Photography Project: Creating Portrait Silhouettes

I’ve always been fascinated with how to represent a family outside of the typical formal portrait. You know the one, everyone in a park sitting on the grass, or running along the beach at sunset. This time I decided to try the “Victorian Silhouette” approach.

We all happened to be together this summer for a family reunion. So on the morning of the last day, I managed to recruit my family to participate…..even before pancakes were served.

Equipment

• DSLR
• Zoom lens (although next time I will try with a prime lens and stand in the same place for consistent framing)
• White bed sheet

Photo Capture

• Hang the sheet over a window to create a white background. The window does not need to have direct sunlight.
• Over expose the image by 1 to 1 1/2 stops to achieve a white background
• Assure people that know one will see their hair or the features of their face
• Try to frame each image with the same amount of negative space around the subject. This may get challenging when you have adults and kids

Processing

• In Photoshop choose the white eyedropper in the Levels Adjustment layer
• Hold the Alt key while selecting different areas of the background to ensure everything this white
• Move the middle slider on the histogram to the right to blacken the portrait
• Merge the layers
• Choose the Magic Wand tool and select the white background
• From the Selection menu inverse the selection, so the black silhouette is chosen.
• Choose Edit –> Fill and make sure the Black option is selected
• To create the collage, I used JHP’s photoboards.