Which lighting technique is most effective for creating a silhouette?

Creating a silhouette involves emphasizing the subject's outline against a bright background while keeping the subject itself relatively dark. Back lighting is the technique most effective for achieving this effect.

When using back lighting, the light source is positioned behind the subject, which illuminates the background rather than the subject. This contrast allows the viewer to see the shape of the subject while obscuring its details, resulting in a dramatic and visually striking silhouette.

Key lighting, fill lighting, and side lighting have different purposes. Key lighting focuses on illuminating the subject itself, fill lighting helps reduce shadows and detail on the subject, and side lighting can create interesting textures and shadows on the subject but does not pull off the contrast needed for a silhouette effect. Thus, back lighting stands out as the best choice for silhouette creation.