Pretty boys and handsome girls : a study on the use of light in contemporary studio portraiture with regards to gender

Abstract

This dissertation explores the use of studio lighting in a contemporary set-up. Cinematography of the 1920s was studied and analysed for the purpose of identifying gender-specific lighting, which were used at the time and that can be re-interpreted in a contemporary setting with regards to portraiture. The study aims at producing a select body of images which have a strong grounding with respect to technical lighting techniques, that utilises the aforementioned 1920s gender-specific lighting models, and questions the application of both lighting models on the same gender in order to create an aesthetic quality which can instigate dialogue from an audience and in return question further the underlying topic of gender and sexuality which the images were portraying.