Low-key photos are photos that skew towards the dark end and the darker side. The opposite of ‘high key’ photography (very bright photos).
Low-key photos are more dramatic, dark, and mysterious. I say that a low-key photograph is around 80% dark, and 20% bright (80% black, 20% white).
The benefits of low-key photos:
Depends on the vibes you’re going for
If you’re trying to make more ‘artistic’ photos, typically the darker your photos, the better. Why? Because when your photos are darker, there are *LESS* details, which forces you (the viewer) to fill in the gap and details with your mind and imagination:
Do both.
Impossible to know which exposure or exposure-compensation is the ‘best’ while you’re shooting. Thus I suggest to ‘work the scene’ and try to experiment with all forms of exposures, and *LATER* you select the one which you best like.
COMPOSITION by KIM
In pursuit of making (greater) compositions!
THE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION
VIRTUAL REALITY COMPOSITION
The Game of Composition
- Photography Image Selection/Editing Technique: Choose Photos You Want to Draw Composition Over
Photography and Planes: Composition - HOW ERIC KIM STUDIES COMPOSITION
- Photography Composition Techniques
- Beyond “Clever” and Ironic Photos
- How to Be More Creatively Innovative with Your Compositions as a Photographer
- How to See in Layers
- Video Street Photography Composition Lesson by ERIC KIM (4K)
- How I Analyze My Photos
- The Game of Composition
- Why I Like to Shoot Layered Street Photography Compositions
- Composition and Decomposition: Construct and Deconstruct Great Art
Technical compositions
- Circle Photography Composition Technique
- Wavy/Wave Composition
- ERIC KIM Photography Composition Techniques
- How to Stress Test Your Photos
- Bounding Boxes for Photography Composition
Composition Studies
- Helmut Newton Photography Composition Studies
- W. Eugene Smith Composition Studies
- PDF: ERIC KIM Photography Composition Studies
- PDF: Josef Koudelka Photography Composition Studies
- PDF: Richard Avedon Photography Composition Studies
- PDF: Henri Cartier-Bresson Photography Composition Studies
Philosophy of Composition
- How to Teach Yourself Composition in Photography
- Striving to Discover New Compositions in Photography
- Off-Center Composition
- Why I Love Composition
- Philosophy of Composition
- More Dynamic Photos, More Powerful Photos!
Aesthetics
- Image Quality and Great Photos
- Imperfect Photos are More Beautiful
- Do you photograph the world better, the same, or worse than reality? #aesthetics
- Aesthetics are Ethics
- Beauty over Truth #philosophy #aesthetics
- Philosophy of Aesthetics and Beauty in Photography
- Aesthetics in Photography
- Aesthetics Strengthen, Simplify, and Focus
- Not better image quality; more beautiful aesthetics!
- Why Aesthetics?
Master composition for yourself:
Photography Composition Concepts
- Outline Photography Composition
- Re-Interpret your Photos
- Visual Gist
- Dynamic Composition
- 10 Tips How to Work Your Compositions in Photography
- Composition for the Sake of Composition
- The Gaussian Blur Test
- How to Teach Yourself Photography Composition
- Composition vs Aesthetics in Photography
- 10 Simple Composition Tips to Make Better Photos
- How to Compose a Photograph
- Edge Detection Photography Composition
- Vector (Arrow) Photography Composition
- Clear and Obscure (Chiaroscuro) Photography Composition
Street Photography Composition Tips
- 7 Street Photography Composition Tips
The Superman Low Angle Perspective Photography Composition Effect - High Angle Perspective Street Photography Composition Technique
- How to Shoot Low Angle Perspective Street Photography Composition Technique
Photography Composition Tips
- 5 Photography Composition Ideas
- How to Photograph Motion
- Photography Composition: Which Direction is Your Subject Looking?
- Blocking Technique in Photography
- How to Shoot a Triangle Photography Composition
- How to shoot a golden triangle composition in street photography
- 8 Simple Curve Composition Tips
- 5 Simple Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition Tips
- Foot Zoom
- Photography Composition: Light and Dark
- Street Photography Composition Lesson #16: Scale
- Shape, Arrangement, Position (S.A.P.) and Contour, Inter-Contact, Position (C.I.A.) in Photography
- 10 Tips How to Fill the Frame in Photography
- Look Up! 16 Photography Composition Perspective Tips
- 5 Simple Street Photography Composition Tips
- Depth Perception
- Golden Angle Composition in Street Photography
- Photographer as an “Arranging Artist”
- Dynamic Off-Center Street Photography Compositions
- 5 Essential Composition Tips in Photography
Color Theory
- Red and Green Composition Color Theory For Photographers
- The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Color Photography
- Opponent Process Color Theory For Photographers
- Color Theory For Photographers
- Color Manual
- How to Shoot Color Street Photography
Learn From the Masters of Composition
- 10 Lessons Matisse Can Teach You About Art and Life
- Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition
- 10 Timeless Lessons Edward Weston Can Teach You About Photography
- 10 Inspirational Sergio Larrain Compositions
- 5 Henri Cartier-Bresson Photography Composition Lessons
Dynamic Photography Composition 101
- Introduction to Dynamic Photography Composition
- How to Visually Analyze Your Photography Compositions
- Dynamic Tension: Opponent Based Theory For Photography
- Opponent Process Color Theory For Photographers
- Dynamic Photography Composition 101: Figure to Ground
Painting Compositions
Dynamic Photography Composition Tips
- 7 Simple Photography Composition Tips
- How to Make Aggressive Photography Compositions
- 10 Dynamic Photography Composition Tips
- How to Make More Dynamic Picture Compositions
- Unorthodox Photography Composition Techniques
- Deconstructed: Saigon Eric Kim Photos
Composition Theory
Take your composition to the next level:
- Gestalt Theory
- Juxtaposition
- Center Eye
- Low-Angle
- Dutch Angle
- Deep Depth
- Spacing
- Silhouette
- Leading Lines
- Figure to Ground
- Fibonacci Spiral
- Cropping
- Emotion
- Composition by Eric Kim
Street Photography Composition 101
For distilled lessons on composition, read the free ebook: “The Street Photography Composition Manual.”
Further articles to improve your compositions in photography:
- Composition Lesson #1: Triangles
- Composition Lesson #2: Figure-to-ground
- Composition Lesson #3: Diagonals
- Composition Lesson #4: Leading Lines
- Composition Lesson #5: Depth
- Composition Lesson #6: Framing
- Composition Lesson #7: Perspective
- Composition Lesson #8: Curves
- Composition Lesson #9: Self-Portraits
- Composition Lesson #10: Urban Landscapes
- Composition Lesson #11: “Spot the not”
- Composition Lesson #12: Color Theory
- Composition Lesson #13: Multiple-Subjects
- Composition Lesson #14: Square Format
Composition Theory
Learn compositional theory:
- Why is Composition Important?
- Don’t Think About Composition When You’re Shooting Street Photography
- How to Use Negative Space
- Street Photography Composition 101
- The Theory of Composition in Street Photography: 7 Lessons from Henri Cartier-Bresson
Compositional lessons from the masters of art
Composition lectures
Composition pictures/grids
Golden Diagonal Composition
