This was shot a few years ago, but recently published in Blue Ridge Outdoors.

Silhouettes are not terribly difficult to make - sometimes they're even made by accident. Evaluative/matrix metering attempts to generate an even exposure across the sensor. It has no idea, I repeat, no idea what your subject is. After the initial exposure, adjust your exposure compensation by decreasing it 1/3 stop, then 2/3 stop, then a full stop. Each shot should make the silhouette effect stronger, but it's also making the background dimmer - so it's sort of a happy medium (some tweaking in post may need to be done). The other way to acheive a silhouette is by switching the camera into manual mode and doing the same thing exposure compensation does, just with more knowledge of what shutter speed you're using.

The next post will be about a different silhouette, along with a Lightroom and Photoshop tutorial on how to get the most out of your exposure using those tools. Hint: it involves shooting in RAW.

 

A little white balance shift goes a long way. The sun was on its way down, I just gave it a little extra help.

This one is, obviously, not how the image was captured, but I really like it the way it is now. Just pull the temperature slider down to around 2000 or so, that should do it.

The photo above has nothing to do with white balance. It was taken on the same day and I figured it would look nice here. It's a 360-degree panorama - the clouds make the photo, not the mountains.