How to take a silhouette?

Lead: Light is the soul of photography, and it is also the first foundation to master in learning photography. If you want to make a good film, you must first master the characteristics of light and skillfully use all kinds of photographic light.

Beyond the flash range, you can't enter this effective range by adjusting the distance. Generally, it is more than 3 meters during the day and 5 meters at night. Unless the camera flash is strong, it will not have the ideal effect. When the environment is dim and the background of the subject is a large area of light. When the object is too close, such as taking a close shot in the range of 15 cm, the flash is generally not used, otherwise the surface brightness of the object will be uneven and some parts may be overexposed. When there is an obstacle between the flash and an object, such as a close shot, the lens may completely block the light of the flash and lose its function.

Silhouette photo is an artistic photo in which the subject is placed in a bright background and exposed according to the brightness of the background. The background is clear and the subject forms a shadow outline due to serious underexposure. It can vividly outline the clear outline of the subject, highlight the ups and downs and lines of the subject's modeling, have a strong visual impact through the large light ratio and Gao Fancha, have implicit charm and wonderful artistic modeling effect, and give people a unique aesthetic feeling, which is a common artistic expression method for many photographers.

You can't just focus on the light when you take a silhouette with a digital camera. Due to the photosensitive characteristics of the image sensor, it is easier to take satisfactory silhouette photos with a digital camera, but we should also grasp the following points:

1. Choose the theme carefully.

Silhouette photos only show the outline of the subject, so the subject must have a beautiful modeling outline, which can fully show the physical characteristics of the silhouette subject. Therefore, before shooting, we should carefully choose the shooting object and shooting angle according to our own creative ideas, carefully design the shape and action of the shooting object, fully display the appearance characteristics of the shooting object, and strive to be beautiful and vivid.

2. The background should be concise and lively.

You must choose a bright and simple background when taking silhouette photos. Such as sky, water, light-colored buildings, etc. Only a bright background can set off the outline of people and scenery; The background should be as clean and tidy as possible, so that the main body can stand out and the audience's attention can be focused on the form of the main body to be expressed; There should be a great contrast between the tone and the subject, and try to avoid confusion with the tone of the subject. When taking color silhouette photos, the choice of background color is very important for the rendering and contrast of the whole photo effect. We can often choose sunrise, sunset, colorful clouds, glow and sparkling water as the background. If we can skillfully use color filters in this kind of silhouette photography, we can better control the color atmosphere and echo the silhouette subject to create works with wonderful artistic conception.

Step 3 shoot with backlight

Backlight is the only light source for taking silhouette photos, and silhouette photos must be taken with backlight. The stronger the backlight, the more obvious the silhouette effect. When shooting outdoors, the time should be around sunset or sunrise. At this time, the sun is very low and looks big, but the color temperature is low. Facing the sun, the outline of the subject is particularly clear and prominent, the sky is full of sunshine, and sometimes there are all kinds of strange clouds, which can better contrast the atmosphere and artistic conception. When taking a silhouette in a natural light room, the camera should be facing the doors and windows, and the subject should be in front of the doors and windows, and the exposure should be based on the outdoor brightness. At night, you can use bonfires, lanterns or other lights to illuminate the outdoor, and you can also take ideal silhouette photos.

4. Exposure according to background brightness.

Different from the backlight portrait, this method accurately exposes the subject according to the brightness of the background rather than the brightness of the subject. Only in this way can the subject be seriously underexposed and form a black image.

When using spot metering, the metering point cannot be placed on the subject. If it is difficult to determine the exposure value, we should follow the principle of underexposure rather than overexposure. For example, when taking a silhouette with the sky as the background at sunrise and sunset, measure the middle tone of the sky. If you are not sure about the correct exposure value at the moment, you can use the surround exposure method, first expose according to the readings measured by the camera, and then increase or decrease the exposure of one block respectively to select satisfactory photos. In addition, you should choose a lower sensitivity.

5. Avoid lens glare

Because the camera is facing a strong light source when shooting in backlight, the scene is prone to glare, which affects the picture effect, so we should pay attention to prevent the interference of glare. When shooting under strong light, necessary shielding measures should be taken (use a suitable hood, or use hands, hats, cardboard, etc. Block in front of the camera), or make the camera in the shadow, or slightly offset to the side, change the shooting angle, etc. , to prevent direct sunlight or light from reaching the lens, and then press the shutter after the glare disappears.