• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

DIGITAL PHOTO MENTOR

Photography tips, tutorials and guides for Beginner and Intermediate Photographers.

  • Start Here
  • Photography Basics
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Free Photography Basics for Beginners Course
  • Photography Articles
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Photography Challenges
    • Photography Tips
      • Portrait Photography
        • Flash Photography
      • Night Photography
      • Street Photography
      • Photo Editing
      • Landscape Photography
      • Macro Photography
      • Photoshop Tutorials
      • Photography Equipment
  • Online Courses
    • Luminar Neo Course
    • Lightroom for Photographers: The Complete Course
    • Photoshop For Photographers: The Complete Course
    • Portrait Fundamentals
  • Private Tutoring
  • Store
    • Online Courses
    • Bokeh Overlays
    • Sky Replacements
    • Texture Backgrounds
    • Lightroom Presets
    • Private Tutoring
    • Cart
  • Login
  • Photography Basics
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Free Photography Basics for Beginners Course
  • Photography Challenges
    • Photography Challenges E-Book
    • 5-Day Photo Editing Challenge
    • All Our Photography Challenges
  • Photography Tips
    • Portrait Photography
      • Free Portrait Photography Key Concepts Course
      • Flash Photography
    • Night Photography
    • Street Photography
    • Travel Photography
    • Landscape Photography
    • Macro Photography
    • Photography Equipment
  • Photo Editing
    • Luminar
    • Learn How to Use Lightroom Classic – Online Course
    • Photoshop Tutorials
  • Gallery
  • Resources
    • Free Basics for Beginners Course
    • Free Portrait Photography for Beginners Course
    • Lightroom Presets
    • Texture Pack for Photoshop, Luminar
    • Webinars
    • YouTube Channel
Home » Interviews » Silhouette Photography Tips – 3 Keys to Great Photos
Silhouette Photography Tips – 3 Keys to Great Photos

Silhouette Photography Tips – 3 Keys to Great Photos

by Darlene Hildebrandt | Last Updated: September 26, 2022

Share543
Tweet
Pin8K
WhatsApp
Email

What started as an interview with photographer Erika Thornes rapidly turned into a silhouette photography tutorial.

Watch while she explains the basic tips for shooting good silhouette photos and then goes through a digital workflow using Lightroom. If you’ve always wanted to know how to shoot silhouette portraits, this could be the best 40 minutes you’ve spent in a long time.

  • learn the best angle for silhouette photography (and what to do if you can’t get it right)
  • where to stand and where to place the light source
  • how to correctly expose a silhouette portrait
  • tips for creating images that microstock agencies are dying to have
  • Lightroom processing tips for best results
  • how to get a stunning reflection in the water
Silhouette picture of a young couple kissing on beach with bicycles
Silhouette photo of a young couple bicycling down the beach who stop to kiss

Silhouette Photography Digital Workflow Examples With Lightroom

3 Keys To Great Silhouette Photography

#1 Angle

  • Get low – and if you can’t get low enough, get your subjects up higher
  • Full bodies – subjects should be full length
  • Sky dominates – the horizon should be towards the lower third in the image
  • Light source – the subject should be between you and the light source
Photographers child in silhouette while jumping on the beach.
Photographer’s child in silhouette while jumping on the beach. Erika shows exactly how this shot was achieved in the video above.

#2 Separation

  • Emotion – silhouettes must capture more emotion than you do in a portrait
  • Meaning – viewer needs to be able to understand in an instant what’s happening in the picture

Good separation means that you can clearly see what’s happening in the silhouette.

The edges are sharp and clearly defined. Separation is the opposite of clumping.

Silhouette Photography Child With Pail

#3 Exposure

  • Expose for the sky – set your camera to meter off the sky. Make sure it’s not overexposed.
  • No blinkies – check your histogram for blinkies. There shouldn’t be any.

Couple Kissing in Silhouette

children with balloons in silhouette

silhouette picture of children on a beach with hearts

family in silhouette

BONUS: Lightroom processing tips For silhouettes

Erika discusses lightroom processing tips around the 19 minute mark on the video including these:

  • pump up the brights on the tone curve
  • don’t mess with the saturation
  • adjust your blacks

and finally, some tips on creating reflections off the water

How to create reflection off the water in your photographs

surfers with surf boards in silhouette
Surfers with surf boards in silhouette with reflection below them

Getting a good reflection is actually about the beach and the tide. The two key points are that you must have a flat beach and you have to have a negative tide of -1 or -2 feet below sea level.

