high key

A high-key image consists primarily of light tones, without dark shadows.{{cite book|last=Stroebel|first=Leslie|title=Focal Encyclopedia of Photography|url=https://archive.org/details/focalencyclopedi00lesl|url-access=registration|year=1993|publisher=Focal Press|isbn=0-240-51417-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/focalencyclopedi00lesl/page/350 350]}} A photograph or painting so composed features a diminished tonal range of primarily whites and light grays.

{{cite book|last=Gartside|first=Tim|title=Digital Landscape Photography|year=2003|publisher=Course Technology|isbn=1-59200-107-6|pages=45}} High key as a term used in describing paintings or photographs is related to but not the same as high-key lighting in cinema or photography.{{cite web | url=http://photo.stackexchange.com/q/10232/1943 | work=Photography - Stack Exchange |title=What does it mean for a photograph to be "high key"? | accessdate=2012-02-17}}