Let’s play #25

JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Not bad work Ben, especially without really understanding what High Key is. In general most of us, haven't done High Key, or if we did we didn't realize it. Usually as many of us are Landscape photographers we are always going after rich colorful scenes with lot's of contrast to provide definition and pop.

So it's great that Ken does explore and tries things a little different then many of us. It will be a great time for us to think outside of the box.
 
rfkiii

rfkiii

Well-Known Member
High key is usually done with portraiture, right? Not that I am saying it should not be used for landscape. Just want to make sure I understand the term.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
rfkiii said:
High key is usually done with portraiture, right? Not that I am saying it should not be used for landscape. Just want to make sure I understand the term.
Click to expand...
Yep, High Key is probably best known for portrait work. But it has been around in Landscapes for years. Look at some of Deans minimalism work here on FocalWorld, he has some High Key he has done.
 
Jameel Hyder

Jameel Hyder

Moderator
Staff member
Nice interpretations. I’ll have to sit this one out. Traveling (not for photography) and only device I have is my phone.
 
Ken Rennie

Ken Rennie

Well-Known Member
It took me a long time to realise that high key was not just a brightened version of normal. For me there should be a full range of tones but most of the tones should be be at the brighter end ie mid grey is not mid but bright grey. One of the difficulties with this image is unles you mask the island you get a high key sky, water and sand with a very dark featureless island. If you try and get some featutes in the island the rest of the image becomes totally washed out. The other problem stems from the fact that lightening an image reduces saturation and reducing contrast reduces saturation. The easiest way to get a high key image is to take a curve layer and pull the middle up but this reduces contrast in the bright areas and increases contrast in the remaing darker areas. I have written this before looking at any of the images posted as I do not feel qualified to judge, despite wrestling with images like these for a long time. This is my 2cents worth on high key. Ken
 
Ben Egbert

Ben Egbert

Forum Helper
Staff member
Ken thanks for that explanation. And you know you are eligible to enter this one. We all seem to be learning and it sounds like you can teach us with this explanation and and example.
 
Ken Rennie

Ken Rennie

Well-Known Member
OK here is mine. 99% completed in ACR, taken into photoshop just to clone out the right hand headland. In the end I didn't have to mask the island just used the range masking built into ACR. If anyone is really interested I will post how I actually did it when I get back from camping in Skye. Lots of changes to colour balance with brushes in ACR to minimise colour pallette although I have not reduced the saturation. At other times I would expand the colours but I am still in minimalism mode. Hope that this makes sense and please ask I have bought some data and 3G/4G is probably available in Skye and replying may keep me off the beer. Ken
_DSF7881-1.jpg

Looking at this online I think that the darker parts of the blue'ish sea need lightening.
 
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