How to shoot high-profile and low-key photography

When you have a certain understanding of exposure, you might as well challenge yourself to do this exercise: take high-profile and low-key photos. These seemingly simple photos really challenge your understanding of exposure.

The former aims to keep the image whitest and the details whitest. The goal of the latter is to keep the image blackest and the details not black.

Strictly speaking, there should be no absolute corresponding color between the blackest and whitest, that is, absolute white should not be seen in low-key photos and absolute black should not be seen in high-profile photos.

Of course, it depends on the subject you choose to shoot and how to control the exposure. For example, eyes and hair are a big obstacle to shooting Asians with high-profile portraits.

Look at the photos above. Black eyes stand out. The so-called little red among evergreen trees is the most successful.

2. The relationship between gray scale, luminosity and high and low keys

From black to white, the reading of each exposure is different. Through the gray scale, we can better understand what is high-profile and what is low-key:

Low-key: try to keep the color of 1-4 area; Avoid the absolute white color in the 10 area, which is also a place with no details at all, such as light sources.

High-profile: try to keep the color of area 6-9; Avoid the absolute darkness of area 0, that is, there is no detail at all.

Region 5 is the most commonly used in the whole gray scale. Have you ever heard of someone else's gray card for measuring white balance? That's the gray of Zone 5, or rather, 18% gray. The goal of all metering systems is to adjust the metering position to zone 5, so that the photos look more uniform.

Step 3 choose a theme

Because the photos of this theme should be controlled to the blackest and whitest, in other words, things with low contrast (there is little difference between dark and light colors) are more likely to succeed.

Let's share a few examples: portrait: pay attention to the contrast between eyes and hair, and make-up and wig are reliable. But if you don't pursue absolute perfection, even a little black and white will look good.

Macro: This is the easiest choice to succeed. Low contrast and easy exposure control.

Landscape: Not recommended, because the contrast is extremely high and the exposure is difficult to control, unless you post-process the photos or take infrared photos.

Why do you want to take high and low color photos? The colors of these photos not only let you know more about exposure, but also express different emotions: high-profile photos look bright and light, feel simple, and even have a sense of the future;

The low-key photos look heavy and steady, with a little sadness. These photos feel more abstract, artistic and portrait-like.

4. How to take high-profile and low-key photos?

To take high-profile and low-key photos, our goal is to average the metering range and see how to decide the exposure according to the following steps: first, set the camera to aperture priority mode and use the built-in exposure meter to measure light.

Pay attention to the readings of aperture, shutter and ISO by using evaluation or center focus photometry, for example, photometry is at aperture f/5.6, shutter 1/60s and ISO 200. This is the preset reading of area 5 because it is an evaluation photometry.

To adjust the exposure according to whether it is high-key or low-key, it is generally necessary to increase or decrease the exposure by 2 to 3 levels (adjust the aperture or shutter). For example, for high-profile photos, the aperture should be f/5.6, the shutter should be115s, and for low-profile photos, the aperture should be f/5.6 and the shutter should be 1/250s.

If necessary, you can adjust the camera to manual mode to complete the calculated exposure.

5, the place to pay attention to when shooting

After deciding the subject, there are other places that need attention to make the photo more perfect. It is suggested that when shooting and calculating with Raw, you can not aim at it yourself, so there is more room for retouching with Raw. If you use numbers, please choose darker ones, because numbers are easier to remedy underexposed photos.

Soft light is easier to shoot. It is suggested to use soft light, window light for natural light and soft box for photo studio, which can reduce the contrast between bright and dark levels.

The camera screen is not necessarily accurate. Sometimes photos will appear too bright or too dark in the camera. When you put them in the computer or print them out, you will find more details.

The coordination between environment and subject setting should pay attention to the influence of field light. High-profile photos can be taken by the window with reflector, and low-profile photos can be taken in the dark corner of the room. The subject is set to the original color of the subject/object, which needs to be coordinated, such as clothing color and makeup.

Finally, this theme is to let you know the truth of the exposure better, so try not to rely on the later period and take your high-profile and low-key photos.