What do you get when you combine an overly-bright window and a darkened room? Silhouette opportunities! The key to making great silhouettes is getting your exposure right.

For the shot above of Amy (fellow Digital Photography Blogger) and her smushable baby, Ian, I exposed for the window and let the foreground go dark. Using a 50mm lens, I set my Nikon DSLR to Aperture Priority and an f/1.8. The camera automatically set the shutter to 4000/sec. I wanted such a quick shutter speed because the baby was squirmy squirmy.

If you don’t have a DSLR camera and would like to try silhouettes with your point and shoot camera, simply point your camera at the bright window or sky, push the shutter release button half-way to allow the camera’s light meter to read the scene. Then, with the button still depressed half-way, re-compose your picture and press it all the way down.

Without using supplemental lighting, flash or moving my body to the opposite side of the room to get a different angle, I would not have been able to capture these sweet mama/baby moments. For more about silhouettes, click here.