Last week I talked about how to create a silhouette in an image. I hope some of you were able to start experimenting. Today I am going to share some very cool silhouettes with you as inspiration for your efforts.

The first one comes from Erika Ray. I saw this image in her Flickr stream and just loved it. I think it perfectly captures that feeling of being stuck inside on a rainy day (or sick day or any other day that you are stuck inside). Erika said that she shot this quickly and, therefore, the way in which it was metered and shot didn't allow for a complete silhouette. This image is not a complete silhouette because you see some detail in the little boy's shirt, etc. You also see a little bit of detail of the outside, which I really like for this particular shot. 

This amazing shot also caught my eye on Flickr. I found this on Caroline's Flickr stream and she also agreed to let me share it with you.

I love the drama of this image. The figure looks so much like a mermaid, doesn't she (or he)? The colors of the sunset are just so striking and the clouds have a beautiful shape.

Both of these scenarios make for fairly simple silhouettes. In both cases, you have a very bright background behind the subject and a darker foreground. To test this out, you don't need to have a lovely mermaid model or a sweet babe at the window. Just to get a feel for it, you can use a tree in front of a sunset or something as simple as a chair in front of the window. As you experiment, practice with the various metering modes on your DSLR and see how they affect the final image.

Your feedback, questions and comments keep me excited about these lessons so please share your thoughts, links, images and questions. You can include links to your images, flickr streams, blogs, etc. in the comments section below. You can also join us online and submit images to The Monday Lesson Flickr Pool. Thanks for sharing!

For those of you interested in taking a more in depth class at my studio, check out the upcoming beginner DSLR evening series, the intermediate class and our upcoming Downtown photo safari! Hope to see you guys there!

How about you? Any favorite shots this week? Post links to your images in the comments section below or submit them to the Favorite Shot Friday Flickr Pool.

Happy weekend everyone!

I ask you this...honestly, how am I supposed to photograph this kind of beauty every day and NOT want to have another baby? It seems like, as soon as I put the thought into the back of my mind, a stunning little babe like this comes to the studio and it all comes rushing back. Her full head of black hair reminds me so much of my first son, Sayer, when he was born. It looked just like hers.

Finnian just turned 5 and Sayer is going to be, gasp, SEVEN! I feel like a broken record when I say it but, really, where did the time go?

Today the boys are with my parents being spoiled having a grand old time. I'm still up at work at 7:10 pm. I might go for a run and then meet Steven for dinner. We'll wake up tomorrow without any kids in our bed. We'll enjoy some peace and quiet and within a day we'll be missing them like crazy. I'm not 100% sure how we got to be so lucky but I'm just grateful.

Silhouettes are striking and dramatic.  They are also fairly easy to create if you have the right conditions.  A good first try would be around dusk like the image below or by a window.  To make it simple for your first try, look for a situation where the sky behind the subject is brighter than the foreground. The background and foreground need to have dramatically different light values for you to easily create a silhouette. If you have this kind of difference in the foreground and the background, you will not need to do much more than point to the camera at the scene and click.



In a scene is like the one below, you may need to use your camera's built in spot meter. If you have never used the spot meter, the first step would be to pull out the scary manual and look up metering or metering modes in the index or table of contents. What the spot meter does is choose an exposure for you based on a single spot in the frame (the center) and not multiple points like your default meter will do. If you can point the spot at the background (which should be brighter than your subject) it will keep your subject dark thus creating a silhouette.


 

This image is not a full silhouette but it could have been depending on how my camera controls were set. If I had wanted him to be darker and the background to be even darker, I would have had to let less light into the camera by speeding up my shutter or opening up my aperture.

If the cameras auto settings are getting you close but not exactly where you want to be, you can always take the exposure that your meter gives you in the auto mode and switch to the manual mode and then adjust from there. Just move your f-stop or shutter speed up or down and experiment until you get it just right. The joy of digital is that you can shoot to your heart's content and just delete the ones that you don't like.

Some other tips for getting a good silhouette:
1. Choose something dramatic with a recognizable outline and shape for your silhouetted subject.
2. If your camera keeps trying to pop up the flash because of the low light in the scene, just turn it off. You may need to check with your manual to find how to turn off the flash.
3. Learn about the metering modes on your camera.
4. Bracket your exposure. This means shooting exposures on either side of the one that your camera gives you. In other words, if it gives you an exposure of (just an example) f8 at a shutter speed of 1/125, try adjusting the f-stop or shutter speed (choose one- not both) by one stop higher and one stop lower than the original exposure. You will end up with three images this way.

So, go play with your controls and see what you can come up with!  Remember to post  links to your examples in the comments below or on the Monday lesson Flickr Group.

I'd love to hear some ideas, suggestions, questions...what do you guys want to learn next?

Silhouettes are striking and dramatic.  They are also fairly easy to create if you have the right conditions.  A good first try would be around dusk like the image below or by a window.  To make it simple for your first try, look for a situation where the sky behind the subject is brighter than the foreground. The background and foreground need to have dramatically different light values for you to easily create a silhouette. If you have this kind of difference in the foreground and the background, you will not need to do much more than point to the camera at the scene and click.



In a scene is like the one below, you may need to use your camera's built in spot meter. If you have never used the spot meter, the first step would be to pull out the scary manual and look up metering or metering modes in the index or table of contents. What the spot meter does is choose an exposure for you based on a single spot in the frame (the center) and not multiple points like your default meter will do. If you can point the spot at the background (which should be brighter than your subject) it will keep your subject dark thus creating a silhouette.


 

This image is not a full silhouette but it could have been depending on how my camera controls were set. If I had wanted him to be darker and the background to be even darker, I would have had to let less light into the camera by speeding up my shutter or opening up my aperture.

If the cameras auto settings are getting you close but not exactly where you want to be, you can always take the exposure that your meter gives you in the auto mode and switch to the manual mode and then adjust from there. Just move your f-stop or shutter speed up or down and experiment until you get it just right. The joy of digital is that you can shoot to your heart's content and just delete the ones that you don't like.

Some other tips for getting a good silhouette:
1. Choose something dramatic with a recognizable outline and shape for your silhouetted subject.
2. If your camera keeps trying to pop up the flash because of the low light in the scene, just turn it off. You may need to check with your manual to find how to turn off the flash.
3. Learn about the metering modes on your camera.
4. Bracket your exposure. This means shooting exposures on either side of the one that your camera gives you. In other words, if it gives you an exposure of (just an example) f8 at a shutter speed of 1/125, try adjusting the f-stop or shutter speed (choose one- not both) by one stop higher and one stop lower than the original exposure. You will end up with three images this way.

So, go play with your controls and see what you can come up with!  Remember to post  links to your examples in the comments below or on the Monday lesson Flickr Group.

I'd love to hear some ideas, suggestions, questions...what do you guys want to learn next?