If you have not made silhouette photos you may be missing some unique opportunities.

The dictionary defines silhouette as the dark shadow or outline of a person or thing against a brighter background.

1-T_16_0925 So to make an object as a silhouette, look for a bright background, on which you then base your exposure. Any object in front of this bright background, even if your eye sees details within it, will be rendered as a black shape. This happens because the human eye has a much wider exposure latitude than film or digital sensors. This bike was in Eglisau, Switzerland.

But what you need is that this foreground object has a distinctive outline, such that it can be recognized for what it is by your viewers.

2-17000307Pine trees silhouetted at sunrise, Whitefish Falls, Ontario A featureless silhouette does not create a good photograph. It must have a unique shape, as with these trees.

Sunrises and sunsets are the most common situations in which photographers create silhouettes, like the next photo from Burwash, Ontario.

3-15000005Sunrise over foggy pond, Burwash, Ontario

Outlines of people also work well as silhouettes. These you can manipulate or position at your choosing.

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Here my friend Don is photographing in Palouse Country, Washington.

Look for separation of the arms or legs from the body.

6-C_07_0471Sunset

This photo was made at the beach on Lake Huron, at Goderich.

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This silhouette was made at Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto.

These same suggestions also apply to wildlife images.

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This moose I photographed at Muncho Lake Provincial Park, on the Alaska Highway in British Columbia.

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These Bighorn Sheep were in South Dakota's Badlands National Park.

Here are a few more examples of silhouette photos.

9-910129 Banff's Castle Mountain is framed by these silhouetted trees.

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When photographing into the sun, you must be aware of lens flare. To avoid flare try to shield the front of your lens either with a lens hood or your hand. In this photo taken in Torrance Barrens Conservation Area near Bala, I was able to remove the artifacts of lens flare in Photoshop.

11-C_13_0110 This photo I made up the road to Silver Star Mountain, British Columbia.

12-17000314-2018 Here the low morning fog in McGregor Bay diluted the sun's intensity, so I got no lens flare.

Time to look for those silhouette opportunities.