High and Low Key Photography

March 29, 2015  •  Leave a Comment

High and Low Key Photography

Part 3 of ‘What you Want’

In this four-part series, I will be addressing specific techniques like blur, flare, high and low key styles and some specialized styles like the shiny cartoon look and vintage/Indy style or film look. I am in the hopes that this will help you, the client, to better understand what you want to see in your portrait or other photography needs and, in turn, also help you choose the correct photographer for the style you prefer.

High and Low Key Photography

High and low key lighting is pretty straight forward. High key shows lots of light while low keyshows lots of shadow. These opposite lighting scenarios also translate into opposite styles that evoke different feelings from the viewer.

High Key

magazine style real estate photography by Photograph Nashville in Nashville Tennessee

Low Key 

magazine style real estate photography by Photograph Nashville in Nashville Tennessee

High Key

High key is a style of photography that reduces the lighting ratio between light and dark. Essentially it’s mainly a white and bright style of imagery.

Portrait Photography by Rachelle Morvant of Photograph Nashville

This style is great for those looking to portray a clean, positive feeling. It’s great for health and educational professionals and looks great on a bright, also high key, website. If your website is mainly white, this is a good choice as it blends with the page and doesn’t stand out like a bruised toenail. Here is an example.

Another high-key example…

Portrait Photography by Rachelle Morvant of Photograph Nashville

Low Key

Low key lighting is the exact opposite. It uses one main light source to delicately illuminate the subject while everything else falls dark.

Portrait Photography by Rachelle Morvant of Photograph Nashville

It is a moody style of lighting that is great for artists and those whose jobs carry much weight. It implies deep thinking and self examination. The light says, “this is me.” The dark says there is more to the individual than what we see.

Here is another low key example…

Portrait Photography by Rachelle Morvant of Photograph Nashville

For Portrait, Real Estate and Event Photography Inquiries

contact Rachelle at [email protected]

www.PhotographNashville.com

www.RachelleMorvant.com

All images protected by copyright law and my German Shepherd!

 


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