158. High Key, June 19-25, 2016
Kevin-
You may recall that I had shared some images I shot a few months ago in my “studio” (aka garage space) in Palm Springs, CA of some Calla Lilies. These were not WPOTM images, simply images I wanted to capture after seeing the work of Robert Mapplethorpe. And I was extremely happy with the best of these.
So for High-Key I wanted to photograph another Calla Lily, this time in a high-key style against a white background. The problem was, I visited flower shop after flower shop here in the Twin Cities (probably 10 shops in all), and no one had white Calla Lilies in stock. Unheard of!
I finally decided to purchase a white Orchid as a back-up subject. Then on the way home I stopped at one more flower shop. They had white Calla Lilies, but only in flower arrangements that had already prepared. Fortunately the woman working there apologized for being out of stock (as the other stores had also done) and told me that if I could a suitable Calla Lily in one of the arrangements she would remove that flower and sell it to me separately. I found one that had already opened up nicely and she carefully removed it.
This took three studio lights. One in a small softbox above the lily, one light to make the background totally white and a snooted light behind to shine through the flower. Nikon D4s, tripod mounted, 105mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor lens, ISO 100, f/36 @ 1/250th of a second (flash sync). Unlike the earlier shot on a back background for this High-Key shot I decided to leave the lily in color.
Wow, the background is so perfectly white in the High-Key shot it’s impossible to tell where the edges of the frames even are!
So for High-Key I wanted to photograph another Calla Lily, this time in a high-key style against a white background. The problem was, I visited flower shop after flower shop here in the Twin Cities (probably 10 shops in all), and no one had white Calla Lilies in stock. Unheard of!
I finally decided to purchase a white Orchid as a back-up subject. Then on the way home I stopped at one more flower shop. They had white Calla Lilies, but only in flower arrangements that had already prepared. Fortunately the woman working there apologized for being out of stock (as the other stores had also done) and told me that if I could a suitable Calla Lily in one of the arrangements she would remove that flower and sell it to me separately. I found one that had already opened up nicely and she carefully removed it.
This took three studio lights. One in a small softbox above the lily, one light to make the background totally white and a snooted light behind to shine through the flower. Nikon D4s, tripod mounted, 105mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor lens, ISO 100, f/36 @ 1/250th of a second (flash sync). Unlike the earlier shot on a back background for this High-Key shot I decided to leave the lily in color.
Wow, the background is so perfectly white in the High-Key shot it’s impossible to tell where the edges of the frames even are!
Paul-
I am (with apologies to Robert Heinlein) a stranger in a strange land when it comes to High-Key photography. Well sure, I’ve produced hundreds of high-key photos--but predominantly those that looked like a close-up of pristine snowbank at f/2 and +5 EV. Kind of like the Beatle’s “White Album” but incredibly less memorable.
So, I used this brand new search gizmo thing I heard about called Google and looked for some advice on subjects, settings, and Lightroom suggestions for post-processing. I’ll leave it to more discerning and capable practitioners (which means the rest of you) to decide whether I succeeded.
So, what is this thing? ‘Glad I forced you to ask. Go ahead and choose: A) A high-tech shaving brush? B) Part of a cyberpunk shuttlecock? C) A close-up of the brushes used by drummers for softer music arrangements? You’re right, none of the above. This is a sculpture that flanks some very nice up-scale retail space in South Lincoln. So nice and pricey, in fact, that most of the properties have never been leased. They sit there like a collection of empty Coach bags.
Any-hoo, the sculpture (whose circular stone base I choose to crop out) consists of these cylindrical metal tubes. I’d guess each is about 40’ long. No, they weren’t designed to sway in the breeze or provide any tubular bells sounds (remember Mike Oldfield, anyone?).
The photo was shot in B&W (no conversion from color). I used both Lightroom and another application called “PhotoScape” to get what I hoped would be a nice combination of contrast, detail, clarity, brightness, and shadow without blowing out the whole thing out. (By way of example, think of the skin tone on my legs during the winter. Yeah, like that.) The sky was cloudless, and the sweat guide was set to “oppressive’ due to the 90°-plus temp and high humidity.
