Editing a high-key photo

Saturday 20 December 2025, 16:32 by Nando Harmsen | 2,228 views | 5 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

High-key is the name for a photo in which mainly light tones are present. Or rather, where light tones dominate. I show you how I edit a photo into a high-key photo.

For this high-key edit, I chose a photo taken during a misty morning. The mist and soft backlighting help when editing a photo into a high-key image. In other words, the photo needs to be suitable for it.

A photo that mainly consists of dark tones is not suitable for high-key. If you want to create a high-key edit, choose the right starting point. And remember: overexposure is not high-key. That is an overexposed photo.

The unedited photo, straight from the camera. The exposure was based on the light areas (sky).
I chose a photo with mist, soft backlighting and a clear subject: three Canada geese. Their black plumage stands out nicely against the light areas that will dominate the photo. This contrast strengthens the high-key effect.

Especially with a landscape in which the subject, the three geese, is small in the frame, this contrast with the dark animals works well. If your subject is also light in tone, it will disappear completely and there will be nothing to look at.

However, if the subject were very large in the frame, mainly light tones would work, as long as the subject contains no black or almost black. In that case, a high-key image can have low contrast. In this case, the strong contrast is necessary.

I choose black and white for this photo. This is not a requirement for high-key, but because there is already little colour present, I choose it anyway. I make sure the entire photo is light without causing any significant overexposure.

Because colour is limited, I choose black and white.
The aim is to keep seeing the background, but vaguely in the background. It does not need to be completely white either. Light grey tones are enough to retain a sense of the surroundings and landscape. After all, the geese have to exist somewhere.

The black and white edit to create mainly light tones.
I try to maintain a balance between completely light and light grey. I want to make the line of trees bordering the white sky as soft as possible. It should barely be visible, but still be 'felt' as present. This has made the brightness above and below almost symmetrical.

I use masks to create the desired transitions between the sky and background.
I do make sure that the three Canada geese stand out clearly against their surroundings. Although their plumage is black, I keep it dark grey. This creates a sense of distance from the geese in this misty landscape.

Some blown-out white has appeared as a result of the edits I made. I do not want that, so I open the tone curve panel and make sure the curve is pulled down slightly on the right. A subtle S-curve optimises the contrast.

The final result of this high-key edit of Three Canada Geese.
To convey the soft character of the moment properly, I reduce Clarity slightly and add a little more Texture. This has given me a high-key photo that suits my preferences.

The result of an edit like this depends very much on your own wishes and preferences. This is what I prefer. Your high-key edit may turn out very differently. Perhaps this edit can provide some inspiration.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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5 comments

Donald Willemsen wrote on Saturday 20 December 2025 at 17:13 | reply
Nando, ik heb voornamelijk ervaringen in highkey opgedaan nog in het analoge tijdperk en in een studiosetting. Daarbij wordt het verkrijgen van een highkey opname vooral met de instellingen op de camera gedaan met veel licht in de studio. Het effect werd dus niet verkregen in de nabewerking.
Ik vind dat een opvallend verschil.
Vandaag in de digitale fotografie is het vrij eenvoudig in de nabewerking een highkey effect na te bootsen mits de opname zich ervoor leent.
Voor mijn gevoel is het veel moeilijker al direct bij het maken van de foto al een highkey effect te bereiken zonder direct de gedachte van te spreken van: 'dit is gewoon overbelichten'.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 23 December 2025 at 09:08 | reply
Je moet niet vergeten dat het belichten van film helemaal anders is dan belichten op een digitale sensor. Met film moet je niet belichten op de lichtste delen maar op de donkerste delen. Daardoor is het fotograferen in high-key bij film-emulsies niet vergelijkbaar met de digitale wereld.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 23 December 2025 at 21:05 | reply
Nando, daar heb je gelijk in. Hartelijk dank voor jouw reactie.
Nu vraag ik me wel af hoe het nu werkt. Even simpel gezegd: Digitaal heb je de lichtgevoelige pixel en analoog de lichtgevoelige korrel. In beide gevallen gaat het in principe om hetzelfde. De basis zijn in beide gevallen de kleuren rood, groen en blauw. Analoog wordt het beeld zichtbaar gemaakt door een chemisch proces. Digitaal wordt het middels sofware bereikt.
Maar goed, daar gaat jouw artikel niet over.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Alain Nys wrote on Wednesday 24 December 2025 at 12:20 | reply
Beste Nando,
Meestal ben ik het eens met je artikels.
Meestal.
Nu zeg je dat je voor een high-key een geschikte foto moet nemen.
Hier ga je voor mij letterlijk de mist in: je start met donker grijze soep, en je eindigt met licht grijze soep.
Technisch gezien is het resultaat een high-key: een foto met overheersend lichte tinten, met inbegrip van wit en zwart.
Ik stel voor dat je het artikel nogmaals publiceert, maar met een geschikt onderwerp, zodat het inspirerend is.
(een beetje tegenwind kan geen kwaad, en zonder dwarsliggers geen recht spoor)
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 24 December 2025 at 12:26 | reply
Dank je voor je feedback.
Dit is mijn fotografie, en zoals ik het graag zie. Daar hoef je het natuurlijk niet mee eens te zijn. Het onderwerp spreekt je niet aan. Mij wel.
Wat voor onderwerp vind jij wel inspirerend? Dat vertel je er niet bij.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

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