First attempt at high key - C&C welcome, please.

[Kermit power]

Hi All,

Having a freshly painted wall in an as yet empty loft conversion, I decided to try getting a high key effect on the cheap.

I used my Canon MR14-EX ring flash as a master flash on the camera, with a 580 EX2 as a slave. The latter was on the floor behind the kids angled up at the wall and firing on full power.

The shots are all close ups not so much out of choice but because my 100mm f2.8 is the only lens I had onto which the ring flash fitted without an adaptor, and there was only so far away from them that I could get and still stay in range with the flash, although I have now got adaptors for my 50mm and my 28-75mm.

All the shots (iirc without checking all the exifs) were taken with the camera on manual at f8 an 1/160th and varying strengths of flash on the ring flash.

One issue I wasn't sure how to deal with is the fact that the wall isn't pure white. It's Dulux White Orchid or some such - basically a creamy white. If I use that to set the white balance, there is a noticeable change in the colour of the background. Is there a way I can correct the background to pure white without changing the flesh tones of the kids?

Anyway, I quite like some of these, although I'm sure they could be massively improved on. What do people think? The first one, by the way, is the first one I've ever managed to get of all three of them together without one of them gurning!

ETA - I thought I'd cloned the drool out of the bottom one!

Edited by Kermit power on Wednesday 31st March 23:28

[andy-xr]

Kermit power said:

Is there a way I can correct the background to pure white without changing the flesh tones of the kids?

Nice pics

Light the background seperately and flag the lights so they dont spill onto your subject. Or redirect the spill to pull them out a bit if necessary. If you're looking to do it in post, bash the curves up and mask the kids

Edited by andy-xr on Wednesday 31st March 23:42

[Kermit power]

andy-xr said:

Kermit power said:

Is there a way I can correct the background to pure white without changing the flesh tones of the kids?

Nice pics

Light the background seperately and flag the lights so they dont spill onto your subject. Or redirect the spill to pull them out a bit if necessary. If you're looking to do it in post, bash the curves up and mask the kids

The background was lit separately - full power 580 EX2 right in front of it and behind the kids - so I guess I'll have to try and do it in post. It's not the brightness of the background I want to change, so much as getting the creaminess to be completely white without also paling the skin.

[leeb]

A quick and simple way to do this would be to select the "dodge tool" (shortcut is o" in photoshop, select Highlights a soft brush at approx 40% and just brush over the white areas. It can sometimes cause a slight lightening of the hair at the edge if you are not carefull. Super quick fix.

Or duplicate the layer "ctl + J" select the screen mode (dropdown at top of layers palette) and fiddle with the opacity until you are happy. If you dont like the skin tones then you will have to mask the kids using the half black half white button in layers palette. then use a brush at black or white to add or remove bits from the mask.