Sunlight, Silhouettes and Shadows. Creative Prompt.
Often when I am out with my camera or smartphone something will catch my attention. The photos I take are generally not planned in advance, but are prompted by noticing and engaging with my surroundings in a creative way. The shapes and forms of sun-cast shadows, and especially figurative silhouettes, have often prompted my consideration as a playful way to capture the dance of light and shadow through the camera lens.
A Favourite Silhouetted Image • Royal Botanical Gardens Hamilton • 2016
“All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.”
Creative Prompt: “Sunlight, Silhouettes and Shadows”
Invitation.
I invite you to create photo art by exploring shapes and shadows within the context of foreground and background. This creative prompt is about noticing on a sunny day how light plays with the landscape around us. When we step into nature’s spotlight and that compositional frame is established, we can view the contrast of lit and shadowed images, the dance of silhouetted forms and the change, shifts and movements of dappled sunlight.
This is an invitation to embark on a photo journey where you feature sunlight, shadows, and the interesting textures of potential backdrops. When you add yourself and/or others into the frame, note how the pose, angle, and often elongation of silhouetted forms can create stand-alone art images - inspiration for future art pieces and playful narratives when one takes the time to contemplate and imagine.
Materials.
• You, the sunlight, time to wander, and a camera for this creative prompt.
The photo samples below show a variety of surfaces and background textures with silhouetted figures in the foreground.
Kellie and Maggie Kat • Nova Scotia • 2021
“Nothing in the universe can travel at the speed of light, they say, forgetful of the shadow’s speed.”
With Dave • Centre Wellington • 2017
“Shadow is a colour as light is, but less brilliant; light and shadow are only the relation of two tones.”
With Daryna • Sooke, B.C. • 2006
“Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.”
With Valerie • Royal Botanical Gardens Hamilton • 2016
“The beginnings and ends of shadow lie between the light and darkness and may be infinitely diminished and infinitely increased. Shadow is the means by which bodies display their form. The forms of bodies could not be understood in detail but for shadow.”
With Roxy • Garden Sanctuary • 2021
“In my home in the forrest
I dance in misty shadows set by trees,
mimic the rhythm of the leaves,
and in childhood unfolding seasons
adapt easily to periods of mystery.”
Resources (in Progress)
Shadow Art
30 Examples of Amazing Shadow Art • blog post on Photodoto about the art and play of shadows and the artists who create with them
Out of the Shadows - 6 artists who make art with shadows • An art education video on youtube directed at a younger audience but showcases a variety of artists who work directly with shadows in their art (for those who are interested)
How to Make Shadow Art with Kids • A blog post that provides easy ways to create a variety of outdoor shadow art on paper. The shadow trees would be a great outdoor art activity/mural for a group.
Shadow Poems to Engage Children.
Mr. Shadow’s Shoes • Poem by Paul Cookson to develop performance poetry in your class • retrieved from www.shop.scholastic.co.uk
Shadow Stories • “Turn shadows into fun story characters with nothing more than the flap and wave of fingers, a bright wall, and a dark night (or dark room!)” • retrieved from www.playtowrite.wordpress.com
Let’s Play Shadows Poem • “A fun poem to help children understand and observe how shadows behave by acting out different parts of the rhyme, ideal for a sunny summer’s day. Retrieved from www.earlylearninghq.org.uk
Have fun as you capture yourself and others through the camera lens! Do you have any shadow photos to share, and/or quotes or resources to add to this post? Let me know if you do by contacting me here.
