Portrait silhouette shooting techniques

(1) Separate the subject from the background

The subject has to be separated from the background, if the two overlap, it won't be able to emphasize the silhouette of the person, and it will be impossible to see what is trying to be photographed, so look for a more open sky and put the person in it, and you'll get something eye-catching enough to grab the attention.

(2) Posing

Once you've found the right spot to separate the subject from the background, it's time to start dealing with the movement and pose of the character. Because in a silhouette photo, the details are lost and the viewer is only able to judge what's happening from the outlines. For example, they would have the couple kiss slowly and press the shutter just before they were about to touch; if they waited until they were actually kissing to take the shot, they'd just get a black blob of 'stuff'.

(3) Composition

In the photo above, the two trees make a strong leading line, allowing people to focus on the characters, while the right side is covered in a lot of florals to accompany them, and the use of thirds makes the photo easier to read.

(4) Timing

Dusk is, of course, a great opportunity to shoot silhouettes, where the sky is colored differently and the white clouds turn into colored clouds, making for some of the prettiest images around.

(5) Depth of field

Photographers usually adjust the aperture to f/8 to get as much detail as possible, but there are some exceptions. As in the image above, he would have increased the aperture to reduce the depth of field to diminish the distractions in the foreground.

(6) Angles

One way to make a subject stand out from the background is to shoot from a super low angle. The image above is an example of this, allowing the figure to stand on a sloping line while the background is a clean sky.

(7) Artificial Light

There are times when we can't find an open space. For example, in the middle of a dense forest, this time you can make your own portrait silhouette by using off-flash/flying lights, those lights surrounding the outer edge of the subject will create a beautiful effect.

(8) Use a wide-angle lens

As shown above, by using a wide-angle lens, you can create a contrast between the size of the new person and the woods in the picture, and the photo will be more shocking.

(9) Use a different background

It's easy to rely on the sky to create silhouettes, but it's also good to keep an eye out for anything else nearby that could be used as a source of light - for example, the lake in the image above uses a lake that reflects the sunlight as a backdrop, which also highlights the subject.