PBase

i just posted on a Silhouettes thread in the show and tell

but i`m thinking most of the photos i see in that thread clearly arent silhouettes IMHO

so what do YOU constitute as a silhouette? imo a silhouettes should have the subject completely black not just an under exposed subject


or am i wide of the mark?

discuss

Yes, I have noticed lots of non-silhouette shots in that thread too. Many are just back-lit shots (and some are totally inappropriate but they come from people who post anything and everything so that's no surprise), which is different from silhouette as you say.

I wouldn't be too tough on them. Try to remember, PBase is a hosting site for Photographers of every caliber. To some, maybe their monitor showed there silhouette as darker. Or maybe it's their way of expressing themselves artistically. I forgot what magazine it was, but about six months ago there was a feature article where one of the images was a silhouette of a woman with her dress blowing in the wind. While she was dark, you could see faint hues from the sun shining through it. Far be it from me to call the Photographer out on his silhouette image.

Gary

Dictionary.com gives the following definitions of "silhouette":

1. a two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, as a cutout or configurational drawing, uniformly filled in with black, esp. a black-paper, miniature cutout of the outlines of a famous person's face.
2. the outline or general shape of something: the slim silhouette of a skyscraper.
3. a dark image outlined against a lighter background.

Numbers 2 and 3 are fairly broad, they don't necessarily require the subject to be completely black. I'd say many people think of a silhouette as something broadly in line with #3. Probably most of the photos in the thread would fit within that definition.

I agree with gpaai & alangrant. This is a somewhat subjective & broad interpretation of an English term, as it is applied to photograhy and art. It cuts across many geographies and cultures.

thanks for the feedback on this one
i was always brought up to beleive a silhouette was like the things i cut out of black paper as a child
sometimes we need to broaden our minds i guess and see things from a different point of view

this must cast a black cloud on my ability as a photograper because as we know its the ability to see that makes us what we are and if my mind is seeing so narrowly this cant be good

thanks for the definition alangrant