How can I create a silhouette in a studio?
Asked 12/12/2010
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I know silhouettes outdoors are usually made by exposing for a bright background so the subject goes dark. How do you achieve the same effect in a studio? Is the key simply to light the background and not the subject? Would placing a flash behind the subject work, and how do you keep the silhouette clean and crisp?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
8
The easiest way is to light the background, not the subject and meter for the background. It's really not all that different than doing it outdoors, it's just that you have to position the light(s) and make sure it's strong enough so that it does make your subject very dark. Obviously, this will work better if the background is very light in colour and there is no other ambient light. Also, be aware of the room size and light bounce, if the room is small, you may still end up lighting the subject more than you want.
To answer your specific question, if the subject is small enough, a flash behind diffusing material, which is behind the subject, may do the trick for you with the diffusion material acting as the background. But if the subject is a person, it may be more difficult to do with a basic flash. Also, if you're remote controlling the flash with the onboard popup, make sure the onboard flash doesn't fire or you shield it.
If your light source isn't continuous, you may have to do a few test shots to get the exposure right. Which, with digital, isn't really a problem. :)
Anyways, if you get very close, you may be able to complete the effect in post processing with some exposure, curves, or black level adjustments if you shoot RAW (which I always recommend anyways).
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — the basic approach is the same as outdoors: make the background bright, keep light off the subject, and expose for the background.
In a studio, the easiest method is to light the background only and meter/expose for that light. The subject should remain unlit, so it records as dark or black. A flash behind the subject can work if it is aimed at the background or through diffusion material that acts as the background.
For the cleanest silhouette:
- Use a light or white background.
- Place the background light close to the background to reduce spill onto the subject.
- Minimize ambient light.
- Watch for bounce from walls in small rooms, since reflected light can brighten the subject and weaken the silhouette.
A good workflow is to test the background light by itself first and confirm it doesn’t spill onto the subject. If you add any subject lighting for other setups, test that separately so subject and background can be controlled independently.
So yes, backlighting can work — but the real key is background lighting plus careful control of spill and reflected light.
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