Low-key photography

Example of a low-key photograph

Low-key photography is a genre of photography consisting of shooting dark-colored scenes by lowering or dimming the "key" or front light illuminating the scene (low-key lighting), and emphasizing natural[1] or artificial light[2] only on specific areas in the frame.[3] This photographic style is usually used to create a mysterious atmosphere, that only suggests various shapes, often graphic, letting the viewer experience the photograph through subjective interpretation and often implies painting objects or the human body with black non-toxic dyes or pigments.[4][5]

Renaissance and Baroque, represented by different painting styles including sfumato and chiaroscuro used by artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Rubens), tenebroso (it. dark, mysterious) used by artists such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Jusepe de Ribera among others, produced paintings in which black was predominant on the canvas and the light often come from only one source to achieve dramatic scenes.[6]

Edward Weston, Yousuf Karsh and Irving Penn are among the photographers experienced with the "black on black" technique.[7][8]

  1. ^ Owen, Robin (2014). Boudoir Lighting: Simple Techniques for Dramatic Photography. Amherst Media. pp. 50–53. ISBN 9781608957569.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lighting Techniques for Low Key Portrait Photography was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Kamps, Haje J. (2012). The rules of photography, and when to break them. Lewes, East Sussex: Ilex. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-1908150585.
  4. ^ Stoppee, Brian; Stoppee, Janet (2008). Stoppees' guide to photography and light: what digital photographers, illustrators, and creative professionals must know. Oxford: Focal. pp. 256–262. ISBN 978-0240810638.
  5. ^ Kindem, Gorham; Musburger, Robert B. (2004). Introduction to Media Production: The Path to Digital Media Production. Oxford: CRC Press. p. 245. ISBN 9781136053221.
  6. ^ Gillian McIver (23 March 2017). Art History for Filmmakers: The Art of Visual Storytelling. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-4742-4620-0.
  7. ^ Brett Abbott; Edward Weston (2005). Edward Weston: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum. Getty Publications. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-89236-809-9. Retrieved 6 June 2018. [...] black face like that and a black background and pull it of in direct sunlight – and that is a challenge.
  8. ^ Grundberg, Andy (14 October 1983). "PHOTOGRAPHY: A RETROSPECTIVE OF KARSH PORTRAITS". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2018. In a typical Karsh photograph, the sitter's visage emerges from a black background so dense and velvety that it could be poured on a sundae.