First try at high key

jmthompson · Dec 15, 2010

This is my first try at high-key lighting and I would love to get some feedback! I was having difficulty with consistent lighting on my white paper using two 430EXII speedlights with reflective umbrellas on the paper, set at +3 exposure, and one 580EXII speedlight with a Honl reflector off camera to the left about 20 degrees. Should the umbrellas be shoot thru rather than reflective to allow a more even spread of light? Also wondering about the placement of my 580 and whether there should be more dimension (shadows) on the face when trying for a high-key effect? I know high-key shouldn't be synonymous with "flat lighting"!

Thank you for any tips or critique!

Bagpiper · Dec 16, 2010

I like both for lighting but the second one is my favourite. The hair in the first image seems to overpower the picture. That added to the fur rim of the coat - just seems like huge amounts of hair and fur. Second picture is nice and clean but the tone seems darker. Like a brown tint or something. The colours in the first image came out cleaner I feel.

Nice job and thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Jim

Frequency · Dec 17, 2010

The eye lashes are not in tune with my personal concept of fashion; for the rest, they are wonderful shots

Regards

jmthompson · Dec 17, 2010

Thanks so much for the comments! I do have the first image with both eyes showing and just a few bangs showing; when I compare them, I have to agree, it is a much better image seeing both of her eyes! And once I compare both of the above images next to each other, the background in the second one is definitely not as white...I will work on it a bit and see if I can brighten it up and get a true white. I am curious about the eyelashes comment, as she is a "typical South Dakota teenager" and she goes very light on makeup (except mascara!), and I am certainly not up-to-date on current fashion trends...just wondering what we would do different for more of a trendy "fashion" shot but yet trying to keep a "clean" feel to the image without a lot of makeup? Thanks again for your input; every comment helps me look at my images again from a different perspective!

klam · Dec 17, 2010

Nice shots.
If I was to nit pick I would suggest making her teeth a tad whiter to match the whites of her eyes.

jmthompson · Dec 17, 2010

Thank you klam! She is a smoker, and I did desaturate the yellow completely, but wasn't sure just how much to brighten them and still keep them looking natural. I will brighten them a bit more to get them a little closer to her eyes.