INTERIORS While one has many difficulties to overcome in photographing interiors, it is a branch that is, as a general rule, well paying, digni fied and, at the same time, extremely interesting.
Being closely identified with exterior work, the photographer will have practically the same customers for interiors; that is, the promoter, architect, real estate operator, factory heads and the home owner.
In the case of the promoter or factory head, he will want to show as much life and activity as possible, even going so far as to pad the picture by bringing more fixtures and life from other departments. The architect will want abso lutely no distortion (which eliminates the wide-angle lens), and the real estate man or owner of a building will want to show how light and airy and com modious the property may be, and in practically every instance, the photog rapher will have the problem of halation confronting him.
Halation, as many photographers know to their sorrow, has destroyed the appearance of some of the best of negatives. In combating halation, double coated plates help, as do also films or a backed plate. It is often the case that a developer with a very weak percentage of carbonate will help, but this has the disadvantage of taking a long time to develop. Also, it requires from three to four or five times more exposure than normal, which means that it is practi cally impossible to include any life—and, when you get through, you have a flat, lifeless negative, which may possibly take the whole printing force to turn out a good salable print. Such a method would be strictly taboo in a large studio where time and overhead expense are important factors, The only really successful way I know of to satisfactorily elitninate hala tion is to balance your light. What is meant by that is this: if you are facing strong light, use a strong, artificial light against it from your camera side. Of course, this can be overdone, but, if one 'is careful and a backed plate or film is used, no apparent halation will be found. , The length of exposure will also be found a matter of considerable impor tance in avoiding' halation, and if sufficient exposure is given to permit of rapid development in the dark-room, less halation will appear. •
However, in many of the better class homes one will find the lighting con ditions to be very subdued normally, the effect of which will have to be pre served in the finished photograph, and for this reason, the operator will have to be very careful in his use of strong artificial lights, or the result will be unnatural, and therefore not pleasing to the customer, even though Ile might be unaware of the cause. In such cases, just enough artificial light should be used to pick up the detail in the shadows.
I have found that the electric lights which I use on all my interiors—the Johnson Compact Ventlite mentioned in the first chapter—are very successful for such work. These lights produce such an even lighting, especially when used with the diffuser attached, that a glary, concentrated lighting is avoided, and yet is sufficiently strong to overcome any tendency toward halation.
There are several other methods which may be followed when windows are in direct line of view, such as drawing the shades for part of the exposure, or fitting collapsible opaque screens, which are carried by some operators, into the windows, but I have found that using electric lights to balance the light produces much better results.
I have found these lights also a great help when facing the light in the photographing of offices. In this latter connection, when life is included in the picture, it is well to get as much action in close to the camera as possible, and a comparatively fast plate, such as a Graflex, will be found the most satisfac tory to use.
In factories where men are shown at their work, a blow-lamp or other strong light preferably should be used, because a time limit is usually set and it is a bad policy to keep men away from their work long, as the discipline of the shop is easily upset. Therefore, the sooner one can get through, the better, and as smoke is generally of no consideration, the blow-lamp or flash are not objectionable.