Stan Godlewski is a freelance photojournalist.
The technique of silhouetting can be used to add glamour and intensity to many everday photographs – includinbg still lifes, vacation pictures and even family photographs. Handled properly, the technique will inject excitement and drama into standard photographs.
Since it is concerned only with the overall form of a subject, the silhouette can be described as a well-defined, black shape that stands out against a brightly lit, uncomplicated background. Because of its visual simplicity the silhouette has remained one of the most often used effects in spite of the deluge of special effects gadgetry that is available to today’s photographer.
A picture of a sailboat silhouetted against the setting sun, a fireman battling a blaze, or a solitary figure walking along a beach are all familiar examples of this technique. Each photo works well because the silhouette adds to the mood of an already strong image, intensifying the mood with a sense of tranquility, danger, or loneliness.
However, while the result may appear elementary, the creation of such a photograph is not always easily accomplished. The photographer must learn to deviate from the rules generally followed when taking a normally- lit picture by adjusting for a different relationship between light and subject.
The situation that best lends itself to the silhouette is when there is a subject with a large and relatively simple shape in the foreground which is strongly lit from behind. This is a lighting situation that is best avoided when shooting normal exposures, but it is ideal for creating a silhouette. The background must be brighter than the subject – which from the photographer’s point of view should be in shadow – in order to achieve an exposure that will result in a black, distinct form against a bright, crisp background.
Early morning and late afternoon present numerous opportunities to use this effect to its best advantage, offering a myriad of perfectly backlit subjects from skylines to joggers. With proper composition and exposure an exciting and artistic image will jump to the forefront, lending the photograph a dramatic touch that might otherwise be missing. What i learned was his technique of silhouetting can be used to add glamour and intensity to many everyday photographs – including still life’s, vacation pictures and even family photographs. Handled properly, the technique will inject excitement and drama into standard photographs.
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