high key child portait

[Kawaracer]

I tried a high key with naturally light of my youngest son, tips to improve are welcome

 

[tirediron]

It's close, but unfortunately it's a little too over-exposed. High-key images are bright, shadowless, but properly exposed images. In this case the child's skin and Santa hat are both significantly over-exposed and there is no detail in the white fur. In this example you can see correctly exposed skin, hair and clothing, and a bright white background:

High-key images are actually a lot more difficult than many people realize. Proper high-key really requires a minimum of three, and ideally four lights. A white background/cyclo wall and white floor make it even easier. If you look under the left arm in my example, you can see where I've goofed with my light-placement (I don't have any other examples handy ATM).

 

[Kawaracer]

On a other forum they say also that my portait is close but not bright enough.
on wikipedia the defenition is:" A high-key image consists primarily of light tones, without dark shadows. A photograph or painting so composed features a diminished tonal range of primarily whites and light grays. High key as a term used in describing paintings or photographs is related to but not the same as high-key lighting in cinema or photography."
I think it is a little broader than wat you are showing. On the workshop portait without studio we worked only with natural light, no flashes or sofbox, just the light that came through the window on a cloudy day. There we also made some high key and some low key photo's.

 

[tirediron]

...I think it is a little broader than wat you are showing.

Fair enough.

 

[Trever1t]

maybe so but blown out isn't high key, it's over-exposed. That doesn't mean it's a ruined shot in my book, just that you've lost details on various areas in the fur. I thought the eyes looked pretty cool. It's a sharp image.

 

[Big Mike]

I agree with the other guys in saying this isn't text book 'high key'. If he was wearing a white shirt, then maybe.

But really, I don't like to worry too much about labels. If you like the shot, then it's OK.

High key is one of those sticking points that those of us in the old guard tend to get worked up about because so, so many people misunderstand it. As I see it, there is text book high key, where you match (key) a light toned background with light toned clothing/accessories and use a low/even lighting ratio etc. The idea is to match the clothing to the background to make the subject's face contrast more within the image.

In modern vernacular, the high key style tends to mean very overexposed.

 

[Kawaracer]

ok, thanks for those replies so I should have clothed him in light colors and get the ecposure right on those white tones for a real good high key

 

[curtyoungblood]

I also don't think the lighting is even enough to really get the feel of high key. His checks and nose are way overexposed, while is eyes, forehead, and chin are much darker. To really get the feeling of high key, they all need to be pretty close.