High Key

So, I went out shooting this morning and made two high-key images.

Check them out.



Salt Berg, Broken Arrow Salt, Utah, 2010



Salt Ramp and Salt Heap, Broken Arrow Salt, Utah, 2010

Assignment #4 - High Key / Low Key...TAKE TWO

Yes, you heard right. Do the last assignment, assignment #3, AGAIN! I know you learned a lot, but you're not quite where I want you to be. Remember to BRACKET the living daylights out of these shots. Remember to shoot BLACK objects on a BLACK background...and WHITE objects on a WHITE background.

Now the tricky part. Don't just shoot objects. Don't just show me stuff. TELL me stuff. Tell me a story. Tell me something about these objects more than just "Here is something that is white".

You have the advantage of being able to spend some time now and find the sweet light. The sweet light will help tell the story. Remember, you CAN'T take too many photos for me. You really can't.

Do more than just make photographs that fit the assignment requirements. Stretch your imagination and come up with a unique and interesting story. These stories do NOT have to be complex. They can be VERY SIMPLE. Hint: KEEP THEM SIMPLE AND THEY WILL BE GOOD.



These will be due the last class period of the week that we return back from Spring Break. I want you to print two images, put those two images on the blog, write about your first and second shooting experiences, what you learned, how you got better, how it got easier (or harder...).

Assignment #3 - High Key/Low Key

Two prints from High Key and two prints from Low Key, blog post and explanation (four images total), and your notebook due Friday, February 19th. Put the same images you print on the blog. I want you to also show me one example of your high-key and low-key that you did NOT process and show me the difference between it and the one you retouched. Ideally we should have a hard time telling the difference.

This assignment will be similar to the bracketing assignment, in that it will teach you to find the right exposure depending on the subject matter.

This assignment is basically two assignments in one. Treat it as such and it will be easier to break down.

You will shoot high-key and low-key images. What is high-key? The majority of the image (85%+) will be tones of light gray to white. It will help you to think of shooting white objects placed on a white background. So, then the opposite of high-key is low-key right? Think of low key as gray-ish to black objects. Shoot your dark objects placed on a dark background. You might need a tripod/beanbag for these shots.

For both of your shots you will want to pay close attention to the background. Don't let stray light/objects ruin your clean shot. Also it helps to isolate the objects by getting close. Take a look at the examples below.

You will want to shoot both of your high-key and low-key shots using the bracketing technique that we learned. Go from very very VERY underexposed all the way to very very VERY overexposed for each of the shots...both high-key *and* low-key.

Using the extreme bracketing you will find that buried somewhere in those images is a nearly perfect exposure. That will be your starting point. We will take those good exposures into post-production in the studio.

Here are some examples:















HERE IS A SLIDESHOW of student work.

Yes, this is an assignment that I even give to my basic black and white college film class. Here's the proof...



Things you will definitely want to be paying attention to:

Focus - make 'em sharp!

Light - will make or break the entire assignment. Move the light around the objects if you are shooting indoors...move the objects around into different light if you are shooting outdoors.

We will lecture and show examples of this in class. This WILL BE an assignment you will want to go back and re-shoot a few times. Don't consider doing it wrong the first time a failure...consider it good practice.