High key and low key photography

This week, let’s focus on creating images that are either predominantly light or dark. In high-key photography, the majority of the pixels are bright, which is easy to spot in the histogram where the peak leans heavily to the right. In low-key photography, the opposite applies, with most pixels being dark, and the histogram peak shifted to the left. It’s important to note that these effects are not achieved through overexposure or underexposure — ideally, there should still be shades of gray in every pixel, rather than blown-out highlights or blocked shadows. These styles can be achieved in a 'studio' using an abundance of light or very minimal lighting. However, you can also find high-key and low-key compositions in everyday scenes by keeping an eye out for naturally bright or dark frames.