In this tutorial, you will learn how to alter a typical color portrait so that it looks like a professional high- key studio shot. Here are the before and after photos:
Open up the photo you want to use. Then desaturate your photo by clicking on Image / Adjustment / Desaturate.
Now we will kick it up a notch by altering the curves. To do this, click on Image / Adjustment / Curves.

You will need to adjust the input and output numbers of your curve. Hover your mouse over the diagonal line and then click once. The input and output number boxes will now be visible. Change the Input number to 171 and the Output number to 240. Then click OK
In order to blur out the background a bit, we will add a Gaussian blur. First, make a duplicate of your photo by right-clicking on it in the Layers Palette
You will now have two layers. The bottom layer is your original and the top layer is your duplicate. Now add a guassian blur to this duplicate (top) layer by clicking on Filter / Blur / Gaussian Blur. Change the radius to 30.0.
In order to have just the background blurred and your subject’s features (eyes, nose, mouth) nice and sharp, we will add a layer mask to the blurred layer and erase some of this layer to expose the sharp image beneath.

Download pdf CREATING A HIGH-KEY LOOK TO YOUR PHOTO – PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL