Retirement is fabulous! I highly recommend it at whatever age you decide to bail. Experts say the secret to a healthy retirement is to be productive and keep a healthy social life. The plus of turning to photography after my retirement from teaching (other than never having to deal with parents again) are two-fold: One, I am always learning. Two, I have met so many new friends along the way. Photography has been ‘berry, berry good to me.” As I have written before, the learning curve at the beginning was a challenge for me, especially that crazy ass exposure triangle. Yeah. It had numbers in it and numbers and I just don’t get along. My newest addition is mastering High Key and Low Key photography.
Botswana and Zimbabwe
Photography has enhanced my photography and visa versa. In fact, the majority of my trips are now photo workshops somewhere in the world. In 2022 we headed for Botswana and Zimbabwe for a photo safari workshop. One of the highlights of this trip was the Chobe National Park in Botswana. It was on this trip that I became aware of high and low key photography. We stayed at the Pangolin Lodge which caters strictly to photographers. One of their gallery walls featured an amazing photo of a hippo done in low key. The drama, the moodiness, the mystery of the image made my panties shake. I had to replicate the method. The hippo image above is one that I deliberately shot in low key. I had shot low key before but just didn’t know what it was called. I was in the dark, so to speak. (Insert groan here.)
Low Key photography
I love the drama of a darker photo. It may be why I love moody black and white photography although low key can be done in both color and black and white. A good example of a low key portrait is the subject of Dude at the Guggenheim in a previous post. Lots of drama laced with no small amount of sexy. Your welcome, Ladies.
So what is low key? My shot of the hippo above has high contrast: the shadows remain in the dark. If you are using off camera lighting for portraiture, there will be only one light and best if it is lit from the side. The majority of the image will remain dark. It is very dramatic. It requires a very low ISO to avoid noise. Also a fast lens best below F 5.6. Below are examples of images of mine that are low key. Click to see full images.
High Key Photography
Basically, in low key photos you want to let in the least amount of light. High key is just the opposite. High key lets in lots of light. It’s always best to use low ISO but here it is not as crucial as you don’t have to worry so much about noise which shows up in dark areas. Unlike high key, the contrast is low. Use your fastest lens if possible, F2.8 or lower. The shutter speed should also be slower to let in more light, which may mean you have to use a tripod….which I loathe. But the key here is lots of light. I think this vibe works well when photographing children. Below: my daughter’s three boys.
I learned about High key in Botswana so many of my images are from that safari. Post processing is important so I have included some earlier photos that were also low key but I didn’t know then that’s what they were called. I have seen the light! (second groan here)
You can click on each image to make it full size.
Which type do you prefer? I’m loving the drama of the low key photography. That said, I have high key photography on my living room wall.
If you like this post, please like, comment, and share. I will not know who you are unless you sign your name.
Leave a Reply