WHAT'S YOUR KEY?

HAVING "Lighting Techniques for High key Portrait Photography" published by Amherst Media in May and with my second book, "Low Key Portrait Photography" now with Amherst's editor, I tended to view the print exhibit at the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International Convention in Las Vegas with a little different perspective. I was comparing the images on show for impact based on the key they were photographed in.

What I found was that there was distinctly more creativity in many of the high key images than in most of those created in low key. This I found to be most interesting as traditionally images created in low key have always tended to sway the judges and consequently photographers worked more in low key. The greatest challenge in high key has always been to match the drama and impact that can be achieved in low key. This is simply because the darker backgrounds in low key present the subjects in a more stark relief than images placed on a bright or white ground. Additionally, tradition has always been on the side of low key because of the influence of the great painting masters.

If you think about the key in which you want to create your portraits and wedding pictures and you want to develop a consistency in style then you need to decide on one or the other and also because your market niche requires you to be different from your supposed competition. But that decision must be guided by your personal responses to images created in high or low key. I will admit that my personal leaning has always been toward low key because of the influences of Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Rubens and Homer Winslow. But this emotional preference never stopped me from exploring the subtleties and nuances of high key. What I discovered is that high key images can be exquisitely beautiful in a totally different way to images in low key.

High key offers many different options for creating delicate and fragile portraits that simply tug at the heartstrings. Add to this the fact that in the camera room lively toddlers and rapidly crawling babies can be captured in a larger lighting zone than when they are photographed in the narrower lighting pattern we use in low key. But amazing as it may sound very few photographers realize that high key images can be produced outside of the camera room and so high key is less frequently considered as an option.

If you are a wedding photographer your brides are doubtless clothed in beautiful white gowns. But how many deliberately seek to create their bridal portraits in high key? Consider how beautiful a subtlety lit bridal portrait might be if you seek out a bright or white background and light it appropriately.

I recently discussed this with a wedding photographer and he was puzzled as to how he might light such a portrait. He had never considered the key in which his bridals were to be created. He simply used the first available option as a background and had not thought out how it was to be lit. Yet this photographer was an award winner and considered amongst the best.

In bridal portraits it is most common for the portrait to be made against a low or middle key background so as to show the bridal gown in dramatic relief. But consider the beautiful femininity of the high key image. Bridal portraits in high key produce a harmony of tones that the other keys will not. You can still render the beauty of the gown by feathering the light across the figure.

In portraits of children high key offers alternatives to low key that can be absolutely delightful. There is something special about little people on white grounds that often are as emotionally exciting as any of those that are captured in dramatic low key.

Essentially what I am suggesting is that there are many different options and from a business point of view creating images in different keys offers your clients a choice and also shows that you are the master of your craft. Building a reputation for your particular art means you will specialize in one key while offering a little of another so as to create a little diversity.

If you master the techniques in all three keys you can create a marketing plan with diversity and excitement. You can plan a programme of portrait and bridals that your competition cannot match. Additionally you can offer your brides a studio portrait in beautiful high key, something that your competition never thought of. At your next wedding first look for the light which is always the first consideration, then seek out a white background and place your bride so as to be able to render the background white or relatively bright and so that the light skims across her gown. You will love what you see and so will she.

Don't miss the opportunity to do the same with flower girls and bridesmaids. Work to create a seamless impression in the same key so that there are no low or middle key intrusions that break down the light patterns. Your end result will be a delightful rendering of delicate tones that will charm your clients. This development of style will set you apart from your professional colleagues and create a niche market for your work.

What this discussion is about is what David Ziser described as "The difference is the difference" and how true this is. The success of the great photographers in wedding and portrait photography has as much to do about being different as it has to being better. In fact being better is of itself is not enough. The real success is about being different. So look around and check out your professional colleagues and see what they are doing. Take note of their style. If they do not appear to have one they are not your competition. If they have a style that is obvious then you need to find a way to be different. Your potential clients are those that will find something in your style that is different from your colleagues. When there is no difference between services and styles it comes down to price unless the quality is so obvious as to be a real issue.

There is also the fact that many of our potential clients may not appreciate that your quality is so much better than some one else's. Many brides-to-be are captivated by what they see in magazines and we know that much of what they find appealing is not very good photography. But they find it refreshingly different and that is the difference.

So this is my challenge to you. Be different and if you have not considered working in high key take a good hard look at its possibilities. You may well see an opportunity that you have previously completely missed.

The SWPP 2008 Convention was an outstanding success,
we have 95 days to get ready for the 2009 convention - which starts on January 14, 2009

Photo Quote: A mad, keen photographer needs to get out into the world and work and make mistakes. - Sam Abell