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<\/a><\/p>\nTo make a silhouette we need to have the background significantly brighter than the foreground or object we want to be silhouetted.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This one is exposed for the sky.<\/p>\n As you can see we have a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bright\u00e2\u20ac\u009d sky and dark foreground.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This leads to a nice silhouette and reflection here, but there is no detail in anything below the sky.<\/p>\n So here are five easy things to remember:<\/p>\n 1. Chose a strong subject, preferably uncluttered.<\/p>\n 2. Turn off your flash.<\/p>\n 3. Background brighter than the subject.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>If you are using Auto, press the shutter halfway down while pointed at the sky, then hold the button, reframe and shoot. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 4. Focus.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>If you aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t using back-button focus you might have screwed your focus up using the above method, so try pre-focusing, then turn off the AF on your lens.<\/p>\n 5. Try Manual Mode, or if in Aperture Mode use your Exposure compensation dial!<\/p>\n But sometimes we can get both silhouette and some detail.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Here I exposed for the moon, but there was still enough light to illuminate the power poles also.<\/p>\n You can and will get some foreground under some lighting conditions.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>These have only been minorly tweaked after leaving the camera.<\/p>\n Silhouettes are great for people.<\/p>\n This one had a bit more work after leaving the camera.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Remember, you can still often bring detail out of an under exposed area, but you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t put it back into an over exposed area.<\/p>\n Did I mention Hawaiian sunsets are just marvelous for silhouettes\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6?<\/p>\n This is pretty much done in camera.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>I used my exposure compensation dial to over expose by a stop.<\/p>\n This are a nice example of a silhouette that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drastically underexposing the subject.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes it is hard NOT to get a silhouette.<\/p>\n Mornings and evenings are great times for silhouettes, even if you aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in Hawaii.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>But Germany isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bad either\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n This one is 1\/2 stop under exposed.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>But after the Sun came out<\/p>\n I had to OVER expose this one by a stop and a half to get any detail in the foreground due to the brightness of the Sun.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This is where digital is so nice.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>I got to try this several times until I got what I thought was right.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The one from Germany I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see for a couple of weeks,<\/p>\n Now this didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t turnout as a really good silhouette, but it was a start.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>So in post processing I selected the pink shirt, head and ball<\/p>\n and darkened it using the levels control.<\/p>\n Here is the inside of a tipi burner, looking up.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>By darkening the whole thing using the level control<\/p>\n We get more a silhouette of the top.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This is one of those where I said the definitions were a little loose in photography because a case could be made this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really much of a silhouette.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Mainly I wanted to include it because My Sister asked me for an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153abstract\u00e2\u20ac\u009d photo to use to make a quilt out of.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>Hers got selected to be in the Canadian Grand National Quilt show.<\/p>\n By selecting the body of this Sandpiper and darkening it<\/p>\n We get more of the feel of a silhouette without losing all detail.<\/p>\n With this I darkened the whole image<\/p>\n and we not only got silhouettes but the colors got a bit more saturation.<\/p>\n Here is a slightly more detailed summary of the process.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>I selected the bird and branches<\/p>\n Then I darkened them with the level control<\/p>\n Then I inverted the selection and brightened the background with the level control.<\/p>\n You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even need a whole bright background for the whole photo.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>A light source is good enough.<\/p>\n This is a different one: the background is bright enough but the foreground has too much detail. Yet I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to loose the colored pedals.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>I selected the green stems<\/p>\n and darkened those.<\/p>\n Now here is a fairly ho-hum photo, but lets play a bit.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>We will<\/p>\n blacken out Rachel\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6but that hair tie has to go\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n Still something missing\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n Lets darken out Harlee too!<\/p>\n Silhouettes can tell a story like shadows, and you can use both together!<\/p>\n This one is a selfie silhouette of a reflection.<\/p>\n I want to thank Norman volunteering to silhouette himself for this photo!<\/p>\n Clouds and fog make a great background.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0We can involve our light source in these too.<\/p>\n Here we have a silhouette, a reverse silhouette of the leaf, and a shadow showing through the leaf.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>There is a whole genre of shadow play, where the shadow is thrown onto a translucent, usually white, screen kind of like this.<\/p>\n The light source is reflected in the water, and the subject is blocking it, making this silhouette.<\/p>\n I did mention sunrises and sunsets didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I?<\/p>\n Strangley enough, caves make for wonderful silhouettes!<\/p>\n Note that everyone is using tripods.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>This was a 2 second exposure at 400 ISO.<\/p>\n Another example of a shadow on a 3D surface, here it being the blowing snow, with a silhouette of the tank against the blue sky. \u00c2\u00a0But better darkened for a silhouette.<\/p>\n Holidays can be great times for silhouettes, too.<\/p>\n A few more\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n As hard as it is to breath, smoke makes for interesting silhouettes.<\/p>\n A few targets of opportunity.<\/p>\n Cold, snow and clear skies make some great silhouettes!<\/p>\n We can’t forget Secret Squirrel!<\/p>\n And lastly, the sky presents many silhouette chances.<\/p>\n The ultimate silhouette\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n