Silhouette and Shape and Light - For Photography and Photographers
Backlight is an excellent way of showing the shape or outline of a subject, and it is often surprising how well we can recognise things from this one element alone - with colour, form, texture all being lost in shadow. If the lighting is strong enough, the composition becomes a silhouette - particularly if you expose for the bright background rather than the subject.Backlight doesn"t always mean silhouettes, however. With less intense lighting, it is possible to set the exposure for the subject itself- as the subject is not in darkness, but lit by soft light reflected off the ground, buildings, the sky, and so on. This soft lighting can be particularly useful for portraits in strong sunlight. To avoid problems with exposure, ensure that as much of the bright background is cut from the picture as possible.
Exposure lock
To get a silhouette, you need to expose for the background, and not for the subject. The easiest way to do this on many cameras is to fill the frame with the sky alone, hold the exposure lock button, and then reframe to include the subject. If the subject fills only a small part of the frame, this indirect metering approach may well not be necessary.
Sunset silhouette
Sunsets are a naturally photogenic subject - but they look better if you can provide a focal point for the coloured backdrop. A silhouette of a figure or a tree are perfect candidates.
Path of light
Wet sand on a beach provides an interesting element to many seaside shots - as it reflects the colour of the sky and provides mirror images of the people standing on it.
Yellow wash
As silhouetted shots are monotonal, you can get away with using the strong-coloured filters designed for use with black-and-white images.