Photography tips

Silhouette

Silhouette of the Wasserturm in Lucerne against the low sun with an ornate lantern in the foreground.

Key tips

  1. Pay attention to the exposure of the sky to consciously represent the tower as a silhouette.
  2. Pay attention to the composition when shooting directly into the sun to use foreground elements like a lantern as a striking silhouette.
  3. Position your subject as a silhouette directly in front of the low sun to emphasize contrast.

Photographs on this topic

14 photographs with tips

The exact camera settings for each shot are shown below it - a starting point for recreating the look yourself. Click through to a photograph for detailed photography tips on that specific shot, under "Photography tips for this image".

All subjects City Mountains Architecture Landscape Lucerne Pilatus Lake Lucerne
Silhouette of the Wasserturm in Lucerne against the low sun with an ornate lantern in the foreground. 45 mm · f/22 · 1/800 s · ISO 500 Silhouette of an ornate lantern and the Water Tower against the sunset in Lucerne 45 mm · f/22 · 1/800 s · ISO 500 Silhouette of a historic street lamp against the setting sun in Lucerne 45 mm · f/22 · 1/1000 s · ISO 500 The setting sun dips behind the silhouettes of Mount Pilatus in Central Switzerland 400 mm · f/8 · 1/400 s · ISO 320 Silhouette of the sculpture on the dome of Lucerne station against the sun 45 mm · f/22 · 1/80 s · ISO 200 Backlit view of the sculpture on the dome of Lucerne railway station with overhead wires in the foreground 45 mm · f/22 · 1/160 s · ISO 200 Silhouette of the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower in Lucerne backlit with a view of Mount Pilatus 16 mm · f/22 · 1/80 s · ISO 200 Silhouette of the Water Tower and Chapel Bridge in Lucerne against the setting sun 12 mm · f/22 · 1/160 s · ISO 200 Silhouette of the Wasserturm in Lucerne against the sun 45 mm · f/22 · 1/80 s · ISO 400 Sun flare behind a dark stone element at Lake Lucerne overlooking the Alps 25 mm · f/22 · 1/250 s · ISO 200 Silhouette of Mount Pilatus against an orange-colored evening sky 150 mm · f/5.6 · 1/320 s · ISO 320 Dark silhouette of Mount Pilatus against an orange evening sky 200 mm · f/36 · 1.6 s · ISO 100 Silhouette of the Pilatus massif against an intensely colored evening sky 200 mm · f/20 · 1/8 s · ISO 400 Dark silhouette of Mount Pilatus against an orange sunset sky 200 mm · f/32 · 1/320 s · ISO 400

Related topics

  • City
  • Mountains
  • Architecture
  • Landscape
  • Light
  • Composition
  • Camera settings
  • Perspective
  • Lucerne
  • Pilatus
  • Lake Lucerne
  • Evening light
  • Sunset
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