High Key Lighting
- The Magazine For Photographers
- May 27
- 2 min read
So, what is high key lighting?
In simple terms, high key lighting is about using lots of light to create images that are bright, low-contrast, and basically free of deep shadows. The background is usually white or light-toned, and the whole frame kind of glows.
How to shoot high key lighting
1. Pick the right time of day
Avoid harsh midday sun, it creates hard shadows (the enemy of high key). Instead, go out at:
Overcast days – clouds act like a giant softbox.
Golden hour – early morning or late afternoon light is soft and warm.
Open shade – shoot in a shaded area but with a bright sky behind you.
2. Use a bright background
This is key. A white wall, a pale building, even a sunlit white sheet clipped to a fence—it all works. Just make sure the background is getting more light than your subject so it blows out slightly and gives you that clean, high key vibe.
3. Overexpose slightly
Just like in studio, bump up your exposure a bit to brighten skin tones and lift shadows. But don’t go too far—you still want detail in your highlights.
Creating High Key in Post-Processing
Let’s say your original photo isn’t quite bright or clean enough. No problem, you can absolutely push it in
editing.
1. Boost the exposure
Bring up the overall brightness and exposure in Lightroom or Photoshop. Keep an eye on skin tones, you want them to look light, but not washed out.
2. Lift the shadows & blacks
Slide those shadow and black levels up. It flattens the contrast and gets rid of any lingering darkness in your image.
3. Add contrast carefully
It’s tempting to crank the contrast, but in high key you want to keep things soft. A touch of midtone contrast or clarity is fine, but keep it gentle.
4. Whiten the background
Use selective adjustments (like the brush tool in Lightroom) to brighten or desaturate parts of the background if it’s not white enough. You can also use masking to isolate your subject and brighten everything else around.
5. Tweak whites & highlights
Push your white and highlight sliders just enough to get that glowing, clean tone—especially in the background. Again, check your histogram so you don’t lose all the detail.
Pro tips
You can use reflectors: Bounce light back onto your subject to fill in any shadows.
Keep your background clean: High key lighting exaggerates everything. Dust, smudges, and wrinkles will stand out if you’re not careful.
Watch your histogram: Make sure you’re hitting the right balance of bright, but not blown out. Clipped highlights = lost detail.
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