Page 28 - Australian Photography Dec 2020

SILHOUETTE
Silhouette photography is the figure to ground concept pushed to the extreme, where the subject is all black and juxtaposed against a background that is very bright, sometimes white, for strong contrast. The challenge is to make sure the entire silhouette has no overlap with anything dark in the background as this will lessen the impact of the image. Sometimes the background may need cleaning up in post processing to remove any obstructions, using the clone stamp or spot healing tool. The brighter the background behind the silhou- ette, the better. A silhouette on grey or mid-tones will not be as impactful to look at. So, if need be, the bright- ness of the background can later be enhanced (bright- ened) to result in the silhouette’s figure to ground separation being as strong as possible.
To photograph in silhouette, you must look around the scene for a strong light source, and photograph the sub- ject in front of this bright light. The sun is great for this, especially around sunrise and sunset time when it’s lower on the horizon and a person can be positioned in front of it. Even the sun reflecting onto water or a reflective surface works well, so always look at the quality of light on surfaces for silhouette photography.
You can choose to have the subject directly in front of a bright sun for a very strong figure to ground effect (dark on light) or to include the sun itself in the photo relying on the surrounding sky or reflection to be the bright back- ground. To achieve a sunburst effect from the sun, set the aperture on the camera to f/22. This effect of making a star out of the light source works best if the sun is partially blocked by something such as trees, a rock or a building.
ABOVE: Children Playing at a Hindu Temple. In this photo from India,
I noticed the smooth marble ground reflecting the setting sun and I found a good angle to frame this area alongside the large Hindu temple. I waited to capture any subjects who would cross through this patch of light, which included these kids spinning in circles. I would adjust my position carefully
to make sure I was capturing them completely surrounded by the bright area, and not allow their heads to overlap with anything behind in order to get their complete silhouettes cleanly outlined. Nikon D800, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 24mm. 1/320s @ f14, ISO 400.
LEFT: Camel Silhouettes. In this photo of camels and camel man in the desert of India, I was careful to position the low setting sun behind the middle camel to make that area brightest against the black camel silhouette. When the sun came down lower,
I framed it under the camel, and also set the aperture to f/22 in order to get
a sunburst effect for extra visual interest. Nikon D800, 24-85mm f/2.8-4 lens @ 32mm. 1/250s @ f22, ISO 800.
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