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B+W‘A true silhouette is the
outline of a solid figure as
cast by its own shadow – in
other words, a black shape
with no visible detail.’
A true silhouette is the outline of a solid
figure as cast by its own shadow – in other
words, a black shape with no visible detail.
Most of the time that’s exactly what you’ll
achieve if you attempt to create a silhouette.
However, does it matter if your subject isn’t
totally silhouetted? Is it the end of the world
if a little detail is recorded? In my mind, the
answer in both cases is No. The whole point
of shooting silhouettes is to create simple,
graphic images, but that doesn’t mean they
always have to be solid black, and in many
situations a little extra detail or tone will
enhance rather than spoil the effect.
9 ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE
Venice, Italy
There’s still visible detail in the steel prow of this
gondola because it reflects so much light, but it
doesn’t detract from the simplicity of the shot.
Canon EOS 5DS with 70-300mm zoom lens,
1/320sec at f/7.1, ISO 400
Alternatively, if a true silhouette is your
goal and you don’t quite manage it
in-camera, it’s easy enough to rectifiy
that during post-production. The easiest
option in Photoshop is to to go to
Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast
and move the contrast slider to the right
until you’re happy with the effect. In Levels
- Image>Adjustments>Levels – try
one of the Increase Contrast presets.
In Curves – Image>Adjustments>Curves –
the Medium or Strong Contrast preset will
usually do the trick. The contrast slider in
a third party application such as Silver
Efex Pro can also be used.
Reynisdrangar, Vik, Iceland
I wanted to make this image as simple as
possible, just the silhouetted rock stacks
against sea and sky with virtually no detail,
so I boosted contrast in Silver Efex Pro 2.
Canon EOS 1DS MKIII with 70-200mm zoom lens,
3mins at f/22, ISO 200
10 A HELPING HAND
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