Photo Assignment #3: High Key

@santiclaws, I like your first and third. They're high key no doubt and somehow they both hold my attention despite being simple. In the first it's probably being able to barely make out what it is and 3 for the composition and negative space. 2 is a lot less in this series I think, the glass is slanting and somehow the picture and composition can't hold my interest.

@dredwerker, indeed high key and defocus softness at the same time. However not holding my interest very long and constantly my eye goes to the light blueish streaks at the top left of the image, but nothing to see there.

Hope you don't mind, my AE history plays up again

Thanks for the comments - It was soft as well :)

I was completely jumping the gun but I am impatient by nature :)

dredwerker wrote: I was completely jumping the gun but I am impatient by nature :)

Well, just said it was high key, no intention of indicating a "pass" or "pls. try again". That's the privilidge of admin lady Rosie .

I was just exercising my AE withdrawel symptoms on pictures in the challenges forum

@HiDesert: I will let the fail/pls. try again assessment to Rosie but allow me to make some comments.

I really like the first one, especially since I can't make out what it is but the whole arrangement and compositionis is very nice. There's some real "blown" white areas and the light texture contrasted with the one dark chinese sign is very intrigueing.

I find the second one less appealing and allthough light I don't think it's high key. Almost no area is blown to full white and it doesn't have an area of contrast or interest somewhere to make it stand out. Also the composition is a bit messy (especially around the lower border) and it doesn't evoke any emotion of light to me. Hope you don't mind me saying so.

Now back to Rosie for the real grading

This is interesting; from what (admittedly little) I've read on the topic, both of these seem clearly high key to me. At least one explanation of high key photography that I read showed examples in which none of the photo was blown out.

I had to do a little more to make #1 clearly high key (and I have a slightly darker version that I prefer to this one). #2 happened pretty much on it's own, because of the light and the city haze. I want to say I set up the lower border to ground the building in the treetops, but that might be wishful thinking; my A700's viewfinder's 'zone of inaccuracy' is the lower edge, so it's possible I framed it without those treetops, and this is how it came out on the actual photo. I took >800 pictures that day, so my memory of every shot isn't what you'd call crystal clear.

Okay, drumroll please... Shot #1 is a detail of the Aobau, a Mongolian Buddhist monument in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. Here's a broader view:



People traditionally walk around it three times, and then pray or leave petitions on the Aobau. Photo #1 is a closeup of one of those prayers.

Note; my spelling of 'Aobau' might not be perfect, and I'm pretty sure it's a Buddhist monument, but I might be wrong about that too. I am sure about the three laps, leave a request part. I'm working from memory here

How's this one?

Oops, hadn't noticed this one. It's a nice portrait and I like the non conventional composition and the look is indeed priceless (if you survive )

Couple of small nits and suggestions:
- I would clone out the darker globs at the left top
- I find the toning and overall contrast a bit "muddy", how about PP'ing a bit more such that her eyes and some details of her hair and face come out much darker, should be relatively small areas and you should leave the rest as is or even lighter, but I think that would increase punch and impact of the picture.

Hope this helps.