light and dark

A photograph has the power to pull a story from the nothingness that is light and dark. Certain images can blend well with an overactive imagination, leaving the mind to embellish the details of a story untold. I find this intriguing, and especially true of silhouetted photographs.

There are words out there on how to acheive an interesting silhouette and striking examples of silhouettes, but what I find most curious is how the image makes me feel. What it stirs in my mind. Due to the facelessness, my mind is left a blank canvas on which to dream up a storyline equally as captivating.

What about you? What do you see or feel when you capture a silhouette? Today, try putting your subject between the lens and the light to see what story unfolds.

Comments

[Marcie]

Love how silhouettes always carry an untold story. Yours is no exception.
Here are a couple of recent ones of mine:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1307
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1304

[Kat]

I agree, there is a feeling of mystery, questions unanswered in sihouettes. I think that they can also convey emotion in a universal way, since you can't see the face it becomes less an image of the person and more the image of the emotion.
http://www.kateyeview.com/2010/02/breathtaking-moments.html

[cigi]

Nice shot. I've always loved silhouettes:
http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/222365/
http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/83365/
http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/163365/

[Jen at Cabin Fever]

To be honest I never usually capture silhouttes, but rather am a huge fan of HDR. So when I see "light and dark" I think different... I think about how great an HDR photo that would make!

Tomato. Tomahto.

http://www.cabinfeververmont.com

http://www.nekphotography.blogspot.com

[yvonne]

Does anyone know who won the "Picture Fall" contest??? I cannot find the results anywhere.

[Vanessa]

oh wow, meredith, your silhouette set on flickr is just stunning. i could pour over all these images for hours... thank you.
here are a couple of mine from the archives:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/4908150585/in/set-72157607450910728/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/4839257190/in/set-72157607450910728/

[meghan]

Here are a few of my new favorites!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dia_calabazas/5031358865/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dia_calabazas/5027720827/

[Victoria]

You couldn't have said it better. I love the mystery of silhouette.
Here's an older one I captured...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6riddles/4565568684/

[BlessedMess]

Wish I could explore this more today, but the rain cometh!

I have many silhouette photos in front of this window as gets gorgeous late afternoon light. http://www.flickr.com/photos/12418609@N00/4954135812/

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

Silhouettes can create some stirring images. I haven't taken any lately.

~WW

[melissa]

what an exquisite image, meredith. i love silhouettes. adore them. they romance me. wondering if anyone is willing to share with me how to capture them, silhouette portraits...thank you shutter sisters community.

[AnnGeeDee]

I didn't intend this one to be a silhouette, but I love it more because it is. It feels like a peek into a private moment between me and my daughter: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40070449@N08/4260699197/

[Jennifer]

Your shot was enough to make me want to crawl out of my work cave and post this photo I've been hanging on to for a while -- also very similar to yours:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardboardsea/5033131946/

[Mar]

This is my last silhouette:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marfernandez/5018925398/

[Tara R.]

This is my favorite silhouette, and it happened purely by accident.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifmomsaysok/4853509039

[damiec]

I love the graphic quality of silhouettes, though I don't take them that often myself.
I hadn't planned on a silhouette for this photo, but I later recognized that this outtake was stronger than the shot I'd intended.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/4889111268/in/set-72157624020587545/

[kristin]

i LOVE a silhouette!
so many faves....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2733355865/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/4791474682/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/3891784484/

and the summer that was....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/4804252333/in/set-72157624276578645/

[Cecily R]

Oh, I LOVE a good silhouette! There is a place close to us that is silhouette nirvana just after sunset...it's just a little slice of magic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaosandblissphotography/4969412945/in/set-72157624545864539/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaosandblissphotography/4959408080/in/set-72157624545864539/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaosandblissphotography/4959408050/in/set-72157624545864539/

[Ellen]

Love that image! Here's one I did quite a while back...
http://flic.kr/p/7x246U

[michel]

