Originally published to Patreon Nov 8, 2019
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I've always been a fan of silhouettes and loved how a simple outline can still be unique and identifiable. The lighting is incredibly simple too - you just need one light that gets decently bright and a way to get it to head height.
I just used one of my flashes on a remote trigger but if you don't have this kind of gear you can also use a regular lamp with a bright LED bulb, or a $5 clamp light from any hardware store.
Settings will vary depending on how bright your light is and how much ambient light is in the room. Since we're trying to end up with a flat image your aperture setting isn't nearly as important as your shutter speed. You want to shoot fast enough that you cancel out any light in front of your model, but you still want enough light coming from behind to define their outline.
In a typical indoor setting with ambient room light I'm usually between 1/125sec and 1/250, but my flash can also adjust brightness as well if I'm having a hard time balancing the room.
You can also do this outside, either by backlighting your subject on a low angled sun or getting a decent flash that can light up bright enough to combat the sun. You'll need a much faster shutter speed and smaller aperture in that situation.
Here's the shot I got straight out of camera:
Editing these is a breeze. Flip it to black and white and bump up the highlights to make the edges shine without bringing the dark areas up. I even do a bit of masking to clean up any details that might come through. Final image at the top of this post.
How you pose your model will have the biggest impact on the silhouette. In the above example, I just wanted a simple straight on shot so we can see my model's signature braids. I also like how the flyaways gave her a nice soft halo.
In a previous versions that I've done I let the light bleed in a bit more to add a touch of storytelling, like highlighting a blooming kiss.
In others I've kept some of the detail on objects to speak to the character they were dressed as. (Photo taken at a larp and where I first started exploring this style.)
But for the most part I want this series to be a simple one. I intend on doing one for everyone that poses for me from now on as a way to document my projects in a consistent way.
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