Silhouette is a view of the object shot against a bright background so that the subject becomes black with a featureless interior. The creative shooting technique
yields effective images.
Shooting silhouettes underwater can be very rewarding. Silhouettes generally refer to the images of subjects that are backlit and appear dark against a brighter background. It emphasizes the outline of the subject and can work magically when shooting underwater.
They can be created using one of the several techniques for obtaining great underwater silhouettes. The foremost step in capturing a great silhouette is selection of a subject that can work best against a dark water background. Water creatures like sharks and turtles along with divers are the most common silhouettes underwater. These subjects are conveniently placed between the camera and a brighter background and so they can be captured in a striking way.
Proper exposure of water surrounding the subject can create magical silhouettes. This is achieved by accurate metering in the surrounding area so that the water gives a nice shade of blue. A proper exposure of the bright background underexposes the subject and gives the desired effect. When shooting into the sun directly, the subject becomes contrasted against a blue background and it is important to not meter on the sun. The sun can be used to backlight the subject to create a halo effect. The technique resembles wide angle photography excepting the fact that it doesn’t use strobes to light up the subject.
Manual settings work best when shooting silhouettes since it allows modification of settings to obtain nice blues and a dark subject at the same time. Wide angle lens, wide angle wet lens, wide angle lens with fisheye or mid-range zoom are the choice of lenses while shooting silhouettes. Silhouettes look good with a sunburst and give good results with subjects that have strong and easily recognizable forms.