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Low Key Mood & Tone in Photography

Low Key Photography

  1. Low Key images have predominantly darker tones, more shadows, more dimensionality.
  2. Low Key is a simple technique that brings instant drama to an image. Like most other forms of photography, it is all about illumination (light) and the elimination of distracting background detail.
  3. Low Key photography conveys atmosphere, drama, mood and mystery.
  4. Shadows are now the primary element of the composition.
Low Key photos by Freddie Marriage, Alexander Lyubavin, Jr Korpa, Damir Omerović, Jan Huber, Mahmudul Hasan Shaon, Wadi Lissa, Mae Mu, William Daigneault, Owen Vachell, Nathan Dumlao, Josh Nuttall, Rendiansyah Nugroho, Gwendal Cottin, Jason M. Peterson.

Capturing Drama With Low Key Lighting

Shooting a low-key images results in darker shadows and a minimal amount of whites and mid-tones. Low-key lighting has been around in the art world for a long time in the form of chiaroscuro.

Chiaroscuro is when an artist uses a high contrast between light and dark to create a dramatic mood and draw the viewer’s eye to one part of the composition. Low-key lighting is characterized by its dark shadows and mysterious mood.

One of the best-known artists of the Renaissance, Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio changed the course of art history by introducing particularly bold innovations in regards to composition, the use of chiaroscuro (light) and the interpretation of mythical themes.

Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew 1600, Judith with the Head of Holofernes 1599, Narcissus, 1594-1596

Roy DeCarava

Photographer of Note

Born in Harlem, DeCarava (1919-2009) initially studied painting and printmaking. He brought to photography, which he adopted in the mid-’40s, an exquisitely attuned sense of composition and tonal finesse. Any number of images in the show demonstrate DeCarava’s capacity to find and articulate a profound poetry in ordinary life.

Self Portrait, Reflection (1949)
Roy DeCarava, Sun and Shade, 1952.
Woman on Train (1961)
“One of the things that got to me was that I felt that black people were not being portrayed in a serious and in an artistic way.” Roy DeCarava (1982)

Unlike many photographers of his day, Mr. DeCarava did not intend that his photos be viewed as visual documentation but rather as artistic expressions in their own right so that his images were, in his words, "serious," "artistic," and universally "human."

The deep connection he felt to the lives of people everywhere is evident in the integrity of his images. Among the many subjects his camera focused upon, he expressed an early desire to address the lack of artistic attention given to the lives of Black Americans, illuminating the aesthetic and human qualities of each individual life through the lens of his perceptions.

Coltrane on soprano, 1963. Photograph by Roy DeCarava
George Morrow, 1956. Photograph by Roy DeCarava
Roy DeCarava, “Billie Holiday With Earring,” 1960.
Late night singer with mike, 1960. Photograph by Roy DeCarava
“Catsup bottles, table and coat,” (1952) by Roy DeCarava.
DeCarava’s work as a photographer was a matter of steady immersion and acute observation. Velvety tones in subtle gradation, punctuated by deep, inky blacks and selective gleams of white, are characteristic of DeCarava, whether his subject is a quotidian still life, the stack of dirty dishes at a vacated table or Billie Holiday, tightly framed in performance, face clenched with intensity. His pictures are equally documents and acts of devotion. LEAH OLLMAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES
When you first look at the photograph, it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust. The frame is almost entirely black, with a thin vertical line of grey just off centre. At the line’s base, there is another grey line, this time horizontal; a crucifix, of sorts. Somewhere off to the right are two tiny humans seen in profile, floating in a pool of velvety shadow. Slowly, the puzzle resolves: the vertical line is a steel pillar caught in a shaft of low sunlight, the horizontal one a sliver of cobbled street. The two people are walking past. But the shadows are so deep, and the composition so abstract, it is almost impossible to tell. - Andrew Dickson for BBC Culture

Roy DeCarava was a photography professor at Hunter College in New York, until his death in 2009, at the age of 89.

Further Reading on Roy DeCarava

How to Achieve Low Key Photographs

Tips from LightStalking.com

Camera Settings - for DSLR

  1. When it comes to ideal camera settings for low key photography, you should try to keep your ISO low and aperture wide open. You can start by setting your ISO to 100 or as low as possible on your camera. This is quite important because low ISO will make your image dark and noise-free.
  2. You can set the aperture by starting with the smallest f-number, such as f/1.4 or f/1.8. This will allow you to take in the most light and adjust from there.
  3. You can also use an auto-exposure mode and apply negative exposure compensation (makes the image darker) when shooting low key images.

Tips for Using a Cell Phone Camera

  1. Make sure the subject is in FOCUS! Tap the screen to focus on the "bright" or "highlighted" area of the photo. (No blurry pictures)
  2. Use the exposure control to brighten or darken your image.
  3. Consider using portrait mode so you can control the depth of field. (Be careful of too much noise/grain.)
  4. While this entire project is about moody lighting (and this should be your main focus), don't forget about strong compositions and interesting subject matter.

Keep the Background Dark

No matter what lighting you choose, make sure that the background is dark enough. In case your background seems light and distracting, you should move the subject and the light away from the wall.

Another way to make the background darker is by moving the light to the side. In this scenario, the background will darken even more and your portrait will look more dramatic.

Lighting

Professional lighting equipment is not required to achieve low key photographs. Experiment with single lamp bulbs, flash lights, cell phone light, computer monitors, tv screens, string lights, etc. Be creative.

Edit

Try out apps like Snapseed, VSCO, Instagram, Pixlr or Photopea to enhance your low key effect.

  1. Brighten your subject.
  2. Darken your shadows.
  3. Reduce noise.
  4. Desaturate color.
  5. Add a vignette.
  6. Fix distracting background flaws.
Example using a cell phone camera - Portrait shot with the iMac screen as the only light source, unedited.
Example - Same image as above, after editing in Snapseed.

Ultimately a low key image is just one that contains predominantly dark tones. There are many ways to achieve that – always feel free to experiment!

More examples edited in Instagram - Photographed with a cell phone camera
Original (left) Edited (right)

Assignment

  1. Shoot 50 new images. (You can use your Nikon OR your Phone Camera)
  2. Choose your best 6 to edit.
  3. Upload your final images to Flickr in an album called Low Key.
  4. The most important thing to remember is: Yes, these photos should be moody, with heavy shadows and minimal light. While it's ok for most of the photo be to dark, there should be some "bright" areas OR areas of highlights. No, I do not want to see pictures that are just underexposed (too dark with no highlights). These images should contain a high contrast between light and dark.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different subjects!

HAVE FUN!

Appreciate
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