Self Silhouette??

I am 12 weeks pregnant right now and when I get farther along(35+ weeks) I would love to have a silhouette pregnancy picture but I don't know how to do silhouettes at all much less a self portrait one........and my husband is not allowed within 30 feet of my camera, so that is NOT an option!!! :p

So, does anyone have any tips on how to get good silhouette pictures?? And has anyone ever done anything like this before?

I appreciate all responses.........THANK YOU!!!!!!

Well congratulations are in order i guess first....

Silhouette as i understand it is effected by the subject (in this case yourself) being placed in between the camera and the light source... Having a soft box on the flash unit would be helpful i guess in spreading the light for a good silhouette....

but basically this is how it is done..... I would say experiment with different positions for the light, which will give you different results.... The farther you are from the light, the more light is spread :D

In any case, if that's not it, then i guess i'm in for a good lesson too....

To do it yourself, just set up the cam on the tripod, compose (the husband could model?? :p) and focus... then simply set the timer :)

Marc

Congratulations! Good points above, and note that a silhouette is basically a shadow. If you underexpose the subject enough, it will be dark to the point of not having any detail and you're left with only the outline. I guess that's how I'd describe it technically.

It may require three or five stops of underexposure to get this - or some post processing in Photoshop. You could put yourself in front of a background, put a lot of light on the background and then meter for proper exposure of the background. If you have enough light on it, you'll be a silhouette because only the side of you that's against the background will be lit. The side of you facing the camera will not be lit so it'll be very underexposed. I'd practice on it a few times to get the effect that you want, so when the time comes you'll be ready.

Thank you very much. I have hot lights and I may play with my kids to try and get the effect I am after.......I appreciate all the help..Hopefully in 20 some weeks I will be able to post some good shots!

Poor mans Silhouette... we used to hang a white sheet with a strong light source behind it like a strong desk lamp. Then do a timer exposure on a tripod of course.

BTW- Is that a Chow/Samoyed mix in your avatar?

Thanks for the tip!

That is my dog Chi-Ching, he is actually a purebred Chow. Most people mistake him for that mix though because of his color. He is just a cream chow. Thanks for asking!!!