Film Noir – A Classic Era
The American film noir era from the early 1940s is associated with low key, dark, dramatic and an often-menacing style, visually portrayed in black and white. A style that is packed with uncompromising shadows and high contrast, created by film makers, frequently on limited budgets, is now considered as the “classic period” of American film noir, best seen in Hollywood crime dramas.
A common thread for film noir is low key lighting “Chiaroscuro” an Italian term used in the artworld, meaning light–dark, using prominent shadows and harsh lighting to create a sense of depth and volume in paintings. A style that has been adopted by photographers to this very day.
A modern approach is for social photographers to blend modern fashion styles with the classic Hollywood or film noir lighting. A new genre using a hard, sharp lighting setup which enhances and radiates the skin but it can over emphasise skin texture, resulting in blemishes and skin textures having to be rectified in post-production.
Overall, a unique portrait that draws from the glamour of the golden era of Hollywood that conveys a classic and timeless style with a modern approach.
