Mobile Photography Showcase: 10 Amazing Silhouette Photos Taken with a Smartphone

This week we look at an amazing selection of photos which use shadows and silhouette’s within their compositions. From Laurence Bouchard’s superbly framed shot of a solitary figure walking across a square to Arpi’s ‘Birds of a feather’ shot which cleverly shows a line of birds in flight, silhouetted against the sun. All the Silhouette Photos in this week’s showcase illustrate how this form of photography should be done and even though they are all shot in black and white it doesn’t mean to say that you should be restricted to that format in order to take great silhouette photos.

Featured photographers this week include Conjror, P. Correia, Rorofot, Elaine Taylor, Karen Axelrad, Arpi, David Ingraham, Laurence Bouchard, David DeNagel and gcosta9.

Do you have a favourite photo from this week’s showcase? Let us know which in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Continuing on His Journey

‘Continuing on His Journey‘ by Conjror – “I saw this man at a bus station in Tucson. He seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. I waited until he was in an area of strong back-light and took the photo. I processed in with Snapseed. ”

The truth is lost / Beyond this lonely carousel

‘The truth is lost / Beyond this lonely carousel‘ by P. Correia – “This image was captured with an iPhone 3G (Retro Camera Plus) at a street performance by the Portuguese theatre company Teatro do Mar. The image title is borrowed from a beautiful composition by Rodrigo Leão (“Lonely Carousel”) with vocals by Beth Gibbons. I think the result from Photoshop editing (with the addition of a photocopy texture) evokes the early days of photography. ”

There is always a choice

‘There is always a choice‘ by Rorofot – “This picture was taken at a location I often visit when I’m where else to go to take pictures and practice my passion. It’s in the underground of a railway station in a small city in Switzerland. I like the light there, because it’s coming from two sides and there are a lot of passersby.

I took this photo with my iPhone 4s using Camera+. I usually edit my photos using snapseed and VSCO and for the finishing I love the Lo-Mob app.”

Charlie (and a bit of Billy). Ilkley Moor, Yorkshire UK

‘Charlie (and a bit of Billy). Ilkley Moor, Yorkshire UK‘ by Elaine Taylor – “This image was a bit of a happy accident. The silhouetted figure on the large rock is Charlie, my oldest son. The figure just catching the light on the ground in front of him is Billy, my youngest son. I wasn’t aware that Billy had been trying to photo bomb my shot as I’d been focussing on Charlie and the light behind him, but I think his timing and positioning were great.

I took this with Hipstamatic. I’d been playing around with the randomize’ feature and editing tools in the app to try to find some new and interesting film/lens combos. The combo here is Jane & BlacKeys XF.”

I can think better under the table

‘I can think better under the table‘ by Karen Axelrad – “Though this image looks manipulated, it is actually a straight photo of a man under the art piece called “Under the Table” by Robert Therrien at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles. I took a lot of photos waiting to get an unobstructed silhouette. The image was cropped and processed in Snapseed and Ansel. I thought high contrast black and white worked well for this image due to the sharp contours of the man and the contrast between his shape and that of the chair legs.”

… birds of a feather …

‘… birds of a feather …‘ by …arpi… – “This photo was taken at the amazing Mavericks beach in Half Moon Bay, California. I was enjoying looking at the thundering waves near the cliffs when a flock of birds flew into the scene. I loved how they seemed to be emerging from the distant horizon and traversing the sky almost in an organized pattern. These are brown pelicans (as I later found out) and I thought their silhouettes looked striking against the sun and the clouds. I shot the photo with the iPhone6s camera and processed it with Instagram to convert it into black and white.”

Worlds Apart

‘Worlds Apart‘ by David Ingraham – “I was shooting at Disney Hall, Downtown LA, and after shooting in this particular area for a few minutes, the elements started to fall into place. I liked the balance and geometry of this particular shot which was one of about two dozen.

It was shot with Hipstamatic and then worked in Image Blender and Snapseed — basic sort of darkroom work: dodging, burning, and finding the right balance between light and dark, as well as contrast. I liked how the guy to the right seems entirely oblivious to the guys on the left, and vice-versa. ”

Clocking off

‘Clocking off‘ by Laurence Bouchard – “This photo was taken at Yoyogi stadium in Tokyo. If you’re ever in Tokyo it’s worth checking out the stadium designed by Kenzo Tange as well as some of his other work such as St. Mary’s cathedral.

Through my love of photography I’ve found myself becoming a lot more interested in architecture and I’m constantly researching cool buildings / locations etc. I’ve shot a few photos around the stadium but every time I visit there seems to be a new angle that I didn’t notice before. The other great thing about shooting around the stadium is there’s always security guards patrolling so you don’t have to wait too long before one walks into frame.

This was shot late on a sunny afternoon so the shadows were great. After I made a few minor adjustments in snapseed.”

St.Louis_Winter

‘St.Louis_Winter‘ by David DeNagel

In the Alley

‘In the Alley‘ by gcosta9

Which was your favourite?

Do you have a favourite from this weeks showcase? Let us know your thoughts on the featured photos in the comments below.

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