2. Low key lighting « Hazelsteel's Blog

Low key lighting is a style of lighting used in photography. It is mainly used in a studio for doing portraits. Low key lighting accentuates the contours of the person or object by creating dark mysterious shadows. The idea behind low key lighting is simple: dark tones, minimal lighting and emphases of certain parts of the subject. Low key photographs are normally very simple looking and plain. However they are not boring, they manage to create a mood and energy to photograph without it having to be extremely eye catching.