what is high key?

[denniskee]

saw the discussion for this thread

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412162

would like to know what is high key? is it just very light color (or white) backdrop + very light color dress (or white) or nude? is it shoot until the shirt / dress starts to loose detail? should it be until the face looks pale? does using of soft filter contribute to high key?

thanks.

 

[night86mare]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-key_lighting

i quote:

High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood. It is often used in sitcoms and comedies. High-key lighting is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.

 

[denniskee]

very difficult to imagine the image. as you can see, the thread i posted in #1, i thought it is high key, but some say not, some say yes.

got photo to show best. sometimes word cant describe and sometime people like me cant understand the words.

 

[peterjaena]

A photograph will be considered "high key" if there are very little or no shadows present on the entire frame. Most newbies interpret this is by over exposing the entire photo, wrong. A good high-key shot is done without blowing alot of highlights on the shot.

Again, it's a photograph wherein there are very little or no shadows at all.

 

[pro_FHM]

i think u can refer to this link:
http://en.mimi.hu/photography/high_key.html

key phrases:
mostly highlights and little shadow detail
mainly made up of light tones, which relatively few mid-tones or shadows

i agree that details shouldn't be sacrificed unless necessary.

watever it is, it is just a technique. whatever others say, so long as it is a good pic and brings out the intention, it ain;t no matter if it is high key/ low key/ 54.32% high key or watsoever.

 

[kandinsky]

The opposite of this:

 

[Daedalus Trent]

wow, thanks kandinsky! Great article :thumbsup:

 

[waileong]

There is a definition of high-key. And if the photo doesn't meet the definition, it's not high-key, simple as that, no need to keep arguing.

However, just because it doesn't meet the definition doesn't mean your photos are lousy. It could well be bloody good.

 

[creampuff]

My understanding of high key at least for portraits is to shoot with a background that has been overlit by 1.5 to 2 stops. Overall lighting ratio is typically 2:1.

 

[denniskee]

so, be it high or low key,

1) it is good shirt, dress or it this case, portion of the motor bike blend into the background?

2) generally, losing details of the shirt, dress or in this case bike is good?

thanks kandinsky for the article.

can we have some more examples pls, be it high or low key.

thanks.

 

[catchlights]

so, be it high or low key,

1) it is good shirt, dress or it this case, portion of the motor bike blend into the background?

2) generally, losing details of the shirt, dress or in this case bike is good?

thanks kandinsky for the article.

can we have some more examples pls, be it high or low key.

thanks.

not exactly all the details will be lost, sometime, the print from magazine, computer monitor won't able to reproduce 100% on what the original have.

anyway, does a photo need to reveal every single details in it than we can consider it as a good photo?

 

[Lmodel]

so, be it high or low key,

1) it is good shirt, dress or it this case, portion of the motor bike blend into the background?

2) generally, losing details of the shirt, dress or in this case bike is good?

thanks kandinsky for the article.

can we have some more examples pls, be it high or low key.

thanks.

I think you can look at Deadpoet's portfolio as I think he has got lots of High Key photos.

 

[denniskee]

I think you can look at Deadpoet's portfolio as I think he has got lots of High Key photos.

thanks for the heads up, pmed him after seeing his pbase, gave me more or less what i needed to know.

a big thank you to him. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[AhV]

thanks for the heads up, pmed him after seeing his pbase, gave me more or less what i needed to know.

a big thank you to him. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

finally.. some of you are appreciating DP's works :bsmilie: .... if i were you, just shoot more lah, bro.... whether simi 'key'... as long as u like the image and it looks good... ho say liao