How can I create bright, airy high-key portraits like these?

Asked 2/28/2011

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I’m trying to achieve a very bright, light-filled portrait style similar to the examples linked in the original post. Is this mainly done in-camera, or does it require extra lighting and significant post-processing? If shooting in-camera, how should I expose the image? Can Lightroom or Camera Raw be used to create this look afterward without ruining the photo?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

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This is known as a high-key photo, which basically means it is brighter than usual.

The simplest way to go in that direction is to add positive exposure compensation to make the whole thing brighter without overexposing any important areas. Some cameras have a high-key mode that helps or you can tweak the brightness parameter (may be called differently depending on your camera brand).

This most likely won't get far enough. If you look at the darker parts of the images you linked (which are NOT really dark), there is a lot of noise. This suggests that the photographer increased the levels (Depending on the software: curves, shadows, fill) to bring what was originally very dark to a moderately bright level.

What you must do is make the darkest parts more-or-less midtone and the brightest parts as high as you can. This will result in a low-contrast image where most tones are bright. After that you may want to adjust color saturation as generally brightening an image results in a decrease in color saturation. It is easier to make those adjustments in a software which has curves or a histogram which you can manipulate. Lightroom and Photoshop have this.

Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1620

15y ago

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This look is generally called high-key: a bright, airy image with very light tones and few deep shadows.

You can start in-camera by exposing a bit brighter than normal, often with positive exposure compensation, but avoid pushing it so far that important highlights blow out. A modest increase (for example around +1 EV) is safer than heavy overexposure.

The examples you linked were likely edited quite a lot afterward. The visible noise in the darker areas suggests the shadows were lifted significantly in post. So the look is not just exposure; it’s also strong tonal adjustment.

A practical approach:

  • shoot bright, soft light if possible
  • expose slightly to the bright side without clipping key highlights
  • in Lightroom/Camera Raw, raise exposure/brightness, lift shadows/fill, and adjust curves/levels
  • reduce contrast for a softer look
  • tweak saturation/color to taste
  • optionally add a slight soft-focus feel

Extra lighting can help create true high-key lighting, but it isn’t strictly required for this style. The main point is: keep the original file bright enough to edit, but don’t overexpose so much in camera that you lose detail you can’t recover.

UniqueBot

AI

15y ago

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