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Mastering the Silhouette Photograph

Chris Fullilove - JHO ProStaff - Texas
July 24, 2005

Three Cranes
This image of dockside machinery is transformed into art by the careful use of background and technique.

Last year, on a cold November morning, my father and I had just untied the mooring lines and idled away from the boat dock for a day of fishing. It was still dark, as we flipped on the navigation lights and analyzed the GPS in order to plan the approach to our fishing spot. Upon arriving at our location, we cut the outboard and observed the gentle boat wake fade into the distance. The sun was just starting to appear, highlighting the clouds on the horizon. The observation of our environment was amazing, and rather than tying up an anchor line or picking up a fishing pole, I had to pick up the camera.

One of the most impressive photographs to capture is a silhouette. When your subject is outlined by a setting sun or a colorful sky, large landscapes are grander, static objects obtain power, and the simple dark outline of a woman transforms into elegant beauty.

The basic steps to accomplish a silhouette photograph are simple. Your camera has to support different metering modes though. Metering is the term that describes how the camera gathers its light, color, and distance information about a scene. Whenever you half press the shutter button, you meter the scene. The default meter setting is called the “multi-meter” mode, meaning the camera takes everything in the scene and tries to calculate the best exposure settings to show as many details about everything.

The metering mode that we use for silhouette photographs is called “spot-metering”. Spot metering only looks at the very center of your scene and calculates exposure based on the contents of the center. One can use this technique to trick the camera into calculating exposure settings based on the colorful clouds or sky, rather than the primary subject.

Sunset Buck
This buck would make a grand photo anyway, but a well-done silhouette turns him into a wall-hanger!

This is what transforms the subject of a photo into a silhouette, because the subject was not even considered in the meter calculation, instead only the color of the clouds were factored into the photograph. So with the camera in spot meter mode, half press the shutter so that the sky is in the center of the scene you want to photograph. Then, while maintaining the half press, move the camera to recompose your photo in order to include the subject you want to photograph. You will notice that you get a heavier saturation of colors from the sky also, this is due to the fact that other elements from the scene are not making the camera compromise its calculation.

This technique is relatively easy to learn, and really gives the photographer a powerful tool to create impressive and striking photos. Transform your next subject by giving it power, mood, beauty, and awe by experimenting with silhouettes next time you are in the field or on the water during the early morning or late evening hours.