Love that cowboy in a tunnel.
I am not usually one for the silhouette. I like light too much. this is something I definitely have to try more often.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelfeist/4815548862/

[Jamie Solorio]

I am crazy in love silhouettes! Here are a couple that I like....

http://jamie-solorio.blogspot.com/2010/09/silhouetted-mommy-and-baby.html
http://jamie-solorio.blogspot.com/2010/07/silhouettes.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49026977@N05/4968681541/in/set-72157624575360949/

[Stephanie]

I love dramatic lighting and working with shadows and silhouettes. Here's one of my faves from Italy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniecourt/4753175482/in/set-72157624401583896/

[Bettina]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4978978714/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4884083205/in/photostream/

This is something i need to work with more! Very exciting!

[Morgen]

Here are a few of my favorites :)

http://wp.me/pNsMR-5v

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearsefamily/4801915393/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearsefamily/4750638240/

[Stephanie]

I love lightplay in silhouette shots:

http://stephaniegracephotography.blogspot.com/2010/09/shadowplay.html

[Becky Sue]

Two of my favorite silhouettes were inspired by Picture Summer!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rslaflam/4770421345/in/set-72157607073097747/

And this one back in their Harry Potter phase:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rslaflam/4832927164/in/set-72157607073097747/

I was able to capture this gorgeous sky and a silhouetted life guard chair as the sun set.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rslaflam/5033156927/

Silhouettes pique the curiosity!

[Audra Van Vliet]

Thank you, again, for the great inspiration.

http://lastpictureshowphotography.blogspot.com/2010/09/silhouette-so-chic.html

[sarah]

Here's mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shorelinesphotography/4928935318/in/set-72157624475880148/

[Trude]

Silhouettes imply a bit of mystery, it almost forces the viewer to fill in the story. Love that. Also love that they can be captured with any darn camera, such as my iPhone. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/4516987368/

[April]

I love silhouettes! Here one I took recently, it is one of my favorites so far :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprilnewmanphotography/4872203739/in/set-72157624574587831/

[Gail]

Your examples, the set of silhouettes, is gorgeous! I love silhouettes too...they appeal to me graphically, whether they are photos or paintings or papercuttings like Kara Walker's...They do have some mystery to them as they tell a story. This is a silhouette I took recently with my iphone...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22733432@N08/5028002603/

[sarah]

yes! i love silhouettes too.
here are a few:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleysofaustin/4994434327/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleysofaustin/4326254132/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleysofaustin/4541804409/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleysofaustin/4733515826/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleysofaustin/4746354717/

[Misty]

Sometimes the posts here and the picture I just took match perfectly. From last evening:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontforgetthehorse/5033014676/

[Misty]

I almost forgot this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontforgetthehorse/4996810741/

[Dotti]

One of my favorite (unintentional) silhouettes from my archives:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48337138@N04/5034201468/

[bridge]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ridethewavesoflife/sets/72157610820750441/
I see the possibility of an unfinished story allowing the viewer to create in their mind their own interpretation of the photo.

[xanthe]

i love silhouettes and yours are always gorgeous! x.

a recent fav of mine - http://www.flickr.com/photos/xantheberkeley/4998585920/

and i spotted these today - http://www.flickr.com/photos/xantheberkeley/5033737643/

[Krista]

I adore mysterious silhouettes ... this blackbird turned out better than I'd hoped -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90861971@N00/4691560647/

[Janet]

Standing in a field at dawn as hot air balloons prepare for flight and silently float away.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30671578@N03/4984746975/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30671578@N03/4985348300/in/photostream/

[claudia]

recently, and one shot by my husband! ('cuz it was too early ;)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/4956381591/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/4868578219/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/5027694015/
a favorite from last year
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/3855137652/in/set-72157622155764262/

[Shannan]

I posted a couple of mine. Though probably not considered a true silhouette, but close enough to share, I think.

One from a bridal shoot, another from an engagement shoot.

http://thisdancingstar.blogspot.com/