Technique Page - High Key Lighting

How to do a High Key Lighting shoot: 

• Firstly, the studio has to be set up so that there is a white background, 2 lights positioned behind polystyrene walls, reflecting on to the background, and 2 other lights reflecting the subject. Here is a light diagram to show how the set up should be: 

• The subject can be anything from a model, food, an object etc. 
• Depending on how bright you want the photo to be - you can increase the exposure in order to get a brighter picture. 

Work Diary - High Key Lighting

Evaluation

For this shoot, we worked as a class with two separate shoots going on at the same time, high key lighting and slow sync flash. The camera was set to F16, ISO 200 and a shutter speed of 1/125. For the high key lighting shoot, we used a white background, and positioned 2 lights behind polystyrene walls, and reflected them onto the background, and the other two lights were reflecting on the subject. This is so we get a complete white background, with softer shadows so there are no harsh dark areas. I used a model for this shoot, and made sure I used the entire frame when shooting. I also took landscape and portrait images, as well as shot just the models face, and some included their shoulders/torso. The photos I produced were bright, and when we increased the exposure they were even brighter - however I didn't like the effect this had, as it lightened the models face too much. This is a lighting diagram of the set up:

This is one of the best images I took during the shoot, as I have filled the frame as much as I can and have also centered the model. I like that this technique brightens the white background, as it increases the colours of the model such as their hair and clothes. This makes the model stand out more. This technique would be especially good to use for portraiture, fashion and beauty shoots as it enhances colour and focuses the attention on the model as the background is completely blanked out. 

This is one of the images I took after increasing the exposure on my camera, after editing, I like this photo a bit more. However the over exposure has caused the models skin to look yellowish, which isn't a very good effect, particularly if shooting for portraiture/fashion/beauty as the model would want to look their best. However, this effect does increase the brightness of the background even more than the photo above, which makes the model's less noticeable features stand out more such as their eyes.

Progression 

I'd like to use this feature in my personal project for portraiture, as it enhances the features of the model, but also makes their face look softer and more natural, particularly as it counteracts the harsh shadows which could appear if the lights weren't positioned to reflect on to the background. I would also like to experiment with the increased exposure, as I would like to know what sort of photography it would be good to use for, as when using it to shoot people, it washes them out. 

Contact Sheets - High Key Lighting

Straight Images - High Key Lighting

Image Bank - High Key Lighting

High key lighting is primarily shot in a studio, whereby there is a white background and 4 lights all together (two of which shining onto the background, and the other two shining on the actual subject). This technique allows the photographer to shoot precise, and bright images of their subject. In the images, the background will be completely white and shadows will be very limited, but if there are any, they will be soft and subtle. Fashion and beauty photographers use this technique especially as it makes the models faces look soft, clean and flawless. However, this technique can also be used to shoot food or plants/flowers. Above, I have presented different ways of shooting with high key lighting, as well as coloured and black and white images. For instance, the second image is a mixture of coloured and black and white, as the models makeup is the only thing in colour. High key lighting has allowed the model in this picture to look faultless and have perfect soft skin. Likewise, the third image is coloured, but still gives that flawless finish due to the lighting. Also, this image is an example of the fact that more than the models face can be shot in this way, as the models shoulders are in the photograph as well.