silhouettes | nappanee portrait photographer

do you like silhouettes?

silhouettes are kind of new to me, i have never really gotten hung up on this type of photo. i am now trying to pay more attention to sunsets & silhouettes. i made the huge mistake of taking a whopping 1 good sunset photo the last time we were in florida & that was with my camera phone to send to a friend. brilliant...i know.☺

there are lots of great applications for shots like this. capturing your children, especially in profile, a beautiful landscape & sunset, a romantic pose... these are just a few good reasons for a silhouette.

and really, they are very simple to capture. you meter for the sky rather than your subject which should give you nice colors in your skies & a darkened subject.

sometimes, your subject will not come out quite as dark as you'd like, but that can be altered in photoshop if necessary.

*this one turned out pretty well, he's completely profiled all the way around, directly against the sun

*this shot below could have been much better if i had gotten down lower & shot so that his entire body would have been visible above the horizon

a few tips to make your silhouette the best it can be:

• meter for the sky, not the subject
• get down lower, placing as much of your subject above the horizon as possible
• when posing your subject, try to get as much of their profile in the photo as possible; watch your angle of the subject to the sky,
• try for a smaller aperture for more depth of field, sharper subject & background; more possibility for sunburst/flare affect
• place the subject right in front of the sun for a glow or sunburst around them

there are lots of good possibilities and great surprises that can come from these types of photos. get on out there & take advantage of these great fall sunsets & try your hand at a silhouette.