Silhouettes

While you usually want to get good exposure on most subjects throughout the frame, there are times when a silhouette can add dramatic impact to an image. For our purposes, a silhouette is an almost graphic form within the scene that shows no detail. It can be recognizable or abstract, but it should play a part in the scene that makes it a strong visual element.

While you should generally avoid making images that have you pointing the camera at the sun, a silhouette is created by doing just that. The difference is that the silhouetted form should block the direct rays of the sun, yet your exposure reading should be made off the background, not the foreground silhouetted subject. If the light in the background is bright enough and you avoid the foreground in your exposure reading, you can be assured that the foreground will become silhouetted. This is best accomplished using a spot metering pattern.

 The sky was hazy and the sun was near the horizon and I spotted this lighthouse that served as a great sun blocker and potential silhouette. I moved around until the structure blocked the sun and made a reading from the brightest area in the background.

Settings: With a 210mm lens: at ISO 200, f/22 at 1/500 second. Spot exposure reading made and locked off the bright background.