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High Key

d3200 high key b&w

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11 replies to this topic

#1
Tide Photography

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Recently found a technique called High Key. Not sure if I like this or not. This is a 30 sec exposure setting up for my 120 second exposure. Anyone heard of High Key or use this technique?

 

High Key LE-1.jpg



#2
Eagles1181

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Never heard of it, but then I am new to the hobby. Can you explain how it works?

#3
Merco_61

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2 steps over the meter is not IMO more than compensating for the large amount of sky here. High key would mean a stop or more higher exposure in this setting. High key in landscape is more about placing the deep shadows in zone 2 and letting the highlights blow out. Your shadows here seem to be between zone 0 and 1. A full-out high key photo should have something in the foreground with full details.



#4
Ron

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Hi key is usually, but not always, used in fashion and 'art' photography. There is typically very little, if any black, in high key photography. Highlights are typically blown out and darks are rendered in high shades of gray or washed out color. The photograph above doesn't, to my mind, qualify as a high key photo. Even with the blown out sky area it's still closer to a middle key photo. 

 

Peter's explanation above is good assuming you understand the zone system.  

 

--Ron



#5
Merco_61

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When it comes to landscape, I sometimes have difficulty explaining myself without the crutch of the zone system. I see exposure in terms of zone placements and it is as ingrained as previsualizing after using zones for a bit over 30 years.



#6
Guy

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You can only place shadows at these zones if you are using a spot meter or know what values (eg shadows) of the other things are relative to your middle gray exposure. When using a automagic built in meter, it doesn't tell you that info well at all.  And as a side note, you can place shadows at zone II and not blow highlights with BW film if you know how to compress those highlights. But this is digital a completely different story.



#7
Merco_61

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The 4 mm spot meter in the D700 is quite useful in manual exposure mode, and it shows +- 3 steps in the lcd on top of the camera. Zone 2 is three steps below the neutral zone 5. It is easier with a narrow spotmeter like my old Pentax, but the camera *can* be used.

 

I definitely agree about developing for the highlights correctly in the wet darkroom, but digital is a poor approximation in this regard...



#8
Tide Photography

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Good replies. As stated, wasn't sure if I like it. I kinda understand Peter, but would like to learn the "zone" if it helps in taking quality photos.



#9
Ron

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There are apparently several books out now that purport to explain the zone system in digital terms. I have no idea whether or not they manage to do this successfully. Then there are Ansel Adams own tomes on the subject which used to be required reading for anyone who was seriously interested in photography involving the darkroom... even a digital one (although they were written well before the advent of digital photography).  

 

When you're just starting out they can be a bit daunting and for that reason I don't recommend them for beginners. However, if you have a clear understanding of camera controls and how they affect exposure, they're well worth the time to digest. 

 

--Ron



#10
Merco_61

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The zone system is a holistic view of the art of photography. It originally covered everything from the previsualization, through exposure, development and copying to the completed print.

The wikipedia article gives an idea of what it is about and if the ideas seem interesting enough to delve deeper into. For further reading I would start at Picker's book rather than Ansel's trio (see the list of references in the wiki). Understanding how it works with silver makes the modern adaptations to the digital world much easier to grasp.

 

I agree with Ron that the subject can be daunting to the beginner, but it is a great way of understanding more about light.



#11
Tide Photography

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There are apparently several books out now that purport to explain the zone system in digital terms. I have no idea whether or not they manage to do this successfully. Then there are Ansel Adams own tomes on the subject which used to be required reading for anyone who was seriously interested in photography involving the darkroom... even a digital one (although they were written well before the advent of digital photography).  

 

When you're just starting out they can be a bit daunting and for that reason I don't recommend them for beginners. However, if you have a clear understanding of camera controls and how they affect exposure, they're well worth the time to digest. 

 

--Ron

 

The zone system is a holistic view of the art of photography. It originally covered everything from the previsualization, through exposure, development and copying to the completed print.

The wikipedia article gives an idea of what it is about and if the ideas seem interesting enough to delve deeper into. For further reading I would start at Picker's book rather than Ansel's trio (see the list of references in the wiki). Understanding how it works with silver makes the modern adaptations to the digital world much easier to grasp.

 

I agree with Ron that the subject can be daunting to the beginner, but it is a great way of understanding more about light.

 

May keep this written down for future reading. As far as getting that deep into photography. But can understand how it would improve. Just by reading some of your replies on other things, my knowledge is only scratching the surface. But, I will not be at this level long... :-)



#12
Guy

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You can take the zone system one step further to the point of not needing a light meter at all with BW film outdoors.  I have been shooting all my day time shots with no light meter.  The trick is to do some radical highlight compression and you will get all your highlights so you only have the exposure set for the shadows.  And in the course of a sunny day that only varies 2 stops from sunrise to sunset. 

 

The Sunny 16 rule places your middle gray exposure at EV 15.   Some one-degree spot meter measurements of shadows on different surfaces at my latitude, mid day and summer places those shadows 4 to 5 stops below the middle gray.  That is too low for my taste especially with scanning since affordable scanning machines don't reach into the blacks as far as wet printing, IMHO.  

 

So I use the "Sunny 11" rule.  And adjust from there ( eg overcast, morning/evening, etc).  I shoot 400 tabular grain film, over expose 3 or 2 stops and under develop the film by much as 1/2 with a Pyro developer that does well for highlight compression.  I get all the shadow detail and all the highlights no matter which direction I am looking.  And I get grain as fine as 100 film.  Now doing the same with 100 film means a tripod but you get hardly any grain at all.  







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