Low-key is an edit, not underexposure
Monday 24 March 2025, 15:51 by Nando Harmsen | 5,003 views | 6 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
We all know the terms high-key and low-key. These are photos that are mainly made up of highlights (high-key) or shadows (low-key). This is not overexposure or underexposure, though. I explain how I edited a low-key photo.
I often see photos labelled low-key and think: they're just underexposed. There are no light tones in them at all. Even things that would normally be white have a dark grey appearance.
Low-key is not underexposure. It is a photo that mainly consists of dark tones. So mainly the tones that sit to the left of the middle in a histogram. That does not mean there cannot be any highlights in it, though.
A photo must be suitable for editing into a low-key image. The photo must already be dark. But it must not be underexposed. The exposure has to be right. The low-key look comes from the edit.
For this example, I chose a puffin against a dark blue background. The photo is exposed for the light parts, so it is correctly exposed. I cropped it to keep the second bird out of the frame. This creates a nice portrait.
After cropping, it is a matter of editing the photo. The head can be made a little lighter, while the breast should be darker, with a gradient down to very dark. The contrast needs to be optimal. In Lightroom, I achieved this edit with masks.
Although low-key photos can be presented perfectly well in colour, we often associate low-key with black and white. I think that would also look very good with this photo. I decide to create a powerful black-and-white version of the photo.
If you have set the exposure correctly, you still have the option of not turning it into a low-key photo. That is of course fine too. The choice is yours. But if the photo was already underexposed, it becomes very difficult or even impossible.
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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6 comments
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Donald Willemsen wrote on Monday 24 March 2025 at 22:25 | replyIk heb vooral ervaring in het maken van low-key portretten in de studio en in zwart/wit. Door een goede opstelling van het licht in de studio krijg ja al bijna direct een low-key foto die je niet in de nabewerking er nog eens in moet bewerken. Natuurlijk werkt dat zo niet als je buiten in natuur fotografeert. Daar komt immers het licht vaak van meerder kanten.
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Bob wrote on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at 11:20 | replyBij grote contrasten in de natuur (meestal niet wenselijk, maar nu beslist handig) lukt het ook hoor om low key in het veld te maken. Denk bijvoorbeeld maar eens aan een zilverreiger in het zonnetje tegen een donkere oever.
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Nando
wrote on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at 11:28
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Waarom is een groot contrast meestal niet wenselijk in de natuur? Ik vind dat vaak veel mooier dan alles in de middentonen. Die zilverreiger is een goed voorbeeld daarvan. Deze foto is vergelijkbaar, natuurlijk.
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Thierry Hoornaert wrote on Wednesday 26 March 2025 at 13:20 | replyMag bij high/low key de achtergrond puur wit/donker zijn, of hoort het helemaal binnen het bereik te blijven? Ik had laatst een fotoshoot gemaakt met witte achtergrond waarbij het model een (zo goed als) wit kleedje droeg met nog wittere accenten bij de naden. De foto was overwegend wit, zonder overbelicht te zijn. Het werd door de groep als een perfect belichte foto geprezen, maar als high-key afgekeurd. Idem voor de zwarte achtergrond en -jurk.
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Nando
wrote on Thursday 27 March 2025 at 00:51
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Zonder de foto zelf te zien valt daar zo geen oordeel over te geven. Ik weet wel dat de criteria van groepen, clubs en induividuën soms vreemde (en extreme) vormen aannemen.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.
Puur zwart of wit zou meestal geen probleem moeten zijn. Het is wel afhankelijk van het beeld.
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