Image Bank - High Key Lighting

High key lighting is used a lot in beauty, fashion and advertising. This is because the photographer is aiming to make the subject or object look extremely appealing to the viewer. This is achieved through a plain white background and very bright lighting; the object/subject will then stand out from the whole picture, eliminating any distractions. In the first picture, it is clear that the photographer was aiming to show off the eyes of his subjects, which is why he used white feathers to hide the rest of the lady's face - he didn't think a blank background would be enough as it wouldn't get rid of the rest of her face. In the third picture, the colour of the cat and its healthy fur. Its eyes are also a big focus and because the whole scene is white, there is a huge contrast shown between the ginger cat and the white in the background - this causes the animal to really stand out.

In the fifth picture, colour is used in a bold way, the red lipstick matches the red flower and contrasts with the green stem, which contrasts with the woman's fair skin, which then contrasts with the bright white background. Although more than one colour is included in this photograph, the viewer's eyes are most likely to go straight to the red lips; this is because the red is the boldest colour in this picture and is highlighted through the use of the other colours, which all compliment each other and help each other stand out, showing contrast.

Work Diaries - High Key Lighting & Slow Sync Flash

In this session, we shot pictures using the techniques high key lighting and slow flash sync. Before we started the session, I did some research on these techniques and I found them very interesting. The high key lighting method can be very useful when trying to show off a specific feature on a subject; I found that my subject's eyes stood out so I decided to focus on them. I found this very easy as the concept was quite straight forward. However, I noticed that the my subject didn't come out as white as I had expected in the pictures - I had to use Photoshop to really show off that high key lighting. Despite this, I really enjoyed experimenting with the different angles and the lens in order to capture my subject in different ways. When focusing on the slow sync flash technique, I found it hard at first to come with good ideas of showing movement, but once I started shooting and experimenting with the different speeds of the flash, which I kept on changing, it was interesting to see how the pictures would come out. I found that my subjects' movement had to be controlled, for example, they couldn't move too quick if I wanted to capture a strong movement. I also tried the idea of keeping my subjects absolutely still whilst movement is shown around them.

This picture is one of my best ones from the high key lighting shoot. This is mostly because my subject's eyes are highlighted, which is what I was trying to achieve. There is a strong contrast being shown between his facial features and the rest of the picture; this makes it clear where I want the viewer to focus in the photograph.

I really like this picture from the slow sync flash method I was experimenting with - I like how my subject is clear and sharp, whereas her movement is blurred and fading away. This shows the viewer exactly what her movement was and gives them an idea of how fast it was. The contrast between my subject's clothing and the pitch black background ensures that the viewer is not distracted.

In the future, I would like to use props or make up to really show contrast and show a different type of movement. This will allow me to experiment and see what the camera will pick up and how well it will do so. 

Straight Images - High Key Lighting

Contact Sheet - High Key Lighting