I have been participating in several photography contests. Each of them pushes me to explore various areas of photography. Some have to do with subject matter, such as last weeks challenge to photograph something that emits the word “soft” or capture something that represents “a new normal.” I have enjoyed the various groups and the challenges, it keeps me creating and helps push me to learn new techniques. This week, one of the group challenges was low key photography.
Low Key photography is not new to me, but it was so fun to revisit! This type of photography consists of shooting dark images with either low light, no light or a singular light source. This light source is emphasized on only specific areas of the image and overall, the image is dark. I have always loved shooting low light and the dark moody artistic feeling it brings. Below are a few different images I shot while playing around with the low key concept. Some were shot this week and some throughout this past year.
If you want to try this at home, you should! You simply need a camera of any sort, a dark background (such as a sheet, paper, pop up drop, dark furniture, dark wall, you get it) and a light source- a window, your iphone, a flashlight, or a standing light (if you have one), any light source will work wonderfully. Set your subject up, this could be a live model or an object of any kind. Light the part of the object or subject you want to emphasize and start shooting. I tend to like to underexpose a bit for an even darker image, but you can shoot however you want! If you decide to practice low light shooting- drop me a line and let me know! I would love to see what you come up with!
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