Bright Idea: 55-200mm lens (for hopefully a little less depth of field compared to a shorter focal length lens) set at 60mm; a .9 neutral density filter was used; aperture priority; 1.67 EV; matrix metered; ISO 2000; 1/800 sec. at f/8.
So, I used this brand new search gizmo thing I heard about called Google and looked for some advice on subjects, settings, and Lightroom suggestions for post-processing. I’ll leave it to more discerning and capable practitioners (which means the rest of you) to decide whether I succeeded.
So, what is this thing? ‘Glad I forced you to ask. Go ahead and choose: A) A high-tech shaving brush? B) Part of a cyberpunk shuttlecock? C) A close-up of the brushes used by drummers for softer music arrangements? You’re right, none of the above. This is a sculpture that flanks some very nice up-scale retail space in South Lincoln. So nice and pricey, in fact, that most of the properties have never been leased. They sit there like a collection of empty Coach bags.
Any-hoo, the sculpture (whose circular stone base I choose to crop out) consists of these cylindrical metal tubes. I’d guess each is about 40’ long. No, they weren’t designed to sway in the breeze or provide any tubular bells sounds (remember Mike Oldfield, anyone?).
The photo was shot in B&W (no conversion from color). I used both Lightroom and another application called “PhotoScape” to get what I hoped would be a nice combination of contrast, detail, clarity, brightness, and shadow without blowing out the whole thing out. (By way of example, think of the skin tone on my legs during the winter. Yeah, like that.) The sky was cloudless, and the sweat guide was set to “oppressive’ due to the 90°-plus temp and high humidity.
Bright Idea: 55-200mm lens (for hopefully a little less depth of field compared to a shorter focal length lens) set at 60mm; a .9 neutral density filter was used; aperture priority; 1.67 EV; matrix metered; ISO 2000; 1/800 sec. at f/8.
Jerry-
My idea for high key turned into something more like sorta-high key. I was walking the dog at a nearby park when I was struck by all the flowering clover. It was kind of heavenish or elysium like in my mind so I posed Sam resting amongst the clover with the idea I would lighten it a bit in Photoshop. But how light to go without totally wiping out any detail was kind of tough so this is what I came up with. Now if it were winter and a snow covered hill, that might have worked but I think Sam wouldn't have cooperated so well.
This was with the little Sony camera again, with the 50-200 zoomed to 59mm, f5.6 @ 1/1000, ISO 200. I really like the compactness of this camera. I have a small camera bag with the A6300, 16-50, 50-200, and a few extras. Not much of a burden.
This was with the little Sony camera again, with the 50-200 zoomed to 59mm, f5.6 @ 1/1000, ISO 200. I really like the compactness of this camera. I have a small camera bag with the A6300, 16-50, 50-200, and a few extras. Not much of a burden.
Don-
Shot with at 70mm with a 24 - 70 f2.8 lens. Exposure 1/80 sec; ISO 100; camera set to manual; strobe set on manual 1/2.
I altered the picture with a new plug-in App "Color Efex Pro4." I had thought to use my neighbor but by the time I
got set up she was off to some golf thing. So, I am my own victim.
I altered the picture with a new plug-in App "Color Efex Pro4." I had thought to use my neighbor but by the time I
got set up she was off to some golf thing. So, I am my own victim.
Byron-
This project started out one way and then made a turn. My original Photo was light beige subject on front of a white background. I then decided to use a subject with a splash of color in an otherwise white, sterile setting. So, here it is. 3 little oranges in a white bowl on a white background. I used one light. it was a flash mounted on a softbox directly over the subject.
ISO 100, 1/100sec, f8, no Byro-anything used in this photo.
ISO 100, 1/100sec, f8, no Byro-anything used in this photo.