Low key portraits: how to

I'm a fan of low key portraits (I think that's what they're called) when the background is all or mostly dark, like these pictures

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lyod/25055743650/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lyod/25140059842

But I have no patience for elaborate portrait setups and special lighting requirements, is there a way to achieve this with natural light and no accessories ?

Indoors with a small window for light?

sure. you need a dark background for starters OR you need to make the subjects face lighter than the background.

in a room with a window you place the subject quite close to window and position yourself and camera quite close to window looking into the subject.

Close curtains/blinds on all the other windows in the room. The light falloff from the window to otherside of room (the background) should be great so it will appear very dark relative to the face even though that may not be what you see with your eyes which auto adjust their aperture. Metering at the face and at the background should tell you many stops difference you are getting. 4 or more stops difference will do it. But if you want truly black then you may need 6 stop difference although with four you can probably add the rest in printing contrast/burning as has been suggested below.

And much better if there is no direct sunlight coming in window so best on cloudy day or with north facing window.

DWThomas said:

Indoors with a small window for light?

Click to expand...

Most likely setting, yes

Place the subject near the only light source, natural or artificial, helps if it's smaller. No ambient light in the background, or it must be much darker than the subject. Pay attention to any light reflecting off of walls, ceilings, etc. To get that deep shadow effect on the opposite side of the face, use a large piece of black foam core board to block any reflected light that may illuminate that side.

If you think of light as something like water spraying out of a garden hose, it helps to predict it's effect. Small hose = low volume = less water spraying around and getting everything around the subject wet also.

With darkroom printing, it's also possible to burn in the background enough to give a similar effect.

Personally I don't really like overly black background, I think it looks better to have at least a hint of background detail but each to his own.
I do get the idea of the highly graphic look though, it just ins't to my personal taste. Very high impact but unecessary. I like a bit more subtlety.

Thanks everyone !

RobC said:

Personally I don't really like overly black background, I think it looks better to have at least a hint of background detail but each to his own.
I do get the idea of the highly graphic look though, it just ins't to my personal taste. Very high impact but unecessary. I like a bit more subtlety.

Click to expand...

Me too, I like a little context, some background. But I was thinking this could be handy in cases where the background is a little...unsightly

you can also consider using a reflector which allows you to put subject away from a window but direct some light onto them in a darker area of the room/studio which may have a better background. Rfelectors are quite cheap and simple to use.

See: http://www.lastolite.com/category/1066861.1066862.0.0.0/Collapsible_Reflectors

and also following which is versatile for location photography where you may want to put model out of direct sunlight but direct some light onto model.

http://www.lastolite.com/Learn+More...he+Lastolite+UpLite&cat3=&cat4=&vid=109126492


http://www.lastolite.com/kit-joe-mcnally-uplite-lllr3497jm