Please help!

zoe08 · Feb 22, 2006

these are some of the pics I took for the high key shots of my assignment. These are the best ones. In a lot of them the shirts turned out really bright and it just looked like a floating head, but at the same time the face wasnt as bright as I thought it should be in high key. Can someone please give me some tips on how to improve? Should I have them wear a light color but maybe not white?

I feel like I really did not get very many good pictures out of this session, and I only have one left on friday for 2 hours.

these 2 are my favorites...

JenniferLynn · Feb 22, 2006

What are you using to diffuse your light source, and what is your setup? It appears your lights may need to be turned down a bit....

*EDITED TO REMOVE PHOTOS*

I have one main w/brolly box camera right, reflector camera left, backlight behind my drop and fill light back left on the other side of reflector.

zoe08 · Feb 22, 2006

Well I did a few different things he told us to try, I did some with white reflector left and under with a black to the right and I used a large soft box in front and in some there is a background light. That set up varies a little but they all have the large softbox in front.

And from my understanding of high key, from what my teacher said and what it shows in my textbook, I thought it was brighter than that.

JenniferLynn · Feb 22, 2006

zoe08 said:
And from my understanding of high key, from what my teacher said and what it shows in my textbook, I thought it was brighter than that.

My background is blown...which is what I learned to be high key

Are your lights turned all the way down?

zoe08 · Feb 22, 2006

I think I had the lights on 125watts, possibly 250.

According to my textbook, the subject is supposed to be brighter. In the pictures your subjects are exposed as if it was a normal picture or according to my professor and textbook, would be considered mid key.

I did e-mail my professor and asked him what exactly he was looking for cuz I have gotten different things for high key. Hopefully he will get back to me soon.

JenniferLynn · Feb 22, 2006

zoe08 said:
I think I had the lights on 125watts, possibly 250.

According to my textbook, the subject is supposed to be brighter. In the pictures your subjects are exposed as if it was a normal picture or according to my professor and textbook, would be considered mid key.

I did e-mail my professor and asked him what exactly he was looking for cuz I have gotten different things for high key. Hopefully he will get back to me soon.

Right, my backdrop is blown, if my subject was any brighter, it would blow the photo IMO. I'm guessing we have learned 2 different ways here.

You asked for help, I offered. I apologize if it's not what you're looking for.

LaFoto · Feb 22, 2006

Zoe, if it helps you any, let me tell you that we once had this fun assignment here on TPF going with High Key being our task

(http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35086)

There are some humble attempts of total non-photographers (such as myself) in there to be seen, plus some discussion on what IS high key after all ... it might not bring you any further with regards to your own school assignment, but might offer you one or the other idea. You might want to check that one out? (Most of us contributing to that TPF Assignment were "poking around in the mud", not really knowing what they were supposed to do and how to achieve this effect).

JonK · Feb 22, 2006

to me these shots (yours zoe) just look blown out completely...I think there's a diff. between that and hi-key. I'm no expert on high key just giving my opinion on these pics. They are way way overexposed.
Are you metering these shots? That is essential. Are you shooting digital? If you are you should be able to check your results right away and make any adjustments.
I don't think anything should be blown out completely in hi-key and jennifers are good examples...she's still got detail in her hilights.

Dunno if I'm helping here and I hope I'm not being too harsh. Maybe Markc will chime in here too...he seems to have a good handle on hi-key.

zoe08 · Feb 22, 2006

LaFoto, THanks for the thread. From what I have seen so far, it looks like many of them see it somewhat the way I do, where the subject is much brighter than would be in a normal photo, such as the ones above. Unfortunately, a lot of the images are not showing up, I dont know if it was cuz they are not hosted anymore cuz the thread was from a while back.

I know hers are great photos, but what I am trying to say is that according to my textbook, they are just normal (mid key) photos, the subject is not overexposed at all, and according to my textbook it should be.

This is the look I was going for, it is from a member on another forum I hope no one minds...

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17377

JenniferLynn · Feb 22, 2006

zoe08 said:
LaFoto, THanks for the thread. From what I have seen so far, it looks like many of them see it somewhat the way I do, where the subject is much brighter than would be in a normal photo, such as the ones above. Unfortunately, a lot of the images are not showing up, I dont know if it was cuz they are not hosted anymore cuz the thread was from a while back.

I know hers are great photos, but what I am trying to say is that according to my textbook, they are just normal (mid key) photos, the subject is not overexposed at all, and according to my textbook it should be.

This is the look I was going for, it is from a member on another forum I hope no one minds...

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17377

I certainly understand the look you're going for but honestly was never taught that to be "high key". That was always called "overexposed"...or "hot".
I was always taught to blow the background while keeping your subject properly exposed.....and always have. Never have I been told otherwise

Regardless, it doesn't matter...good luck with your studies!

JonK · Feb 22, 2006

found this:

definition:
High key

High key subjects concentrate on the lighter tones, using subject matter that is white or pale tones, and using flat overall lighting to avoid shadows.
High key is often used to portray a delicate or feminine intention. Most high key pictures contain small areas of dark tones - for example in the iris of the eyes in a portrait; without a small dark or black area high key effects can appear too washed out or insipid.

JenniferLynn · Feb 22, 2006

Thanks for that info Jon

df3photo · Feb 22, 2006

as far as High Key goes in the studio. the lighting on the model should be even, not showing any shadows (as created by facial features etc.) but exposed properly. the back ground that is white could and should be blown out with lights set to a higher power than the ones on your model. Your photos above might not me as far off as you think, they just dont appear to be exposed right.
As for the photo posted on that other forum... Im not too convinced that some of that wasnt doen with makeup to make the eyes "pop" more. Plus she looks to me like she might be a red head and there skin tone is lighter also.

Are you using a light meter, or one in the camera? I would invest in a good hand held light meter if you dont have one. Also If you are shooting digital, Like they said above, you can see your results right away and make adjustments.
good luck, hope I helped alittle. Keep working at it and dont get to frustraited, we all went/are going threw similar if not the same problems.

zoe08 · Feb 23, 2006

I check out a handheld meter when I go there, but I am still having a time trying to figure that out. When I used it before, I never got the right exposure and always had to adjust so it wouldnt be over or under exposed with my other assignments. My professor did a lot of explaining about the background and the f stops and everything, but it was kind of hard for me to understand, and i am stressed in the studio with such a short amount of time to get the pictures taken so I have enough to turn in.

Also I havent figured out how to do the background lights in some pictures so that it doesnt show. Which is why some do not have the background light. It would be really great if I could have the studio for a day and have someone help me learn everything but that is not really the case. We get a new assignment every Monday so we only have a week to turn it in usually and we can only get the studio for 2 hours at a time, so that usually results in 4 hours total time in the studio.

It would be soo much better if I had my own equip so that I could spend a lot more time on it, and times that are convenient for my models. But unfortunately all that stuff is way expensive so that wont be happening anytime soon.