden behind the main subject. Including the sun in the picture can lead to a touch of underexposure, even for matrix style metering, and in this case, partial or spot metering off an area of sky to one side of the sun will produce better results. The same can be said if the subject you are making into a silhouette fills the frame too much, as this can lead into slight overexposure as far as a silhouette is concerned and again, you either need to switch to spot metering and either lock this, then recompose, or set it manually once you have taken the reading. Alternatively, if you are on automatic you can allow for this with an extra stop of exposure compensation.
Equipment
Lenses- You can shoot successful silhouettes with a whole range of lenses from wide angles to long telephotos depending on the subject in hand. If the subject is close then you may need a wide-angle lens to frame the shot as well as include the sky to frame the shape of the subject. A telephoto lens can be used on subjects further away and are useful to isolate the main subject from its surroundings and keep the composition simple.
Tripod- Even though you will often be using fast shutter speeds, it still helps to put the camera on a solid tripod to take the shot to help with composition. It also stops you looking through the viewfinder too much and risk looking directly at the sun through a telephoto lens. Use a cable release to take the shot.
Lens Hood- As you won’t be attaching filters to the front of the lens, you can use a lens hood to avoid flare in your shots. However, try to keep the sun behind the main subject to avoid it this way as well.
Handheld spot meter- If you use a hand-held meter for your photography and it has a spot meter built in, then you can use this to take meter readings off the surrounding sky, so that you don’t have to keep recomposing your images.
Post-processing- You can tweak your silhouettes in Photoshop by adjusting the Levels on the image. You’ll want the main subject to be as black as possible, so move the left slider in towards the centre of the graph to reduce any detail in the subject. You can also brighten the background, making the main subject stand out more if the shot is underexposed a little. Do this by moving the right slider towards the centre and therefore maximising the highlights.
Warning!
Two safety points to bear in mind for you and your camera, is the danger of looking into the sun. Of course, it goes without saying that you should never look directly at the sun with the naked eye or through the viewfinder of your camera, so take care when composing your shots, especially if you using a telephoto lens. Secondly, your camera lenses won’t appreciate being pointed at a bright light source, as lens flare becomes an issue. Use of a lens hood is recommended, but even this won’t be effective if the sun is very bright. Waiting until sunset or even better, the afterglow of sunset, will reduce the problem Otherwise you will need to recompose to lessen the effect, or else you can use the flare to your advantage in your composition, but the effect has to be subtle, so as not to ruin the overall shot.
Quick Tips
Keep it simple- Successful silhouette shots are a bit like abstracts and benefit from simple compositions to make them work. So exclude any unnecessary objects in the frame and keep the main subject minimalist and bold.
In the landscape- In the landscape, trees are an obvious subject, with their broad trunks and overall shape, they are instantly recognisable in silhouette. Trees on hills or mountains, where they are up level with the sky produce the best results.
Look up- You can still take great silhouettes around midday, when the sun is high in the sky, but you may need to get a lower viewpoint and look up to make the most of a subject. Get close to the subject and crouch down to place the sun behind it. Take a reading from the sky to the side and then recompose as the subject may fill the frame more from the close range.
Quick Shooting Guide
Metering mode- Partial or spot. Centre-weighted for quick shots
Exposure mode- Shutter or aperture priority
Best time- Early morning, late afternoon or sunset
ISO- 100 for tripod shots, 200-400 for handheld
RAW or Jpeg- RAW so that you can adjust the shots
© Craig Roberts
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