Attempt at High Key
With all the rainy weather lately, I thought I'ld try and take a high key photo.
It's only my second real go at doing this, so not sure whether I got it right. I set the exposure to get as much detail in the bird as possible. Some of the yellows are a bit hot, and there is a bit of noise in the greens.
Canon 7D, 300f4+1.4tc, ISO1000, 1/800, manual mode.
those colors are incredible - i really envy you your incredibly colorful birds! the leaves, wings and chest look really clear and sharp - but for some reason the bill and blue head are soft on my monitor - i think he would stand out even more if they were sharper. beautiful pic!!
Thanks for the reply Pat. I could've ran a few more passes of USM, but I think that there is a bit of noise in that are of the bird and I didn't want it to look oversharpened.
Incredibly colorful bird. Very nice - I agree that the focus seems to be slightly off on the bird's head - the branches look a tad sharper. I do like the treatment and the composition! Perhaps a slight selective lightening of the eye might make it stand out a bit. BTW, I have almost the same set-up - the 7D and 300 f/4 with 1.4 TC.
Thanks for showing!
Kevin
You're right...there is quite a bit of noise and I would bet it's because you're a little overexposed. If you want the white BG (which does not necessarily make this "high key") then create the image in its proper exposure and then lighten/desaturate the BG in post-processing. I think you'd get a much better final product that way.
Very nice pose and the HA is good - but it is very soft here and the noise is getting pretty intense as you stated.
I'd love to see you give it another go, though!
Thanks Kevin for replying. I think you're right about the focal point. I do try to make it the head or neck of the bird if possible, but I think I missed it here.
Thanks for replying Julie. I think I've misunderstood what a high key image is then (I'm still on my L Plates photographically!):o. Can you clarify just what a high key image is and how you achieve the result?Originally Posted by Julie Kenward
Mark, many people think anything that has a white BG makes for a high key image and that's partially right. The definition of a high key image is "a light, overexposed image with few (or none) dark tones." Since in real life this bird (and the foliage for that matter) are almost entirely made up of dark tones, you ended up with a faded version of what we'd normally see. You got the process right (overexposing and a white BG) but you started with something that was way too dark to create a true high key image. If this bird had been a white egret for instance where there are next to no dark tones in the first place and you overexposed it and bleached out the BG - that would be more in keeping with a true high key image.
A light skinned woman in a white wedding dress standing in a field of snow would be a perfect example of a true high key photograph. There would be next to no mid or dark tones to start with (probably only her face). Taking something that is dark in the first place and lightening it to the point of no dark tones almost never works IMO because our brains know it's supposed to be dark tones so that's what we expect to see. It ends up leaving us feeling like we're viewing a faded image of the original. Does that make sense? I'd encourage you to try this same thing again only start with a white or offwhite flower (or bird if you can find one) and then overexpose a bit and then finish the tones in your post-processing and see if you can tell the difference between that image and what you did here.
Your process was right - you just started with the wrong type of subject.
If I'm wrong about any of this, jump in people! But this is my understanding of the term "high key" and it's often used incorrectly on many overexposed images.
Thanks for clearing that up Julie! I was under the false impression that a high key image related to any subject, which you've thankfully corrected.
I'll give this a go on our Silver Gulls next time it's overcast. The Gulls are mostly white with some grey in the wings and the odd bit of black through the primaries can be seen when they are in flight. Mostly all white birds like Egrets and Spoonbills are around, but not overly common where I live.
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