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For most photographers the term “low-key” is usually defined by photos that are
* Saturated colors at the bottom end of the tonal value scale,
* Deep shadows, and
* Few, but very high contrasts.
Also “low-key” usually conveys a mood of
* Serenity,
* Melancholy or
* Pathos.
However I somehow got the idea somewhere early on that “low-key” really meant that the entire tonal range in a low key photograph should be between 100% to 80% black with negligent or no high contrast points.
Since then I have countless times discovered that taking a photograph which is entirely in 100% to 80% black and at the same time not sad is a very very tough task.
Day before I once again revisited the theme – with some amount of success I would like to believe….
I was once again painfully reminded that my Nikon5700 is pathetic for the job 
a) i love that picture.
b) why is your 5700 pathetic? seemed to do a great job to me !
c) what’s your black&white/duotone conversion recipe (if it’s secret, I understand).
a) Thanks for the appreciation
b) 5700 was pathetic in this case due to very poor auto focusing in low/medium light conditions and poorer manual focus controls combined with absence of focus assist lamp – In this case I was shining a flashlight on the model to get focus.
c) He He! no secret, for this picture very little was needed – just used the default sepia toning option in PaintShop Pro 9 but reduced the strength to 15 instead of the usual 71, the soft focus was enhanced dramatically on a duplicate layer and the opacity of that layer was reduced to 20, in all a 5 min job
Awesome!
Amazing pic !!
My shutterbug-mania has been at a bare minimum these days, because of a ton of issues on the personal and proffessional front… but every time I see your pics, I get the insisten urge to hunt out my camera.
Thanks for sharing this pic
Re: Awesome!
Glad that you like the pic
Nice one !
Abe saale..kya picture hai yeh?
Tell me one thing.. how do you get women to pose like this for you?