Assignment - silhouette

Nikon D-3, 80-200 lens at 200mm, 1/125 second @ f/32, ISO 500 

The challenges of creating a silhouette are numerous.

First what is creating the type of light enabling the silhouette?  

How do you insure the subject retains enough information to make the photo successful?

What and how do you expose for?

How is the subject to be composed in the photo?

I used to always love the outcome of my sunset silhouettes.   For the most part it was an accident.  But mostly it was fairly easy to establish the exposure.  Just point and shoot.  If the subject is a minor portion of the frame and the majority of the photo is a much higher exposure, then the camera's automatic process works great.   Excluding spot metering and some other minor considerations the out come should be great.  

The challenge is what if the light source is the sun?  The light source needs to be almost directly behind the subject.    Or at least at an angle to creating a high exposure in the majority of the area around (behind) the subject.  If the sun is in the photo it will dominate over the subject like the photo above.  Unless the subject is outlined by the sun.  The rule of thirds is still my guide.  One thing I found that I have to be careful of is to always remember to leave items in the photo to give it depth.  Silhouettes notoriously flatten a photo.    I have been the king of flat photo!    

In the photo above I think the sun was too hot.  It's hard to take your eye away from the sun.  If I shot wider the size of the sun shrunk but the subject (plane) did also.  My next attempt will be to change the way I see the exposure.  Use the camera more and depend on the light source a little less.