Focus On Lighting Photos Focus on the Fundamentals.pdf

Low key versus high key
lighting
Both low key and high key lighting
create lovely portraits. <strong>On</strong>e
isn’t better than the other. Low
key lighting tends to have a
classy feel to it; high key lighting
tends to be more contemporary.
The trick with either is to shoot a
portrait so that the face is the part
the viewer looks at first. How do
we achieve this? When the clothing
and the background are similar,
the face becomes the different
part and therefore the viewer’s
eye will go to the face, which is
exactly what we want in a portrait.
The background and the clothing
don’t have to match exactly, but
they should be approximately the
same brightness.
If the subject is wearing dark
clothing (preferably a solid color),
then opt for a dark background
and low key lighting. The background
can be a solid color
(seamless paper), a painted
canvas background (with a bit of
light on it), or even a white wall
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<strong>Focus</strong> <strong>On</strong> <strong>Lighting</strong> <strong>Photos</strong>
(assuming it is a very long way
away from the subject, so that
it receives little if any light and
therefore will photograph dark
gray or black). Low key portraits
also tend to have less or even no
fill light to take advantage of the
play of light and shadow.
If the subject is wearing white or
pastel-colored clothing (again
preferably a solid color), then
opt for a white background
and high key lighting. This can
be white seamless or a white
wall, or even black seamless
with lots of light on it. High key
portraits tend to use flatter lighting
than low key portraits have,
and therefore they have less
shadowing.
The use of similar density clothing
and background and the
amount of shadowing determine
whether a photograph is deemed
to be low or high key. These are
not hard-and-fast rules but rather
guidelines. It’s certainly possible to
get lovely portraits and not follow
these suggestions, but these guidelines
are a good place to start.
vary the camera and Lights
Be sure to try different camera
heights for portraiture. The
same pose from a slightly
higher or lower camera angle
can have a dramatically different
effect. Of course, as
you raise or lower the camera,
you may have to do the same
with the face’s angle. Watch
what happens to the shadows.
You may also have to raise or
lower your main light! Sometimes
out of one pose we can
get multiple images that feel
completely different.
Stripes and
patterns
distract from
the subject’s
face. Have the
sitter wear
solid colors!