PORTRAITURE In all portraiture, the question of appar atus is not nearly so important as those of posing and lighting. The camera should pre ferably be of the stand variety, but hand cameras are also capable of producing good work ; the ordinary fixed-focus pattern without magnifiers is not to be recommended for the work, as unless a very small stop is used the image will not be in focus, although such d camera answers for full-length portraits if the subject is sufficiently far enough away. Lenses that work at a fairly large aperture are the best for indoor portraiture. (See" Portrait Lenses.") The focal length of the lens is a matter of importance ; the greater the focal length the more truthful is the result, as a rule ; if a lens embracing a very wide angle is used, distortion is almost sure to occur, and the size of the nose, ears, hands, or feet will appear exaggerated. The question of iso chromatic versus ordinary plates for portrait work need not be discussed here. Either may be used; but an isochromatic plate will do all an ordinary plate will do and a little more. More truthful rendering of colour is obtained by using a screen, but the exposure is thereby prolonged. Many professionals use isochromatic plates ,for certain subjects—such, for example, as very freckled faces, yellowish hair, coloured dresses, etc. A rapid plate is the most suitable for indoor work where the exposure is to be perhaps somewhat lengthy. Many of the plate makers give in their instructions special developers for portrait work, and photographers cannot do better than use them. They are com pounded to give soft negatives, and are specially suitable for the plates with which they are issued. If no such special formula is given the usual developer will generally serve, but if the results are too hard the developer may be diluted with water so as to secure a softer result. Adurol, pyro-soda, and pyro-ammonia are very suitable. When " single solution " developers, patent concoctions or otherwise, are used, the safest way of securing a soft result is to develop until the image just appears, and then to transfer to d dish of clear cold water in which the image will go on developing slowly, giving it if required a moment or so in the developer occasionally and then transferring to the water. This method of developing brings out detail and gives softness in a remarkable manner. When the negative has sufficient detail and density it should be fixed in the usual manner.
Outdoor is one of the com monest forms of photography and one in which failure frequently occurs. The old rule of placing the sitter in the brightest light possible does not in these days of rapid lenses and plates give the best results as a rule. It is the too strong light that spoils many attempts at outdoor portraiture, and the more the light can be con trolled, the better and more artistic are the portraits likely to be. Outdoor portraits fre quently lack character, are flat, and devoid of any effects of light and shade which characterise professional studio work ; and yet by working carefully one may easily obtain an effective portrait of a sitter. With two sitters this is
more difficult, and it increases as the number of sitters grows. The usual defect in the outdoor portrait is flatness, caused by the light reaching the sitter from both sides and the top alike, as in A. Here it is supposed that the model is placed against a wall, hedge or other foliage to serve as a background, there being nothing on either side of or above the sitter to stop the immense flood of light, as represented by the arrows A, B and c. What is wanted is a trifle more light on one side of the face than the other, in order to obtain " roundness." It is sometimes difficult to get the required light and shade in the open, but .1. big tree is a useful accessory when utilised as shown at B. If the sitter is placed by the side of the trunk it may serve to cut off some of the side-light, while the boughs above will cut off superfluous top light. More portraits are perhaps taken in back yards or gardens than in the field ; in such cases a dark folding screen, or even an open umbrella, may be used with advantage to check the exces sive light, but more often the trouble is overcome by arranging the positions of the camera and sitter. C represents the plan of part of a garden or back yard of the ordinary type. Against a door is a favourite place to pose a model, say as at 33, and success will depend upon the lighting, type of door or portico, etc. Doors may be made to serve admirably if the portrait is professedly an outdoor one and the figure three-quarter or grounds serve very well, but in no case should they be so sharply focused as the subject. Ugly and unpromising backgrounds may very often be made to serve by placing the sitter well in front, using a large stop in the lens, full length. It is, however, almost hopeless to take a bust portrait with an artificial back ground placed as at B, because ordinarily there would be an equal amount of light on each side of the face. If a portrait head is to be taken and the effect aimed at is an artistically lighted studio effect, it would be better to place the sitter in the angle, as at A, and the camera parallel to the wall as shown. By so doing, the wall acts as a screen, and one side of the face is slightly in shadow. By allowing the camera to remain in the same position and placing the sitter at c, the result would even be flatter than at B, because the sitter is at a greater distance from the wall. In cases where the precise positions shown cannot be taken up, it is possible to carry out the same principles of lighting in other ways. The sitter could, for example, be placed in the angle A, and the camera parallel to the house at c, in which case the wall, possibly with foliage, would serve as a background, and the house itself as a screen for the light. There are many other obvious ways of securing more light on one side of the face than the other, which system of lighting will alone give the necessary roundness and lifelike appearance to portraits taken out of doors.