Silhouette photography is when you shoot a subject with back light so that you only show its outline. As the subject is thrown into shadow due to the position of the lighting, you can’t see texture, you can’t see its three-dimensional form, and you can’t even see its color. What you are left with is the shape alone.
To shoot successful silhouette photography you first need to choose a subject that can be identified by its two-dimensional shape.
A strong outline is not enough: you also need to photograph the subject from the right angle to accentuate this shape. Silhouette photography of a person, for instance, works better if you shoot their profile rather than shooting them head on.
For a bigger subject, such as a building, you will need to hunt out the best angle to shoot from by walking around it, and then possibly coming back when the sun is in front of you and behind the structure.
To get clear silhouette photography, you need a subject which can be isolated against the sky or by a plain bright backdrop – it is much harder to get a silhouette of a building in a built-up area than of one that stands in an open space.
Although you can shoot silhouette photography in practically any weather, silhouettes look more impressive when shot against a deep blue sky or a dramatic scarlet sunset.
The biggest problem with silhouette photography is getting the silhouette to look dark enough. If you shoot in auto modes, your camera will refuse you to give you a perfect exposure.
You want the shadowy outline to be as black as possible, and not a muddy grey. Because of this you need to take control of the settings yourself.
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