The diagram below gives a very beautiful and beloved by me high key (« high key"). In words, you might think that there is nothing complicated in this scheme productions studio light No, but in practice it is quite difficult to achieve the correct High Key.
A few words about tonality High key: this is a portrait where only white and light gray predominate. If this is a color portrait, the shades of colors should be in their light values (in the literal sense). The only exception is the elements of hair, skin, clothes of the model. But even here you need to try to correctly clarify everything.
An example of a shot in a bright tone. High key. Photo credit: pinmarklet
As you can see from the pictures - you need a lot of light. And you need not just, or open the aperture to the full, but to fill everything with light.
Scheme No. 2. With three flashes. high key
- First, you need a clean White background. To do this, we direct 2 flashes at it. You can even with silver umbrellas. A white background, especially paper, is a good reflector in itself, it will help fill the room with light.
- Secondly, we put a flash with a large softbox in front of the model. If this is not enough, we use reflectors or additional flashes. The main thing is a minimum of shadows, but no overexposure on the skin. A flash with fill light (it is also a flash with such a scheme) should be quite powerful, at least 250 joules. Big softbox or octobox requires a lot of energy, but it scatters light very well.
- Usually, the power of the background flashes should be more than the fill light in front of the model by about 2 stops.
Subsequently, the picture is possible for beautiful transitions from gray to white, but without a correctly shot original, it’s better not to do anything (there are a lot of pseudo high keys on the net, when a high key is photoshopped from a picture of a normal tone, but this is unprofessional! 🙂)
Pay attention to the shadows, especially under the model's nose. If the fill light is raised too high, the shadow will definitely appear and then the high key will be corrupted. That's why big softboxes are needed - they don't need to be lifted above model to hide the "lack of sleep" under the eyes, you can simply put it at the level of the model's face.
As in the previous scheme - the photographer is somewhere very close to the softbox, and he lighting fixture exactly opposite the model.
Such a photograph, where light tones are most present, is considered to be made in a high key. In this case, the mass of bright spots noticeably prevails over the mass of dark areas.
Let's get down to the skill lesson:
There are a number of requirements directly to the object of photography. Most often, a high key is used in the portrait genre. However, the model itself must have certain external data. In this case, both clothes and skin must be light. This also applies to hair color, a model with blond hair is preferable for such a shoot. But, first of all, in this shooting, the correct lighting must be taken into account.
For a high key, you need a good, uniform work of light, which is provided by studio options photographing the object.
It is also necessary that the background brightness should not be weaker than the main object. Sometimes the background needs an even brighter one.
The exposure itself is measured by a tone that is darker than average. For a picture in a light tone, white paper (without joints) or fabric, all of the same white color, can be used.
What else we will learn in this mastery lesson:
There are a number of ways to work with high key lighting. Firstly, several light sources can be used simultaneously, which makes it possible to fully control the result. Secondly, you can get out of the situation with a single illuminator if there is not enough equipment. In this case, it is necessary to install this source just a couple of steps to the side of the model. If you have reflectors you will get more scattered light, and therefore it is possible to make the background brighter than the model. The main difficulty when shooting in high key when working with a single illuminator is not as controllable as in the first option.
A few tips in this mastery lesson.
High and low keys are creative photography techniques. Technically, the term is used to refer to scenes shot in a light key:
Photo taken from Photo.Club website
The term, on the contrary, is used to refer to photographs taken in a dark tone:
Let's look at what creative tasks each of these techniques is used for, and what conditions are needed to reproduce these techniques.
high key often used to emphasize innocence, simplicity and lightness. Such subjects include romantic images, photographs of children, winter and foggy landscapes.
Photo taken from photosight.ru: Vladimir Dranistin
Photo taken from photokaravan.ru
Technical Tips:
1. To achieve the desired effect - light colors - use objects and objects in white, light gray and pastel colors, but do not overexpose objects. Overexposure can lead to the loss of important details and volume in the photo.
2. Use reflectors (light discs) to fill in light all the shadow areas of the subject.
3. An additional effect is created by small, backlight and a small increase. When increasing the exposure, you need to carefully monitor that there are no overexposures.
Advice: High key in photography can be used when photographing people with problematic facial skin to hide its defects.
low key used to emphasize the mystery, mystery and even danger of an object. Reception can be used to convey a tense situation, longing, bad mood and restless internal state person.
V. Teterin. Portrait.
Technical Tips:
1. To create a dark tonality, deep shadows, back-side lighting, a dark, unlit background and a dark color of the subjects being shot are used.
2. To slightly bring out details in deep shadows, it is recommended to use .
3. If the subject does not convey the idea of the author, then yours is not dark enough. The tone of the photo should be darkened until it seems too gloomy. You can also add vignetting in Photoshop to darken your photo.
Composition and exposure are an integral part of any photo masterpiece. It is very easy to spoil the ingenious idea of a picture by inept handling of the camera - incorrect installation. However, an impeccable exposure of the frame does not guarantee an excellent picture. But, how often does a novice photographer think about the fact that the skillful use of non-standard exposure can make a picture worthy of admiration from a banal plot?
Composition and exposure are harmoniously combined in a true photographic masterpiece.
A photograph that tells a story must be realistic... However, sometimes a bit of exaggeration (scientifically "hyperbole" :o) and even special effects can become necessary to create a certain mood or make the story dynamic.
