#30 - High Key - Congrats Denise (DDT0725)

[Sheiky]

This week’s assignment is “High Key”. Basically, if you thought you pushed your photos highlights too far and they are blown out, well… push it some more and see where it goes. Low contrast images with little or no shadows are what high key is all about. It is easier to explain with examples… so I pulled out some shots from my archives and also took a shot of my daughter’s eye. Then with a pretty heavy hand on the post processing on some of them, I came up with a few to use as examples below.

High Key seems to be a fad right now, but it does lend itself to a wide variety of different types of photos. So I thought this would be a good topic to get everyone involved. If you shot portraiture this is right up your alley; birders have a great GBH example recently in the “Post Your Best Bird Shots” by JJPhoto; macro plays well with High Key also… see my daughters eye below; with winter in the northern hemisphere, there are lots of High Key landscape opportunities with all the snow around; this is a good opportunity for the strobist to pull out all of their gear and really light up their subjects and background; and if you do not have time for shooting and you are a good computer jockey, then pull some shots out of your archives and see what you can do with a little PP. So, get creative and get over exposed.

• You can submit as many photos as you like, but only one will be judged. Please make sure which one you'd like to be judged
• The final day to enter your photo(s) is January 31st
• Have fun!

The following photos have been selected as finalists:

Name: nvitalephotography
Motivation: I like the way the light areas around the outer edge and the blur frame the face. Besides, my wife and daughter said I had to have this one in the picks.



Name: ddt0725
Motivation: This is just a beautiful shot… I love the way the ears are laid out, and I can see this hanging on a white wall. Besides, this shot holds to the classical definition of High Key in that the tones fall mostly between white and gray with little blacks or dark gray (typically little shadows).



Name: DavidEccleston
Motivation: This was a good winter snow shot where the snow can be used for the High Key effect and the subject is highlighted and well exposed. Besides, that dog has some crazy eyes.



Name: Rocco
Motivation: Beautiful baby shot. Great eyes, cute subject and pose. Well processed. The babies face and expression are highlighted by removing the other distractions.



Name: MrGreenBug
Motivation: Background distractions were removed and the whites of scooter blend well into the background to further highlight the subject (the girl not the scooter). A very well composed shot.


Congratulations and good luck everyone!






Example photo's:
Daughter's Eye by westmichigan, on Flickr
Snow Owl by westmichigan, on Flickr
White Rose by westmichigan, on Flickr
Desolate Winter by westmichigan, on Flickr
Holding on Through Winters Winds by westmichigan, on Flickr
The Black & White of Winter by westmichigan, on Flickr