Semi-silhouette shot

[sabina1970]

Hi there,
It's been a while since I have been last on here... My question is about semi-silouhetting... I was wondering if this works. Wanted to capture some details but don't know if the picture (or better the people in front of the sunset) should be lighter or darker.... Does this work? Very thankful for all suggestions how to improve shots like this.
Thank you...;-))
Sabina

Exif data:
Canon Rebel xti
Focal length: 17 mm
F-stop. 4.5
Shutterspeed: 1/125
Flash did not fire

[Niresangwa]

Not really a silhouette, just a severely underexposed subject, though I know what you mean.

Two things.

If you want to take a shot like this and make it a silhouette, take it to PP and use a levels adjustment and a second layer to maintain the sky/sea/sand but darken the subjects. At the same time, punch up the sky's saturation.

Another way is to use flash (preferably off camera) to light the subjects, while exposing for the environment. Not a silhouette, but a great shot.

The composition kind of works, but its not ideal. The sky is a feature, the swath of grey sand in almost half of the frame does nothing but unduly darken what could be a brighter shot. Were it mine, I would have cropped the bottom third, leave them centered and that would be that. Some will prefer you to get a little closer, but to do that you're making the couple the main feature, which you don't always need to do... the environment is the most impressive part of the shot, not the couple.

Ultimately, to a non-photographer, they might buy what you're selling, but to me, it's just a fudged exposure.

[SusanH1970]

In total agreement with Bruce. I'd go ahead and make it into a true silhouette; I think it would have much more of an impact.