How to Shoot Silhouette Photography

There are many ways to create silhouettes, but one thing is for sure -- you have to turn off the flash first. If your flash pops, your subject won't be a dark shadow. After you disable the flash and before you start tinkering with your camera's manual settings, try using your auto mode.

Almost every digital camera lets you lock the exposure and focus by depressing the shutter button halfway. This is a very useful attribute for silhouettes. For example, if you point your camera at a person standing in front of a sunset, you can tilt the camera toward the top of your subject's head, lock the focus and exposure, and then recompose the picture. In doing so, you're exposing the picture more for the bright sky than the much darker subject, ensuring a nicely saturated sunset with a dark subject that's sharply focused. If you have a hard time getting the autofocus to lock onto your subject in the harsh light, switch to your camera's manual focus setting before you lock the exposure.

If the auto mode doesn't work well for your purposes, check to see if your camera has an exposure bracketing feature. Exposure bracketing tells your camera to take three pictures in quick succession at three different exposure levels. One is the camera's best guess as to an accurate exposure for every part of the composition, one is underexposed and the other is overexposed [Canon USA].

Exposure bracketing is designed to help you snag at least one usable image in a scene with very bright and dark areas. You simply shoot with this mode and then pick the exposure you think is best after you're done. Bracketing also makes it easy to capture partial silhouettes, in which you reveal a little detail in your blackened subject by choosing a brighter exposure.

Your camera's manual or shutter priority modes may also come in very handy. These modes let you control shutter speed with ease. A faster shutter speed means a shorter, darker exposure, while a longer shutter speed makes a brighter picture. So, if your subject is too dark or too light, just change the shutter speed with a quick twirl of your finger.

Now that we've tackled some of the technical aspects, head to the next page to read about general advice to keep in mind when composing silhouette photographs.

When shooting silhouettes, remember that recognizable subjects are vital to your compositions. If the shape of your subject is too abstract, the image may not be as engaging (or recognizable) to your audience. For example, if you want to create silhouettes of people, encourage your subjects to wear dark, form-fitting clothes. Light-colored clothes make it harder for you to capture very dark shadows, and loose clothes are a distraction because they make it more difficult for viewers to recognize human forms in your composition.

Be creative with your pictures. You don't always have to center the silhouette; you can use dark, shadowy edges to frame your primary subject. Or you can incorporate a silhouette on just one edge of your picture -- doing so will shift the weight and balance of your compositions, giving each picture a very different visual aesthetic. Don't worry about rules; just keep trying new angles and perspectives.

The further you push your experiences, skills and imagination with regard to silhouette images, the more fun you'll have. So, no matter which subjects you decide to use for your silhouettes, experiment and don't be afraid to try wild ideas (even if they might not result in usable photos). The more you pit your picture-taking knowledge against tricky lighting situations, the more competent you'll feel with your camera and photography in general.