Ideas: Flash Silhouettes

So I recently bought some backdrops for fun at home. They're pretty cheap stand and a muslin backdrop but they seem OK for what I use them for. One thing I've been trying with them is getting coloured silhouettes shots using my flash. I set up a white sheet on the backdrop and then set up a flash behind the backdrop with a colour gel on it. I used a wireless trigger to fire the flash.

So I chose to move my subjects both behind the backdrop and in front of the backdrop as this gives different effects. What you find is if you stand behind the backdrop then the shadow you cast will look out of proportion as parts of your are closer to the flash and will show up bigger. If you're in front of the backdrop then you will all be in the correct proportions. If you don't have a wireless trigger, you can get around it by setting up your camera on a tripod and using a long exposure. If you stand behind your backdrop and fire the flash at it during the shutter duration, it will still work. What this means is you set a shutter of say five seconds and then some time within those five seconds you go back behind the backdrop and manually fire the flash at your subject. This way you will still get your silhouette. This way is more tedious than using a wireless trigger but at the end of the day it still works fine.

Here are some example shots of some silhouettes I did:

If you like what you see, why not try it out for yourself.