High key and Low key were the first lighting set ups I explored. I chose to explore them first as they contrast each other. They are similar due to the fact they are so different. Both techniques makes use of contrast but in very different ways.
High Key is bright, the background is most commonly white. This background is well lit to give the whole image an equal and bright tone. The foreground of the image is also well light with bright lights, commonly a softbox is use to keep the image from looking stark or over exposed.
- Bright
- White
- Happy
- Well exposed
- Equal
- Beauty advertising
- Highly commercial
- Low contrast
- Large set ups
These are two examples of High Key lighting set ups. You can see in boths that the white backdrop is being illuminated by two adjacent light sources, these light sources are mirrors of each other and set to the same light intensity/power so that they will correctly and evenly light the background. these lights will be slightly brighter than the lights illuminating the model, so that the backdrop will stay slightly brighter than the model.
- Moody
- Atmospheric
- Dark
- Focusing on certain areas of the subject
- Minimal lighting
- Focusing on detail/contours
These are three examples of Low Key lighting setups. As you can see they are quite different. In contrast to High Key, Low Key lighting set ups have a lot more freedom. You can more or less do anything with these lighting set ups but they usually only incorporate 1 or two light sources to keep the images relatively subdued. Reflectors are another common thing found in Low Key images as it uses the excising light, and casts a soft gentle light instead of a bright stark one.
Still Life lighting is a lot harder to define as it spans so many different things and varies from subject to subject for example you would light a mobile phone differently to 17th century artists work bench.
I searched for various ideas of how to light still lifes, I found a website showing people how to produce high quality images on a budget. Although I would not have to use a torch as a light source I found the techniques useful & simple. Despite the simplicity of these tutorials they gave me a good idea of how I wanted to shoot and showed me how easy it would be to produce a classical still life image. The shot bellow really reminded me of a 16th century still life painting.
How to light fruit. Lifted from - http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/01/30/the-still-life-photographers-guide-to-lighting-4-techniques-4-different-effects/3/
- Position a length of black velvet cloth over a box, making sure you have a good amount of length in the foreground to place the fruit on, so that once composed the subject will be surrounded by black.
- Position the fruit in the middle of the cloth. We want the lighting in the room to be as dark as possible, so the only light shining on the fruit is that produced by the torch.
- Use thin paper (a cupcake case is ideal) to diffuse the light; this will reduce reflection on the skin.
- Set the light tent on a table with its side facing the window. The ambient light will be just enough to create a good softened light; you won’t need any torches or lamps.
- The light tent not only diffuses the daylight but also helps to reflect some light back at the subject.
- Now place and arrange the small item inside the tent. If there is a lot of glare on the surface then rotate the tent slightly away from the window to soften the light further.
This is a more complex and professional diagram but really it's not that complex at all. All that is being done is one light illuminating the glass from below and the other light being shot directly at the glass using a diffuser.
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