Studio Photography: High-Key

High-Key 

High-key lighting is something that was used in the early days of cinema.  The aim of it was to reduce contrast, as early films and television could not cope with extreme contrasts of blacks and whites.      High-key photography involves the elimination of all shadows to produce a bright, crisp, well lit images, with very little tonal variation   These days high-key is very popular in fashion and portrait photography as they can evoke a feeling of freshness, optimism and energy.

This is an example of high-key lighting I grabbed from Google images.  The portrait has very little shadows and her features are highlighted very well.  This type of lighting compliments subjects that have a  fairer complexion and lighter coloured hair and possibly wearing pastel shades.    

The lighting set up for high-key is a white background with two 3k heads with deep reflectors pointing towards the background.  To light the subject you need two 1.5k softboxes pointing towards the subject.  Best to start off with the lights and subject at 45 degrees and then the position of the front light boxes can be adjusted as necessary.  To get a good spread of light and to bounce the light on the subject, it's a good idea to add white poly boards on either side.  The background lights should always be two stops brighter from the font lights in order to achieve an evenly lit portrait and to get a pure white background.        

High key lighting set up - white background with two deep reflectors pointing at the background and two large softboxes pointing towards the subject

I chose this image for my final submission for high key photography.  It was shot using a medium format camera and all the lighting was set up by John, our tutor.  The lighting diagram above demonstrates the set up for this shoot.  A reflector was used under the subjects face to bounce the light back and to reduce any shadows from appearing under her chin.  Using softboxes helped to create a softer pattern of light, highlighting her facial features.  

I've seen the rise in popularity of these types of images over the years, and can understand why it may appeal to some people, but I personally am not very keen on this type of photography.  To me it feels too clinical and gives no depth to the character of the individual. It works best in a commercial setting as the sole purpose would be to highlight specific features of a product in order to make it appealing to the consumer but definitely poor for showing mood or atmosphere.