BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Silhouettes

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January 31, 2006

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January 31, 2006

John

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January 31, 2006

I didn't really understand metering until I took Jim Z's "mastering light" class. Use Av mode, open your apeture to a wide number, I think I used 5.6 on this pic. Focus in on the sky (not the actual sun like Becky said), press your shutter 1/2 way. Note the shutter speed the camera tells you. Now, go to M mode and set your aperture & shutter speed to what you just metered, compose your pic & take it. Your camera sensor will probably be yelling at you that's it's an incorrect exposure- ignore it!

I also learned WHY you have to open the aperature so wide when you have a round object- if you go smaller (bigger f number), any "highlight" (the sun in this case) will no longer be round, it'll be a hexagon!!

Hope this helps!

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January 31, 2006

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January 31, 2006

	Silhouette 1 This photo was metered off the big rock to the left, which was bathed in bright early-morning sunlight. The resulting exposure setting under-exposed the sky by a half-stop causing it to darken slightly. The rising sun was at an angle behind the background rocks, causing them to silhouette. (Nikkor 50 mm, Provia 100) Bob Cammarata
	Silhouette 2 (Mountainscape) This sunset was metered off the sky and distant mountains. The foreground was in shade..(around four-stops different than the sky.) In this scene there was nothing to hide the sun behind so it was eliminated entirely. Bob Cammarata
	Silhouette 3 (Guardian of the Valley) This was also metered off the distant landscape. The late afternoon sun was to the right, in front of me (out of frame) but behind the rock "face". (Nikkor 180 mm ED, Provia 100, converted to black and white) Bob Cammarata
	Silhouette 4 This photo was metered the same as the others but a tiny peek of sunlight was included in the composition. An aperture setting of f-22 created the starburst effect. (Nikkor 180 mm ED, Provia 100, converted to black and white) Bob Cammarata

*Keep the primary light source in front of you, but behind your point of interest...(that which you want to silhouette).

*Meter the bright background as described. Definately exclude the sun when metering. Try to spot-meter a portion of a deep blue sky and shoot at that setting for best results.

*When using a digital camera (or slide film), make sure that there are at least 3 to 4 stops difference between your metered setting and the foreground you want to silhouette. The greater the difference,...the darker the silhouette will appear.

*Avoid shooting directly into a bright, un-diffused sun to eliminate lens flare and those pesky un-natural looking "halos" which often appear around a bright light source.
Instead, try to hide the sun entirely behind your subject or let just a tiny bit of it peek through.
You can observe the scene carefully through the viewfinder and make minute side-to side adjustments to the camera angle to get the best results without visable flare.
(Be careful though when looking at the sun through your lens...especially a telephoto to avoid possible eye damage.)
A small aperture setting (like f-22) will create a starburst effect from the peek of sunlight.

*Definate bracket when using film. It's wise to shoot at several different exposure settings with digital also,...(less fixing).
(You can intensify the effect of the silhouette with software by tweaking the contrast and saturation a little.)

The attached examples were shot just recently using these techniques.

Bob

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February 01, 2006