Top 5 Reasons to Create Silhouettes in Your Photography

When I choose to silhouette a figure/form in my photography it is usually because I want to accentuate the lighting in the image as well as the forms that will be created from the silhouette.  Here are my top 5 reasons to incorporate silhouettes into your photos. 

1. Oh the MYSTERY…When you can make out a form but not its details there remains a bit of mystery and this characteristic will come through in the photo.

2.  I can see your HALO… You can create a halo around your silhouette if the light source is shining behind the silhouetted form.  

3.  The EMPHASIS will not only be on forms but also on the scene in which the form is present.

4.  SUNRISE/SUNSET …If you want to bring out the colors of that gorgeous sunset as people watch from the shores- silhouette the figures (overexpose the light on them) and the sunset/ sunrise in the background will be super colorful.

5.  The Eiffel Tower, the eagle soaring above, and more easily (if you aren’t in Paris that is) the HUMAN FORM (with all its twists and turns) all provide extraordinary shapes for your silhouette.