Even now when hired by ad agencies or magazines to make Montana photos I try to make it fun. When a photographer stops making photographs for fun and only takes them for work then photography becomes work. And that's not why I got into photography.
Photographing silhouettes is an example of having fun with photography. You see, most professional photographers rank photographs of silhouettes right up there with photos of cats. Photos of silhouettes are amazingly simple to make. They generally don't require a great deal of practice or skill. And in the world of photography they are the purest form of eye candy. As a result many professional photographers turn their nose up at them. Why? Because many professional photographers are snobs. Show them a photograph of a silhouetted cat and their heads might explode.
Popular Photography magazine recently contacted me to buy one of my photos for publication in an upcoming issue. So guess what? They wanted one of my photographs for a story about silhouettes. So while generally silhouette photos will not make a professional photographer rich, many people still like them. And apparently Popular Photography is chief among them.
The obvious situation that lends itself well for creating silhouettes is when an easily recognizable subject is backlit by the sun. Why should it be easily recognizable? If you can't tell what the outline of the shadowed subject is, what's the point? Shooting into the light, metering off of the light, and exposing for the scene so the subject is darkened is the easiest explanation for how to make a photograph of a silhouette. Simple.
So without further ado I give to you my latest installment of 20+ photos...silhouettes. Enjoy.
You can see more of my 20+ photos series here.
