High key portrait.

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adamjt7

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adam turner
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just playing around at doing a high key portrait shot is my method correct for doing it just learning i had a white sheet and placed my flash between the sheet and the subject my flash was set at 1/4 power i sat my wife about 4 foot from the back drop and exposed with the natural light from window when i took the shot the flash overexposed the back drop and the natural light exsposed the wife correctly.Only adjusted exposure in photoshop by 1 stop and this gave the correct exsposure.Is the above method the best way to do such shots in a limited space.

cwhite.jpg
 
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Its a good shot, but i dont think it could be classed as a 'high key' shot.

3173128_e6fc4e5506.jpg


The shot above I would class as high key
 
Ok, a Q thats related and clearly from a "noob".

What defines High Key?!
 
:thinking::shrug:

I don't know about the OP but now I am confused....

PS.. OP I really like the shot, works really well. (y)
 
Rob.7wood said:
Ok, a Q thats related and clearly from a "noob".

What defines High Key?!
Click to expand...

High Key, as I understand it, means all of the tones are in the top half of the histogram. The OP's image has a pretty even spread of tones in the lower half so, by definition, I guess it's not strictly high key. Happy to be contradicted if I'm wrong. :)

Not that it matters if it's not technically High Key of course, it doesn't make it any less of a lovely portrait! (y)
 
Just added another i did in B&W do you thing the wooden floors looks ok blended into the the overexposed backdrop..

carbw.jpg
 
I would be happy with the processing for the most part, but unfortunately, her pose and expression ruin the last one for me, she looks fed up, prob from sitting on a hard floor :D
 
thanks for all the comments after playing with first image would this be classed as high key

highkey.jpg
 
The opening shot was merely a normal portrait on a light background

Here's a reasonable definition...

A photographic term denoting an image whose average brightness is significantly greater than 50% grey. For example, the proverbial polar bear in a snowstorm

The last image above is arguably high contrast rather than high key as there are solid blacks within the image; had she blonde hair then it would have been a high key image

HTH

DD
 
To help acheive a high key image you should use soft and flat lighting to minimise shadows.

I would doubt that the fact a model is blonde or brunette would be a determining factor as to whether an image was high key or not.
 
Garry79 said:
To help acheive a high key image you should use soft and flat lighting to minimise shadows.

I would doubt that the fact a model is blonde or brunette would be a determining factor as to whether an image was high key or not.
Click to expand...



Not having black hair helps enormously m8

:)

DD
 
It helps yes, but you can still achieve high key images with a model who has black hair.

You wouldn't say "that's not high key because that model has black hair" would you?
 
Garry79 said:
It helps yes, but you can still achieve high key images with a model who has black hair.

You wouldn't say "that's not high key because that model has black hair" would you?
Click to expand...

As the usual acceptance is that High Key is the absence of darker tones, then yes I would if the model's black hair was rendered black on the image

An image going from Black to White will have a full range of tones in it - if mostly White, there will be fewer darker greys, while if mostly Black there will fewer lighter greys - but BOTH ends of the scale are represented

Using the example of a Polar Bear in a Snowstorm though, it's the absence of ANY blacks that helps define the image as High Key; the opposite being a black cat in a coal shed having NO Whites

A predominantly White/light image of a girl with Black hair is going to show an awful lot of black unless she's nearly bald - hence it's a High Contrast image rather than High Key

Yes ??? :shrug:

DD
 
I agree with your points. I'm just saying hair colour can't always be used as a defining factor.
 
Garry79 said:
I agree with your points. I'm just saying hair colour can't always be used as a defining factor.
Click to expand...

You're right it can't - it's just the recorded tones that's all - hence Blondes are easier

But that's another subject altogether and should be on Pete's 'togging' thread

:D

DD
 
I prefer blondes anyway.

;)
 
to me a high key image is for example on a head portrait all detail would be blown out except for the main featues e.g nose, eyes, hair, mouth etc
 
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