low key light – The Lens Lounge

Lighting is the defining element of any photo. It sets the mood of a photo, making it either uplifting and cheerful, or mysterious and moody and everything in between. How you use key lighting is the biggest factor in defining a photo's mood, so it's the most important light around which all other lighting and atmosphere decisions are made. Before we figure out how to use key lighting, we should first understand exactly what it is. What is a key light in photography? I'll start with what it's not. A key light is not any specific type of light. Any light source can be used as a key light in photography. The key light in any scene is the primary source of light used to light the subject, so: If you're a natural light shooter, the sun will generally be your key light. A flash photographer could use either flash or the sun as their key light. I'll explain more in a moment. If you're photographing at night using neon signs to light your subjects like Brandon Woelfel, the sign is your key light. Sometimes only a key light is used, sometimes additional lighting is used, such as fill light to lighten the shadows. However many lights you use, there will always be a key light. Further reading: Flash photography vs Natural light photography – which is better? Lit by natural light and flash. I metered for the ambient light and kept my camera settings the same for all three photos, adjusting just the flash output (my key light) until I reached the look I wanted. How do you use a key light in photography? When we add light to anything, we create form. This is most obvious when we think of silhouettes. They are simply shapes with no depth or dimension, because they're lit from behind. There's no light skimming across the surface of the object to illuminate peaks and cast shadows, or give depth to dips with shadow. This is the key light at work - creating a three dimensional look to an object on a two dimensional piece of paper or screen. Further reading: How form in photography brings subjects to life Key lighting can be used in three ways to set the mood and create different aesthetics: High key lighting - minimal tonal contrast, light and airy Mid key lighting - some shadow, looks normal Low key lighting - deep shadow, very contrasty, dark and moody For the left photo I used natural light only with a shutter speed of 1/500. For the photo on the right I lit her with flash, increased the shutter speed to 1/1000 and used the setting sun behind her as a backlight. As a result the shadows in the natural light photo are softer and there's less contrast. Although the key light is the most important light, it's the balance between the key light and how bright the background is that determines whether an image is: High key (bright background) Mid key (background is the same as the subject) or Low key (dark background) So, it all comes down to balancing the ratio of other light in relation to the key light. Both photos were lit by flash and natural light. I adjusted my flash and exposure settings between the two photos so that the photo on the left is mid key and the photo on the right is low key. Where is the key light placed? Because you use a key light to light your subject, where you place it is very important as it: Influences the mood of the photo Is used to flatter the subject In the case of natural light photography, where you place your subject in relation to the light is important, but the same rules apply in terms of portrait lighting patterns for portrait photography. Examples of portrait lighting patterns are: Butterfly lighting Loop lighting Rembrandt lighting Split lighting Broad lighting Short lighting Further reading: 5 portrait lighting patterns you need to know Both photos use a combination of flash and natural light. The flash position did not change. On the left she is lit with natural light and flash is used as a backlight. On the right she is lit from the front with flash as the key light and natural light as a fill light. How do you set up key lights? I mentioned earlier when using flash as a key light that you can use the sun as a fill light and vice versa. It's your choice, based on where the light is in relation to the subject and how bright it is. If the flash is illuminating the subject, it's the key and the ambient light is the fill or backlight. If natural light illuminates the subject, it's the key and flash can be used as fill or backlight. Particularly when using natural light, a reflector can be used as key light if it's used to light the subject. This is most often the case when photographing in the golden hour with the sun behind the subject and a reflector in front bouncing light back into the subject. Regardless of what you're using as a key light to light your subject, this is the light that you must meter to correctly expose your subject. The left photos is with natural light only and in the photo on the right she is lit with flash to camera right as a key light. Camera setting for both photos are 1/1600, f3.2, ISO 200. Steps to setting flash as the key light outdoors: Place your subject in the shade or with their back to the sun if you want to use the sun as backlight. Meter the ambient light. Position your flash to light your subject with the portrait lighting pattern you prefer. Meter and set the flash to ensure that your subject is correctly exposed in relation to the ambient and backlight and how dark or bright you want the background to be. Further reading: Getting started with off camera flash These two photos were taken 6 minutes apart with natural light only as the setting sun disappeared behind a building. The photo on the left, is low key with deep shadows and the photo on the right, is high key. I adjusted my shutter speed between photos for the changing lighting conditions - 1/800 on the left to expose for the direct light on his face (making the background darker) and 1/200 on the rght to cope with less light (making the balance of light between background and subject similar). Steps to setting natural light as the key light outdoors: Position your subject in open shade or in direct sunlight so that the light falling on them creates the portrait lighting pattern you prefer. Meter the light on your subject and set your camera's exposure settings. In portrait photography, when using your camera's reflective meter, use spot metering to meter the exposure off the subject's cheek, just below the eye. Alternatively, use a light meter to measure pointed at the light falling on your subject. Decide on how deep you want the shadows to be and if you need to use a reflector as a fill light to lift the shadows. Further reading: When to use spot metering? Leave a comment If you have any questions about key lighting, let us know in the comments. Also, we love good news, so if our key light photography tips have helped you to understand how to use key light in photography, share that too. Will this tutorial help you to use key light in photography? Share the learning...