Low Key Lighting (Dom's School) C&C :)

JeffieLove

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So, let me start by saying that I know there is a small spot in the bottom left corner where you can see the wall in the room instead of the black background... I also know that you can tell where the bottom and back meet (I don't have anything black to drape over to get rid of that, and I couldn't get my lighting right to hide it... ALSO!! I couldn't get my light to not leave that bright spot on the background and still light the subject just that little bit for it to be considered low key... AND I am out of PP patience for the night ;) So, ignore those factors, and let me know what you think about the rest...

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You can always blacken out the background, that is not an issue. I would like to have seen this with the light just a bit lower to fall comnpletely on the stuffed animal rather than over it.
 
you mean so that it lights up the side of the puppy instead of the head?
 
I don't see "low key" or "dramatic" lighting in that photo, I just see poor lighting.

Using low light photography should convey an emotion, or accentuate a specific area or feature of the subject. Your lighting situation does neither.

p!nK
 
okie doke :) I suck :) haha lol
 
Something you may want to try is a Barn Door.

Barn Door: Hinged flaps over spotlight lamps and some http://en.mimi.hu/photography/studio_flash.htmlstudio flash units which allow the http://en.mimi.hu/photography/photographer.htmlphotographer to control precisely which areas are illuminated by the lamp and which are not.

You can use anything that is flat and decently sized (another poster board) to block the light from hitting where you want it to. Then you can pull the lights in fairly close to your subject and zoom your camera in.
 
will try that tomorrow night ;) thanks :)
 
You're on the right path. Play a bit more with your exposure and your lighting distance, you'll want to accentuate some curves/parts of the stuffed animal, and then have the rest just fade away.
By definition, low key is the use of a single key light, accentuating the lines of a subject by throwing areas into shade, with the possibility of reflectors thrown in to control contrast. Lighting ratios are typically around 8:1.
 

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