Camera Use - Studio Work - High and Low Key Lighting Research

High Key Lighting:

High Key Lighting is a style of lighting used for tv, film or photography. The mains aspects of high key lighting are that the images are usually rather bright, a range of light tones - mainly whites, there aren't many blacks or midtones used in this type of lighting and it's used to convey upbeat, optimistic and youthful themes.
Hi Key Lighting also eliminates any harsh shadows and has an overexposed background. Hi Key Lighting is also seen commonly in studio work and portraiture.

The main light modifiers for high key lighting is a key light, fill light, 2x background lights.
A typical High Key Lighting setup consists  of 2 background lights placed in each back corner of the 
area you are using for the photoshoot. A fill light should replaced on the front left corner and a key light on the front right corner and both should have any modifiers necessary. The subject is placed in the middle so that the maximum amount of light can reach the subject, giving the true meaning of High Key Lighting.



Low Key Lighting:

This type of lighting relies on shadows, deep blacks and darker tones. It also intensifies the contrast of an image and it is easier to achieve in a studio than in natural light because of its controlled environment. Low Key lighting tends to be lit with one light on the subject using reflectors to fill light if necessary to fill in shadows. 
However, Low Key Lighting is not to be confused with underexposed images, the Low Key lighting image still needs to have high contrast (good light and plenty of deep black).
This lighting technique is used quite a lot in film and television to create a particular mood or set the tone of a scene. It is frequently use in horror films to create an ominous feel to the film. It is important to know that Low Key Light does shut out any ambient light.

A basic Low Key setup consists of a dark background, the subject placed in the middle, the key light placed to the side of the subject with any necessary modifiers and the camera pointing at the subject. You can also include a reflector to give bounce off the light and give a glow to the subject.