Silhouette photography in a nutshell: “Get low and just shoot everything in raw format. Then just adjust color balance in Lightroom.”

Silhouette photography tips and ideas for how to photograph your best silhouette of couples or kids at sunset.

I’d like to thank Erika for taking the time with me in what turned out to be a silhouette photography tutorial. Recently we we learning about beach photography tips and this tutorial has expanded on that nicely.

erika thornes photographer

About Erika Thornes

Erika is a San Diego based photographer that spends a lot of her time at, or thinking about, the beach.

In her own words “I strive to learn, and love teaching. It is my goal to discover something new each day. I openly share what I learn, and encourage others. My goal, as a photographer, is to make art for you to treasure; that will hang on your grand children’s walls in 50 years. I want the photos to be something that becomes a family gift and heirloom that will bring a sense of history that freezes a moment in time for your family.”

Find Erika on Facebook.

Share543
Tweet
Pin8K
WhatsApp
Email

About Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene is an educator who teaches aspiring amateurs and hobbyists how to improve their skills through her articles here on Digital Photo Mentor, her beginner photography course, and private tutoring lessons. To help you at whatever level you're at she has two email mini-courses. Sign up for her free beginner OR portrait photography email mini-course. Or get both, no charge!

ultimate photography bundle

There’s NEVER been a better time to get Luminar Neo. With this Ultimate Photography Bundle promotion, you recieve the Luminar Neo software, hundreds of LUT’s, Skies, presets and overlays, a Landscape Photography editing course, a Drone photography course and my very own Portrait Fundamentals course, along with a number of other items.

Click here to Get $1019 worth of photography software and courses for an 85% savings.

Digital Photo Mentor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate Digital Photo Mentor earns from qualifying purchases.
luminar neo course

Learn How to Use Luminar Neo

Unleash your creativity with Luminar Neo! Click here to learn how to use Luminar Neo,this powerful software for stunning photo edits. Over 16 hours of video tutorials and example photos to use.

Top Beginner Articles

  • Is Luminar Neo the Best Beginner Photo Editing Software?
  • Avoid these 9 beginner photography mistakes
  • 7 Tips for Beginner Photographers
  • Top 15 Photography Accessories under $25
  • How to choose the best digital camera for you
  • 5 Photography Ideas for When There's Nothing Interesting to Shoot
  • 5 mistakes beginner photographers make while using a wide angle lens and how to avoid them
  • 9 Tripod Mistakes Ruining Your Images and Putting Your Camera at Risk
  • Long Exposure Photography

Top Intermediate Articles

  • 10 Camera Settings and Equipment Tips for Portrait Photography
  • Best Photo Editing Software Reviewed
  • Lightroom Alternative: Is Luminar the answer?
  • Top 15 Photography Accessories under $25
  • How to Use a Gray Card for Custom White Balance and Metering
  • Night Photography Settings – Guide to Getting the Best Exposure

Learn Photography Basics

Yes, you can learn to take better photos! It’s my passion to help you learn the photography basics and take better pictures. It’s also the same reason I teach workshops, do photo travel tours, and have online photography courses available.

Enroll in our free photography basics for beginners course, or 12-part portrait photography course, also free.

Recent Photography Articles

  • How To Harness the Power of Double Exposure Photography
  • Stunning Night Photo Edits With Luminar Neo
  • Six ways to make your travel photography stand out
  • Why Street Photography Is So Difficult And How To Overcome It
  • Review of Sigma’s 56mm F/1.4 Lens – Is It Worth It?

Useful Links

  • Beginner Photography
  • Intermediate Photography
  • Photography Challenges
  • Photography Tips
  • Photo Editing
  • Resources
  • Recommended Amazon Products
  • Course Login
  • Workshops
  • Webinars
  • Contact
  • Write for Us

Copyright © 2023 Digital Photo Mentor · Privacy Policy · Cookie Policy · Disclaimer