LOW KEY LIGHTING TIPS?

lizg

TPF Noob!
Joined
Aug 7, 2011
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Location
nyc
Can others edit my Photos
Photos NOT OK to edit
I would love some guidance in helping me achieve low key lighting. I'm aiming to do some edgier stuff and I have been frustrated at not getting the camera settings right. I have a Canon 1D Mark II, I have tried AV mode, TV mode.. I usually shoot in manual mode but I decided to play with the other settings to see if that would do it. I know the AV mode will set my shutter speed and the TV mode will set my aperature after I set the shutter speed. I've tried it all, as for lighting I have very large soft boxes, a beauty dish and some reflectors. I'm thinking my light is not directional or that I might need barn doors, snoot? During one attempt, I used my beauty dish on half power and had my camera on AV mode and it was too bright, went the opposite direction and it was too dark, frustration set in and I gave up...I know I'm doing something wrong or need to incorporate something to achieve this result. Please help! I don't have any images because I deleted them as I got them all wrong lol!
 
Hi Liz,

When I first learned low key lighting all we could use was a window. Your large softbox will work. Set it to the person to one side only about 2 feet away. You want that softbox to mimic that light coming through a window. Expose for the skin closest to the key light (window or softbox) You can use a reflector on the opposite side to soften the shadows a bit if you find they are too harsh and not what you were looking for. You want to create those big contrasts between light and dark or (hehe, I had to grab my old textbook to look this up) Chiaroscuro!

I would use the lowest ISO possible, a faster shutter speed so you don't get any ambient light in the back ground and a wide aperture (but not too wide that you loose detail in the face because of an itty bitty depth of field). I hope this helps.
 
Thanks Christina! That does help a lot! Also, at the time I was trying to shoot this, there was a gorgeous ambient lighting in the room, I wanted to shoot with that tone and that amount of light it was so beautiful but I couldn't capture it. I made sure there were no other lights on in the studio. I had my beauty dish and a fill light set up with a large soft box, again when I took the shot, the light was just too much or too little and could not get that golden/warm hue that was in the room. How in the world do you get that? Where should my settings have been on my camera. I was just switching back and forth so much and just gave up.
 
To get all that pretty ambient light you can use a slow shutter speed and a tripod so camera shake doesn't cause your picture to be blurry. If you don't have a remote release for the shutter just set the timer and tell the model not to move. You don't want all those lights for traditional low key. Try only the softbox and maybe add a reflector and no other lights flashing.

On a side note. If you want more of the ambient light it will be more of a mid key photo and not low key.
 
I see, I was thinking tripod and low shutter but I didn't have a tripod there but I will practice some more and try it again. Thanks so much again!
 
One more question, should I have been on AV mode or manual? If manual, what shutter speed/aperature would work best?
 
Always shoot studio lighting in manual, you will want a dark background (as a general rule black) you don't want any light hitting it so if you dont have barndoors or honeycomb grids you will have to flag your lights, you want your subject a good distance fron the backdrop, it can easily be done with one light with or without a reflector set to one side of the subject, if you use 2 lights you will want a high ratio 8:1
This shot i used a white umbrella camera left and another light opposite behind but higher with a 7" reflector and honeycomb grid

IMG3977-L.jpg
 

Most reactions

New Topics

Back
Top