Shadows

[DGK*CRONE]

First time trying these dark shadows. Advice/critique?

[dbutler]

The skyline one is pretty cool. I love the color in it. The cars don't add to it , however. I think finding an angle where you can see everything more distinctly silhouetted would help. With the skyline you can see some of the color of the buildings sneaking in. It's not completely black.

Some things to remember with silhouettes is to make sure you have a strong subject. It should be identifiable and distinct. When you have multiple objects, trying to get as much separation is ideal. Example: If you have a man leaning against a car, the shadows will meld together and it just looks like a lumpy mess. Having him stand away from the car will still make them recognizable. It's also hard to do these shots sometimes because we have to think more 2D than 3d. Since you are losing the details, you have to kind of think of what it would like as flat and black. Though it's also nice when you silhouette where a side of the object does get highlighted. Then you get to keep a bit of the 3d aspect, while still having a silhouette.

I think my problem with the first image is that the person is looking straight at the camera. So it gives us no "movement". For most people, catching them in profile allows us to get more out of the subject. Even in silhouette, we should be able to figure out what the person is doing. A guy just standing there with his arms at his sides may just look stiff and we won't be able to figure out what he is doing and there isn't enough to give our imagination a go at it. But have the guy standing in profile, looking at his watch, and suddenly we see a person, and we know what he is doing but there is still mystery and the unknown to it. Does any of this make any sense?

In silhouettes, the subject has to grab us just based on its shape and the play of the light around that shape. So you want that shape to be as interesting as possible.

Anyway, that's my approach on silhouettes.

[dbutler]

Didn't mean to submit twice. Sorry.!

[DGK*CRONE]

@dbutler - Thanks so much for such a detailed response. Very informative! The first one seemed to work in my eyes because I know the person. After reading your post I realized that it may not work the same way for others.

in the second picture, I left the cars in because it is a shot of Los Angeles. I figured, of course there has to be traffic in it.

Overall, that does make sense. They're great points I will definitely keep in mind next time I try something like this.

Thank you

[Deege]

Im personally a big fan of shadows.

I absolutely love the second picture and like how you kept the cars visible...
the car lights are a great addition to the orange, yellow, and grayish sky.