High Key Work Diary

For this shoot, I was set with the task of shooting the technique of high key. For this technique, I would have to manipulate light and specific camera settings in a way that would compliment each other perfectly. The aim of the effect is to separate the background and the person by lighting them independently from eachotehr at different settings. The result should allow for the background to appear totally white. For this shoot, I wanted to develop a range of strong portrait images which use the effect to make interesting compositions. I searched for inspiration within the technique and looked at photographers who's work could influence me to develop the technique in interesting ways. In my search for inspiration I looked at photographers such as Michael Schimczik. A particular image of his stood out to me as it featured a cheetah on a tree against an endless white background. Instead of simply photographing the cheetah and filling the frame, he chose to compose the frame using the white background in order to highlight contrasts and draw attention to the subject. I knew that I could take this idea of interesting composition and use of contrasts and apply it to my own work. As this shoot would be heavily reliant on my camera settings and light set up I had to make sure these were perfectly set up. I used a total of three lights, one pointing at the individual with a soft box while the other two lit the background. Bounce boards were used in order to cast indirect light onto the background, lighting it evenly. The light readings for the background were at f11 while the subject was f16. This would ensure that the background would remain independent from the subject, creating an all white background effect. I used a shutter speed of 1/125, an f stop of 16 and an ISO of 200. These settings were crucial for the amount of light which I was dealing with. The f stop of 16 would allow a controlled amount of light to go into the lens in order to ensure that the image was not over exposed.

Michael Schimczik influence:

These two images experiment with the technique of high key. They feature different forms of composition which are used for different impacts. Like the Michael Schimczik image, I have attempted to use the white space in order to create contrasts and highlight the ways in which I could direct the audience's attention. I wanted to use contrast as a main theme within this shoot. In order to highlight this, I used the levels and curves in Photoshop as well as the brightness and contrast in order to make the people stand out boldly amongst the background. This technique could be applied to other editing techniques. The background is completely separate which would allow for easy editing to remove the person and place them in an entirely different image.

Progression:

Overall I feel that this shoot was successful. If I were to develop this shoot in any way I would maybe use different types of composition. I would perhaps use different angles of low and high. I would experiment with distance, using extreme close ups and long shots in order to add more variety to the image.