BW Highkey portraits

KenCo · Apr 19, 2007

My first post in this section........
Taken the other day for great grandmas birthday.
(Not my kids!)

C&C Welcome.
TFL.
Ken.

newrmdmike · Apr 19, 2007

haha, that last one is great.

although i almost never like high key work.

TJPhotoGuy · Apr 25, 2007

Hahaha... awesome shots love em. #2 is my fav, then the last one...

EOS_JD · Apr 25, 2007

Reallly like the images but I just feel the sujects are over exposed. High Key is about getting a correct exposure and I think they are about a stop over exposed.

Christie Photo · Apr 26, 2007

EOS_JD said:
Reallly like the images but I just feel the sujects are over exposed. High Key is about getting a correct exposure and I think they are about a stop over exposed.

oh... I don't know.... maybe the last is a bit over. You really think a full stop?

I like the third view.

Pete

anton · Apr 26, 2007

The 3rd one is superb!!!!!!!!! LOL! Very nice shots! Though a little overexposed on the faces (highlights are blank already).

JenR · Apr 26, 2007

#3 is my favorite. The little bit of drool and his expression really seem to show off his character.

~jen

zendianah · Apr 26, 2007

What is High key?

Christie Photo · Apr 26, 2007

zendianah said:
What is High key?

High key is when a white or very light subject is photographed against a white or very light background. Any props should be white or very light.

EOS_JD · Apr 26, 2007

Christie Photo said:
High key is when a white or very light subject is photographed against a white or very light background. Any props should be white or very light.

I don't quite agree with this. A high key image contains a dominance of tones brighter than a mid grey. Some say 1 stop some 2 stops brighter.

You can have dark parts in your image so long as the dominace of the tones is that stop or two brighter than a mid grey.

Say you take a full length portrait of a girl with dark hair wearing a dark shirt standing in front of a very bright window. Sure there may be a number of dark parts of the image but the overall scene is likely to be a couple of stops brighter than a mid grey and the image would be high key.

I've even seen a high key image (group shot) where all the subjects wore black against a white background. The high key tonal range was maintained by the white background and white gloves and ties the group wore. This caused the overall brightness to remain high key. Also you noted the subject needs to be white.... I say it vcan be any colour (inc black).

Norman Phillips' books are an excellent way to learn about High and Low Key.

EOS_JD · Apr 26, 2007

Christie Photo said:
oh... I don't know.... maybe the last is a bit over. You really think a full stop?

I like the third view.

Pete

Possibly slightly less and tough to guage. I used photoshops to duplicate the layer and change it by using the multiply command. Stops are generally discussed in thirds using the multiply/screen command (not wholly accurate maybe) I and thought 33% made the image look closer to a correct exposure.

Regards
Jim

Christie Photo · Apr 26, 2007

EOS_JD said:
Say you take a full length portrait of a girl with dark hair wearing a dark shirt standing in front of a very bright window. Sure there may be a number of dark parts of the image but the overall scene is likely to be a couple of stops brighter than a mid grey and the image would be high key.

No. This is not right. Dress her in white (or very light) and you'd have a high key portrait, so long as the surroundings too are white.

Pete

EOS_JD · Apr 26, 2007

I took my information straight from this excellent book.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1584280751/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9290493-0720841#reader-link[/ame]

Page 4 shows a little of what I mean but there are many other images in the book supporting the above statement. I disagree that a high key image has to be all lighter tones. A dominance yes.....

"Norman Phillips is a master photographer who is the recipient of more than 150 awards, including the Accolade of Outstanding Photographic Excellence in Recognition of Contribution to the Industry. He has hosted many seminars, sponsored by corporations like Pentax Corporation, Eastman Kodak and Burrell Colour, Inc. Phillips is also a regular contributor to industry publications including Rangefinder magazine and the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International monthly newsletter."

emogirl · Apr 27, 2007

Beautiful shots....I love #2 best. I personally love high portraits of kids....and technicalities out of the way...your customers will love them! And in the end...it doesnt matter if it is too bright or too dark...blah, blah, blah,....its the customers approval that works in the end!

Now question for you...what kind of post work do you do on the eyes...i know the focus is there, obvioiusly, but they have such a WET look....that really makes them superb! Is it just the catch lights...or is there something else?

Christie Photo · Apr 27, 2007

EOS_JD said:
I took my information straight from this excellent book.

It appears to be a good resource. And... the very first chapter, "Identifying High Key," opens with the following two statements.

"High key is the term used to describe photographs with white or bright backgrounds, and usually with bright lighting situations that render subjects in a light tone similar to that of the background. The ultimate high key portrait is one in which the background is a clean white and the subjects are also attired in white."

Thanks for clearing this up.

Pete