Silhouette Photo Tips

My name is Jaymi and I blog at Live, Love, Travel.  I am 30 years old, an ex Film Student from Cal State Long Beach and now I work in the TV industry in LA. I love to travel the world; my last two trips were to Paris and Bali and before that I’ve been to Taiwan, Prague, and most of Western Europe.  I have spent the last year or so actively trying to learn and improve my photography and I love to blog about my progress so that others can learn as well!

My tips today are for shooting silhouettes.

Silhouette Photo Tips

1. Wait until the sun is really low. The first, and probably most important step, is to wait until the sun is really low in the sky.  For these shots, you will be shooting with your camera aimed directly towards the sun, and this can be damaging to your lens when the sun is really high and still very bright. Also, when the sun is low, you get way more colors in the sky. Make sure you chose a location where you can see the sun when its low in the sky.  The beach, a large empty field, rooftop or hilltop can all work.

2. Expose for the brightest part of the sky.  Aim your camera towards the setting sun and set your exposure to expose for sun.  You can do this without your subject in the shot.  Also, don’t shoot with your aperture too wide because you’ll want both the sky and your silhouette in focus.  I would use a f/5.6 or larger.  Be careful not to overexpose your sky.  The darker it is, the more details you’ll be able to capture.

3.  When your exposure is set, bring your subject into the shot.  Make sure you are shooting manual so your camera won’t try to change the exposure to expose for your subject.  You want your subject underexposed, and the sky properly exposed.

4. Make your silhouette interesting.  Once you have your exposure set, try to make your silhouette interesting. If they’re pregnant, try for a belly shot.  If you have two people, have them hold hands or kiss.  Or if they can do yoga like my model, have them strike a pose!

Bonus: Jumping Silhouettes!

One of my favorite things to shoot are jumping silhouettes.  You’ll want to follow all the steps above, and then add these additional tips.

5. Get low to the ground.  I had a belly covered in sand for the shots below! The lower you get to the ground, the higher your subject will appear to be. So get on the ground and angle up.

6.  Use continuous shutter and manual focus.  Focus on your subject and then switch to manual focus so your camera won’t try to re-focus as your subject is jumping.  Switch to continuous shutter mode and after you cue your subject to jump, hold down your shutter.  This will help immensely, as it is really hard to time the precise moment your subject will be at their highest point. (bonus if you can find a dancer to jump for you!)

7.  Experiment with your subject at different distances from you and with different compositions.  I always prefer vertical shots when shooting jumpers because I feel like I can show more height, but I wished I had a tried a few horizontally.  Even non-perfect shots can be interesting.  I cut off half the arms and legs my subject in the shot below, but I still like it. These shots can be fun, they don’t have to be perfect!