Create high-key shots with minimalist lighting in bright environments.
Minimalist lighting is essential for some location photography assignments, because transporting full studio lighting sets and setting up is not always practical. Additionally, busy professionals and high profile clients may have limited time for photo shoots. Minimalist lighting uses available lighting techniques, or a combination of available light and one artificial studio light. Minimalist lighting techniques can produce high and low-key lighting. High-key is popular in commercial photography, and evokes upbeat feelings of happiness or alertness. Low-key lighting is popular for portrait photography, and creates a sense of drama, tension or depth.
Sources of Light
High-key lighting is characterized by low lighting ratios and broad light sources, such as large windows, doorways, large soft boxes, large bounce umbrellas and reflective panels or surfaces. Create low lighting ratios in environments with equal, or slightly less, light than the light falling on the subject. High-key shots appear bright, clean and simple and often exaggerate the dynamics of a subject's pose. Low-key lighting is characterized by broad shadows, high lighting ratios and controlled lighting such as small or adjustable doorways and windows, umbrellas positioned close the subject or small soft boxes. Create high lighting ratios with dominant highlights, in dark environments with controlled lighting. Portraitists like Rembrandt used low-key lighting to draw attention to the subject's light facial skin-tones surrounded by dark shadowy environments.
High-Key with Existing Light
Use doorways that connect two bright spaces for high-key lighting. Position the subject just inside the threshold facing outside during the day or into a bright room. High key lighting usually requires a low lighting ratio, so the room behind the subject should have equal or slightly less lighting than the room in front of the subject. The doorway diffuses the light and creates soft shadows that flatter the subject's skin features.
Low-Key with Existing Light
Use doorways or small windows in dark rooms for low-key lighting. Position the subject inside a dark room, several feet away from an open window or doorway that leads to a lit space. Control the spill of the light by changing the subject-to-light distance or opening the doorway at different angles. Dark rooms create dramatic broad shadows all around the subject, and the doorway or window diffuses the light to create soft flattering shadows on the skin.
Low-Key with One Light
Use a single light with a bounce umbrella or small soft box for low-key lighting. Position the subject inside a dark room. Position the light above and within a few feet of the subject, and at a wide angle to the left or right of the subject. Placing the light at a wide angle in a dark room creates dramatic shadows all around the subject, and sharpens the contrast of the shot. Position the light close to the subject to reduce the spill of the light, or further from the subject to reduce the intensity of the light.
High-Key with One Light
Use a single light with a bounce umbrella and the late afternoon sunlight for high-key lighting. Position the subject directly in front of the afternoon sun when the sun is low on the horizon. Alternatively, position the subject in front of a large door or window that faces outside at noon. Position the artificial light in front of and slightly above the subject at approximately 45 degrees to subject. Try to match, or slightly overcome, the sunlight with the artificial light source by adjusting the intensity of the light with a control dial or changing the subject-to-light distance.
