Basics of high key

Hi

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I am looking for tips to take high key portraits with very simple (film)

equipments. That is only one hand held flash and perhaps some white material as

an reflective surface.

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Some basic questions - I have search forum, but failed to get answers I need.

<ul>

<li> Is the high contrast development better? I guess that it would be, because

it keeps blacks black while raising higher tones.

<li> With single flash, is the reflection using roof best approach, or simply

45? angle?

<li> Is it possible to expose picture on normal contrast film and get good high

key effect during printing process using high contrast paper?

</ul>

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Thanks for your help!

I think you are confusing "high contrast", with "high key"? High key lighting is when all the tones in a scene are between middle gray and white. Low key, it's opposite is when all the tones are between middle gray and black.

Thank You.

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I have confused them. I thought that in high key picture, there are some black details (like eyes, perhaps hair) and everything else is pale, almost white.

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So for high key, I should expose picture so that there is basically no darker areas than middle gray? Ofcourse, that leads me again to thinking development. Perhaps lower contrast than normal would be good?<br>

Exposing by whites and checking that dark areas would not fall below middle gray (zone V).

<p><blockquote><em>High key lighting is when all the tones in a scene are between middle gray and white. Low key, it's opposite is when all the tones are between middle gray and black.</em></blockquote></p>

 

<p>I think that's a bit too restrictive definition. You can have pure white in a low-key photo (for example the moon or rim light), but the majority of the image should be black and middle values. Respectively a high-key photo can contain black details (such as eye-lashes), but should mainly contain white to light gray values.</p>

 

<p>Almost any low-contrast photo (that doesn't contain a lot of pure black or white) can be turned into a high-key or low-key photo by adjusting the curves. Of course it's better to consider the final result already when lighting the photo.</p>

 

<p>A high-key portrait often has a blown-out white background.</p>