Tallyn's Professional
Photographic Presents
"Simplifying High Key with Consistency and Predictability"
By Scott M. Tallyn
Tallyn's President and CEO
High-Key
photography is one of the most expressive types of portrait forms and
can be used for singles, couples, groups, full lengths, or just head and
shoulders. However, it is also one of the most demanding styles and requires
competent use of metering and lighting techniques to achieve even, clean,
pure whites and proper subject mood. In fact, a definition of high-key
requires a definition of each word.
"High"
refers to the position on the tonal scale which ranges from black to white,
and "Key" in this sense means predominant tone in regard to
the spectrum of light or darkness. Therefore, high-key translates to an
achievement of the whitest continuous tone without letting that bright
tone bleed into or affect the subject's color.
This effect
is usually flattering to the subject and can make a statement by easily
showing the qualities of a person and even make them appear more sensitive.
Since lighting
of the high-key set is usually one of great debates among photographers
and sometimes becomes complex, we will describe a simple 3 or 4 light
concept that has proven very reliable for us and works well with this
high-key set. We rely on the basic "Inverse Square Law" of light
which states that as the distance between source and subject increases,
the amount of light on the subject decreases inversely with the square
of the distance.
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In other words,
when the distance of light from source to subject increases, the intensity of
that light decreases. Therefore, the greater distance the light from the subject
(in this case, white seamless), the less the exposure change within a given
distance. For example: a direct light 5' from the paper is 4 times more intense
than a light 10' away. Between 5' and 10' you have a great difference in exposure
because the light "fall-off" is very great. However, when that distance
of light source to paper is increased to 10', the fall off becomes less significant.
When a lighting tool such as an umbrella or softbox is employed, divergent light
rays are created that spread the light more evenly. They continue to decrease
the light fall off and add to the distance of light travel, thus producing even
less exposure variation. In the following lighting layout, we will describe
a way in which this concept can be put into practice.
STEP 1: While
pulling enough Arctic White seamless paper towards the camera for full length,
create a quick sweep to eliminate the horizontal line. Placing the subject 2
1/2' in front of the point where the paper meets the floor will position that
subject 3 to 4' from the background. Keeping the subject(s) this close to the
seamless is crucial for even lighting of both the background and the subject(s).
STEP 2: Lighting
is achieved by using 3 or 4 lights. Main and fill can be umbrellas, halos, parabolic
reflectors or any other lighting tool, but the overhead lights need to be "umbrellaed".
With ceilings between 8'-12', use the white ceiling to act as the umbrella.
With ceilings over 12', use of two 36"-45" umbrellas with the tips
touching side-by-side over the subject area is necessary.
STEP 3: Positioning
of these overhead "hairlights" is critical. You have many options
when it comes to mounting lights overhead. Here are a few:
| Option
#1: If your ceiling is constructed of sheet rock and is flat, I
would recommend using 2- Bogen F800 Mounting Plates, 2- Bogen #3101 5/8"
Female Converters and 2- Bogen #3104 Extension Poles. This simple but effective
combination is ideal for permanant studio installations. |
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2
Bogen F800 Plates |
2
Bogen 3101 Connecters |
2
Bogen 3104 Poles |
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| Option
#2: If your ceiling is NOT flat, or you are in need of a portable
setup, I would recommend using the Superior Backdrop Support Stand (or substitute
two heavy duty lightstands and a crossbar). This option is ideal for portable
setups with lightweight flash heads. Purchase a second Superior Backdrop
Support Stand for your Seamless paper, and you'll have the ultimate in portable
high-key lighting. |
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Superior
Backdrop Support |
2
Bogen Mini Clamps |
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| Option
#3: If your ceiling is NOT flat and you are still looking for a
permanent setup, or if your studio lights are heavy and fully-contained
(i.e. Photogenic 1250 & 2500), I would suggest Bogen Autopoles with
an Alu-Core crossbar. This is the sturdiest of possible setups, yet requires
no mounting hardware. You will require 6 Bogen Super Clamps for this setup
-- Two each to connect either end of the cross bar to the Auto Poles, and
two to mount your studio lights to the cross bar. |
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2950
Bogen Auto Poles |
2922
Bogen Alu Core |
6
Bogen Super Clamps |
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The
Bogen Autopoles can be installed to span floor to ceiling and remain in
place via pressure clamps, or Autopole bases can be installed, allowing
the autopoles to stand free. |
These umbrellaed
lights (or ceiling bounce lights) need to be placed directly above the subject,
tilted slightly towards the background so the light feathers onto the paper.
