How to take a wonderful silhouette photo?

In silhouette photography, there is no background interference and confusion, and only the basic shape is shown in the photo. This is why it is so important to create a meaningful plot for such photos. Only by using the shape and external contour of the captured object can we take recognizable photos and let the viewers find a common language.

Although this sounds simple, in fact, it may not be easy to achieve this goal. You must select a theme. The light should be placed in the right position, the subject should be placed at a certain angle, and it should be placed in a position where its movements can be recognized.

Here are some tips to help you create a silhouette photo that tells a specific story.

1. Clear outline

If the silhouette photo contains multiple objects with backlight, there is a clear separation between them, and the outline of each silhouette is clearly identifiable.

2. Contour and limbs

In silhouette photos, facial contours and limb dynamics are very effective. In order to create an outline, the shape of the nose and chin must be clearly displayed on the subject's face. In order to create a dynamic scene, the subject's hands should keep a certain distance from his body and his legs should be separated so that he can see his legs instead of a merging line. The recognizable shape is a very important factor for each contour.

action

Shooting participants' simulation of motion will help to create dynamic contours and postures, which can be immediately recognized by the audience and help to convey the story embedded in the plot.

4. props

Properly selected props can help convey a story: the outline of flowers and hats can add meaning to the image.

5. Interaction among participants

Showing multiple characters in silhouette photography can be very complicated, because it is necessary to minimize their formal overlap and maintain the identity of each theme. A certain balance needs to be observed between the desire to convey a specific story in an image and the need to minimize the interaction between photographers.

Lighting in silhouette photography

In order to get an outline in a photo, the subject must have a backlight. The type of lighting is not important-it can be natural light, or artificial light that is directly incident or incident at a specific angle. It is important that the light should be behind the subject, and there is no light in front to illuminate the subject. Technically speaking, when the light ratio of the frame reaches16:1(level 4) or higher, "silhouette" will appear. However, later in this article, we will introduce how to create silhouette photos with low illumination ratio in post-processing.

1. Natural contour lighting

One of the most common types of natural contour lighting is to place objects between the camera lens and the sunset or the moon. The exposure of the camera should be set to background lighting (whether it is the sunset or the moon on the backlight), and a black outline will appear in the photo under the bright background. Another common method is to use the natural light reflected from the inner wall of the building or the outside of the building.

2. Studio contour lighting

The first one is a white background with a reflective flash. In the second case, the flashlights (one or more flashlights) are aimed at the camera lens, and an object is placed between them. In this case, a luminous halo may appear in the photos around the subject, which will bring interesting light effects to the subject.

Post-processing of silhouette photos

If you can see some details in the silhouette photo and there is backlight on the subject, you can use it in the popular Lightroom or camera.

Eliminate (get a pure black silhouette) in the RAW program. Use the Development module in Lightroom and use the sliders of each module to adjust highlights, shadows and black shadows.

Various combinations of them are used to darken the main body. Basically, you need to increase the contrast and decrease one or all of the other three parameters. Or try setting the shadow or the black slider to 100 to see which one will achieve the desired effect. If the edge of the theme is highlighted and you want to make it darker, you only need to lower the highlight parameter value.

Making silhouette photos is simple and interesting. By focusing on creating specific stories in the photo frame, you can take unique and impressive photos.