In photography, if you want to create a certain kind of mood, one of the things that you can do is use high and low key effects. These effects are important if your intention is to be as creative as you can be and play with the atmosphere and style of your photos. But there’s more to high and low key photography than white backgrounds and lower or higher contrast.

High Key and Low Key photography make use of lighting and contrast (or lack thereof) to create a specific mood. Originally high key photography emerged as a solution for screens that could not correctly display high contrast ratios. Today capturing high key photos, like low key photos, is a stylistic choice in photography.

When capturing a high key photo, there are a number of factors you need to consider, especially if you are absolutely trying to achieve that classic studio look. For starters, you will have to make sure you have the right equipment for the job, including lighting and a backdrop. You could take advantage of outdoor lighting, but let’s face it – there’s only so much you can control when it comes to the weather. Finally, you will also have to consider camera settings and lighting set up to capture those images. Like high key photos, low key photos are also the product of lighting manipulation and contrast. Though the resources required for capturing low key shots are less extensive – one light source compared to the four required for high key photos for example – it takes just as much skill and patience to achieve.

Deciding which style to choose for your photos all comes down to atmosphere as both are powerful tools for creating certain moods.

With high key photography, multiple powerful sources of lighting are strategically positioned to eliminate harsh shadows from images, giving them a very light and optimistic feel. Components of the image with rich colors stand out and areas with lighter color wash out, almost to a white. High key is an excellent choice for both color and black and white photos.

With low key photography, lighting is reduced in order to produce images characterized by striking contrasts, dark tones, and shadows. Usually, a single source of lighting is used to achieve this composition. As a result, low key images often have a rather dark dramatic quality to them. Like high key, low key is a great choice for both color and black and white photos.

Characteristics of High Key And Low Key Lighting

To help you better understand, here’s a list of the most dominant characteristics of high key and low key lighting:

High Key Lighting:

Bright and highlights dominated by ranges of whites
Very minimal blacks and mid-tones
Optimistic, upbeat, youthful, light, and airy
Mostly used in portrait, wedding, newborn and fashion photography

Low Key Lighting:

Uses a lot of deep blacks, darker tones, and shadows
Very minimal amount of whites and mid-tones
Reduces lighting to produce images with striking contrasts
Produces dramatic and mysterious photos
Features a lot of shadows

When to Use High Key Lighting

High key lighting is very common in commercial photography. Many companies want their products to be advertised in the best light possible.

This means you need to have lots of light available in your studio. Also, the more light there is, the more details you can capture. This is exactly what many advertisements strive to do.

High key lighting is also popular in lifestyle photography. The brighter your photos, the happier and healthier your subject will appear. This is often the goal of lifestyle photography.

When to Use Low Key Lighting

You can use low key lighting to create a dramatic mood in any kind of image. Low key lighting is popular in commercial photography for watches and electronic devices. The reason is that these objects have details that stand out more in low light.

You can also use low-key lighting in portrait, conceptual, and still life photography. The more shadows you capture, the more emotional your images will look.

Low key lighting is popular in fine art photography. It tends to give photos a painterly look.

You should consider using this lighting if you want to convert your photos to black and white later on, too.

How to Take Photos With High Key Lighting

Use as Many Light Sources as Possible
Focus on Light Colours

How to Take Photos With Low Key Lighting

Come up With a Story
Use a Single Light Source
Focus on the Most Important Part of Your Subject
Convert Your Photos to Black and White

Conclusion

There are all kinds of creative lighting styles out there. High key lighting and low key lighting can be a great addition to any photoshoot.

The type of lighting you choose depends on your photoshoot theme and your style. High key lighting is bright, optimistic, and minimalistic. It focuses on highlights rather than shadows. Low key lighting is the opposite, with a heavy focus on contrast.

Make sure you use both lighting styles in your work. They can both teach you a lot about light, compositions, and conceptual themes.