The 2 side-by-side umbrellas need to touch at the tips and the camera side of
the umbrellas must not exceed the subject's forehead. Keeping this light off
the front of the subject is important, since proper exposure of the subject
will be achieved with the main and fill lights.
STEP 4: The most
efficient results from the main and fill are achieved when using larger than
normal lighting tools such as 45"-60" umbrellas rather than 30"-40"
units. The wrap of the larger umbrellas helps to minimize any shadows. Positioning
of the main and fill is standard with the fill at camera position and the main
at a 45 degree angle using a 2:1* or 3:1* ratio. To maintain the large wrap
effect and keep the lighting soft, place the main and fill as close to the subject
as possible and because of the larger light sources, the main should be at shoulder
to head level with the fill positioned between waist level and subjects shoulders.
*When determining
the proper exposure settings for a 2:1 light ratio, please set main and fill
lights accordingly:
Meter for the fill light first by positioning the meter under the subjects chin
and adjusting either the power or distance to obtain an F5.6 exposure by itself.
Please note: make sure the main light is either off or turned in a different
direction so it can not strike the subject. Once F5.6 is achieved for the fill,
then turn on the main light. Position the meter under the subjects chin and
turn it slightly in the direction of the main light. With BOTH lights on and
firing, adjust ONLY the main light in either power or distance till you achieve
a cumulative reading of F8.0 for both the main and fill lights. You have now
acomplished the perfect 2:1 Ratio. Be sure to set the camera for F8.0. This
is referred to as the "Prime Working Aperture". If you prefer to use
F11.0 as your prime working aperture, follow the same procedure as above, but
when metering, use F8.0 for the Fill only reading and a cumulative of F11.0
for both the main and fill.
STEP
5: In order to pre-check your results and balance the lighting, proper metering
techniques will assure you of correct, consistent exposure. Stand at the subject
position and look towards the camera. With an incident sphere on a flashmeter,
hold the meter next to the face of the subject with the dome pointed towards
the camera. Use your hand (like a lens hood) to shield the incident dome from
the overhead hairlight flashes. Fire the flash and take a meter reading which
gives you a reading for the combined main and fill. Next, read for the hairlight
by placing the meter at the top of the subjects head (hair position) snd use
your hand to shield the dome from any light coming from the direction of the
main and fill lights. With the dome pointed towards the hairlight(s), adjust
the overhead lighting distance or power so that light reads 1-1/2 stops greater
than the combined main and fill reading.
(Example: If the
combined main and fill read f/8, then the hairlight should read f/11-f11.5.)
This technique will get you close, but to verify and fine-tune the lights for
a pure white and continuous background, one more check with the meter is necessary.With
the meter placed on the floor behind subject position, incident sphere pointing
straight up, and the photographer out of the line of any light path, fire all
the lights for the set. The meter reading should be about 3/10's of a stop greater
than the main and fill combined. (Example: If f/8 is the combined main and fill
reading, a minimum of f/8.3 is required for the white seamless reading.) Many
photographers feel that a white paper needs 4-times (2 stops) more light to
achieve pure whites, and in some instances, where direct parabolic lighting
is used, that is the case. However, the technique described above can work well
and require less power output.
In conclusion,
with this high-key lighting technique, you can achieve consistency and predictability
on a daily basis. The photographer's individual imaginative ideas can be added
and another background with impact can be in his/her repertoire.
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