High-key lighting: how to shoot portraits that are dominated by light

In this tutorial we show you how to shoot with high-key lighting to create portraits with extra impact. We’ll show you how to set up your camera and flash, as well as great ways to process your high-key images.

The term ‘high key lighting’ means images with a bright, airy look that are dominated by light tones, usually with a blown-out background.

It’s a lighting setup you often see in studio fashion or family portraiture, but it doesn’t require a studio and a load of expensive lighting gear. All you need is a white wall and a pair of flashguns.

To get the high-key look we simply need to overexpose the background, so that it comes out brighter than our subject, which is easily done with two flashes. Train one on the subject, with the other angled towards the background at a higher power setting.

Of course, we need to be able to trigger the flash off-camera; it helps if one is compatible with your DSLR’s wireless mode, as you can trigger it with your pop-up flash.

Your second flashgun need not be compatible, as long as it’s got an optical slave mode. This means you can use a cheaper model, like the Yongnuo flash we used.

SEE MORE: Free portrait lighting cheat sheet

Setting up for high-key lighting

01 Light the background
Any plain white wall will do for a backdrop. Attach one flashgun to a stand or tripod using the screw thread in its plastic base and position it directly behind the subject, pointed at the wall. Ensure that your model obscures the stand when you shoot.

SEE MORE: Studio lighting – 4 seriously simple techniques to try at home

02 Set up main light
Set your second flashgun in front of your subject from slightly above the face. For flattering results with flash, it’s a good idea to diffuse the light and soften the shadows, either with a shoot-through umbrella like this, or by bouncing it off a wall or ceiling.

SEE MORE: 6 simple lighting set-ups for shooting portraits at home

03 Trigger the flash
If one flashgun is compatible, you can use your camera’s wireless flash function to trigger it then set the second flashgun to Slave. If neither flash is compatible, use your pop-up flash at a low power and set both flashguns to Slave.

SEE MORE: 8 common flash photography mistakes photographers make

04 Set up your exposure
Set Manual exposure mode for full control, with ISO100 and shutter speed 1/200 sec. Choose a wide aperture, such as f/5.6, then take a few test shots, changing the power of the front flash until the exposure on the subject looks right.

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05 Adjust flash power
When using multiple flashes, the ratio between them is more important than individual power settings. For the high-key look, we need the background flashgun to overexpose the wall, so set the this flash to a high power output to blow it out.

SEE MORE: Home photo studios – how to shoot pro-quality portraits with a basic studio kit

06 Shoot your portrait
Experiment with poses as you shoot, tweaking the flashguns’ power ratio, if needed, but taking care to let both fully recharge before each shot. Focus on the closest eye, and try different positions for your front flash to light the face.

SEE MORE: 10 portrait photography mistakes every photographer makes (and how to avoid them)

Wireless flash tips
You can use your pop-up flash not only to trigger off-camera flashguns, but also set their power level. In your DSLR’s Built-in Flash Settings menu option, select Manual power, and enable Wireless mode. Set the pop-up to control the flashgun, then choose a power level. Once you’re set up to trigger one flashgun, set any others to Slave and they’ll also be fired.

As well as adjusting the output power, you can also change the strength of a flashgun by moving it closer or further from the subject.

SEE MORE: Flash portraits – creative off-camera flash techniques you have to try

Building up your lights for high-key lighting

Using multiple lights can be tricky, but there’s an easy way to see how each light is contributing…

Just the front flash
Turn on the flash that is aimed at your subject only. Set your camera to Manual mode and adjust the flash power, its distance from the subject, and your exposure settings until you have a good exposure.

Just the background
Turn the front flash off and the background flash on. Take another shot and this time don’t touch your exposure settings, but instead adjust the power of the flash until the background comes out bright and overexposed.

SEE MORE: Flash photography tips: external flash techniques anyone can understand

Two flashes at once
Now fire both flashes and (with a little Photoshop work) they’ll give you the high-key look. Building up lighting gradually helps with other lighting setups, especially when you add extra lights like a hair light or an edge kicker.

SEE MORE: Portrait editing: simple tricks to add a touch of class to your pictures

4 ways to enhance high-key portraits

These portraits are perfect for a punchy black-and-white conversion or a classy desaturated effect…

01 Boost the contrast
The Curves tool can add punch to any portrait: drag a point upwards, near the top-right of the curves line, to lighten the image; drag a second point downwards, near the bottom-left, to darken the shadows. The more pronounced the S, the greater the contrast.

SEE MORE: How to abuse your raw files for striking high-key effects

02 Add cyan
A contrast boost also leads to more saturation that can push reds in the skin too far. To counter this, select Red from the channel dropdown and drag down on the line to introduce Cyan. Then select Blue and drag up on the line to add a touch of blue.

03 Desaturated look
You can give a high-key portrait a classy, subdued colour palette by experimenting with saturation. Use a Vibrance adjustment layer and try knocking back Vibrance to lower the skin tones, then counter this by increasing Saturation until you’re happy with the look.

04 Try monochrome
To complement the clean, airy look of high-key lighting, you could strip out colour completely and go for a black-and-white effect. Photoshop’s Black and White adjustment layer allows you to lift yellows, which makes the skin look nice and bright.

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