It should be noted that here we are not talking about the effects applied in a graphics editor (for example, Photohop) after taking a photo. And even more so, not about the automatic effects built into your camera.
This article will focus on some techniques for creatively choosing exposure parameters that can create certain effects already in the process of photographing.
Standard exposure, which is most often set when shooting in full AUTO mode, sometimes creates a false impression of reality. For example, a scene shot in the late afternoon may look like the event took place in the morning. Another typical example: when photographing a moving object in automatic modes, the dynamism of the scene being filmed usually disappears due to the fact that the moving object turns out to be static (stationary).
Such "blunders" of the full automaton force you to switch to more flexible and controlled manual exposure settings. But to get the benefits of manual photography, you need to use your exposure settings creatively!
Here I would like to warn a novice photographer, starting to study manual modes, from the advice of some "smarts from professionals". Most stupid advice using manual modes sounds something like this: "Look at what exposure parameters the camera has set in AUTO mode and set the same parameters in manual mode M" - never do this, because thoughtlessly copying the parameters of the automatic mode does not give you any advantages in manual modes, but will only take your time.
Manual modes require creativity - it's not for nothing that manual exposure settings are often referred to as the "creative zone"!
If your camera does not have manual settings (Creative Zone) you can explore the features of the advanced auto settings - and use them with success, since creative exposure control, as a rule, comes down to choosing a shutter speed or aperture that differs from the standard camera settings offered by the AUTO mode .
How to use exposure creatively?
So, if you want to improve your photos, give them liveliness, dynamism or other effects, you have to forget about automatic modes and get creative with the choice of exposure parameters: shutter speed, aperture and ISO. To help you, I will give you some tips, using which during photography, you will get interesting effects that can "revive" your photos.
Here are some effects that can be created with a creative approach to the choice of exposure parameters:
PART ONE. STATIC EFFECTS.
High key and low key
High key is one of the effects in photography, characterized by the absence of dark details and low contrast of the image. High key usually gives the image a romantic and soft feel.
You can take a picture in a high key by applying controlled overexposure (usually no more than two exposure units) and, preferably, isolating the subject using an open aperture (small) or
Low key is the opposite of high key. Low key images are characterized by a dark background and a fairly high contrast between light and dark areas of the image. However, the loss of detail in the shadows is still not recommended.
When shooting in low key, you need to slightly underexpose the frame and preferably use a dark background. Low key is usually used when you want to emphasize the drama of the plot.
When using semi-automatic modes, overexposure or underexposure of the frame is possible in the exposure compensation mode [+/-]
Below are three identical shots taken at normal exposure, high key and low key. Think about what emotions and associations you have when you carefully study each of these pictures.
selective focus
Selective focus is a very effective way to give your shot a special charm.
The essence of this effect is that, by controlling the focus of the camera and in manual mode or aperture priority mode, you blur a secondary object so that it does not distract the viewer's attention from the main one, but still remains recognizable.
Take a look at the picture below: here the main subject is undoubtedly the butterfly. However, in the background, we can still make out a child holding this butterfly. Thus, having received two objects in the frame, we can tell the viewer which of them is more important, and which one only complements the plot.
Noise retro effect
You probably already know that high values lead to unwanted objects in your pictures. However, in some cases, the noise in the photo adds quite a certain mood to your scene, while high ISO values allow you to shoot in relatively low light with an open aperture or not worry. about the hair.
For example, when shooting elderly people with high ISO values, due to noise, it is possible to give the pictures some retro charm, which goes very well with the main character of the plot.
high key
high key is one of the photography techniques in which it is difficult to obtain significant detail on the subject. However, the photos taken using this technique not only catch the eye, but also make the audience admire the skill of the photographer who created this masterpiece. If you decide to master this method of shooting, then most likely you will have to switch to black and white photograph, since it is on it that the ideal drawing of the contours of a person takes place, while the complexion merges with a pure white photon.
First of all, you need to understand that at home, in natural light, get photographs made using the technique high key, you won't be able to. It is best to turn to a professional for such pictures, and do not call him to your house, but come directly to the photographer's studio. Here you will have at your disposal a pure white background, and special lighting equipment, which is impossible to do without when preparing such pictures.
Light-skinned people with blond or white hair are best suited for filming. However, if your model is not a blonde, then you should not be upset about this, because the hair black as night will be clearly drawn in the photo. And dark eyes stand out with expressive embers.
Having picked up the necessary pose, you need to do the lighting design of the picture. To high key really showed up, you need at least 3 soft boxes, two of which are more powerful, will be sent directly to the white screen behind the person being filmed, and one needs to shine directly into the face of the person being filmed. The difference in the power of the light sources is due to the fact that no additional shadows appear on the photo, spoiling the whole impression of the image.
Exposure, it is desirable to overestimate a little, so you whiten your face even more, and make shadow transitions thinner and more elegant. high key it is considered successful if instead of a clear and detailed image, only the contours of the face, lips and eyes can be seen in the photograph, and all this in gray tones. If the resulting result completely suits you, then you can assume that you have a perfectly executed portrait at your disposal, and it will certainly become the envy of others.
Nobody forbids you to experiment at home, trying to get the perfect shots. However, in order to have a photograph made according to all the canons of photographic art, using modern technology, it is best to go to the studio of a true professional.
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