and focusing the eyes of the model and not the background.
When much portrait work is to be done out of doors, as in the case of pageants, bazaars, fetes, etc., it is advisable to make a kind of portable studio, as shown at D and F, a useful size for which is 8 ft. by 6 ft. Three frames are made of 3-in. by wood, 8 ft. high and 6 ft. broad ; one serves as the back and the two others are hinged thereon to serve as wings ; a fourth frame is made to fold over the top, and is covered with white muslin, as are also the two top halves of the wings. The bottom halves are covered with dark material. Blinds are fitted over the white muslin at the side and top, in order that the amount of light reaching the interior may be regulated. Hooks or bolts keep the wings and top in position during use. A plain cloth background is then fitted to the back frame, or, if preferred, it may be left open and when in use pushed back against a suitable natural background.
A common defect in amateur portraits taken out of doors is the dark appearance of the sitters' faces, usually due to under-exposure, or to the use of a too brilliant background. When the sky is the background for a person's head, the face invariably comes out very dark, and halation often occurs. Models without hats are usually represented as having darker faces than those who wear large hats, because the latter act more or less as backgrounds and serve to isolate the face from the sky. An open umbrella or sunshade may occasionally be used to make the face appear clearer.
Backgrounds are usually required for studies of heads, particularly when taken out of doors, as any bricks, foliage, etc., appearing behind the head are apt to distract the attention. For full and three-quarter figures, however, natural back Indoor portraiture indoors is a difficult branch of photography, because of the limited amount of light admitted by an ordinary window, and because what light there is comes from one point, which, in the absence of precautions, gives harsh black - and - white effects. A simple experiment, and one which embodies all the principles of indoor lighting for portraits, is the following : In a darkened room place a lighted candle upon a table and window is a large bay or French window, and the glass goes almost to the ground level. All sorts of lighting may be obtained in a home studio such as that described, as the sitter can be placed at any spot between s and A with beside it an orange or a ball, as shown at F. The sphere is strongly lighted on one side only. If a sheet of tissue paper or muslin is held at A B, not only is the light softened on the candle side of the sphere, but it is also diffused, so that the shadow side does not appear so dark. If, in addition, a sheet of white paper or cardboard is held at C D the light will be reflected on to the shadow side of the sphere, to the great advantage of the lighting or modelling. This illustrates both the principles and practice of indoor portrait lighting, the window being represented by the candle and the sitter by the sphere. The only way of securing satisfactory results is by diffusing the light and using a reflector. G is a diagram of an ordinary room having corners D, G. Should there be two
or more windows on opposite sides, all but one of these should, in most cases, be blocked up, as otherwise the cross-lighting will produce unsatisfactory results. One window is really all that is required, and it must be one into which the sun does not directly shine. By placing the camera at c against the blocked-out window (the background at B) and the sitter at s, one would, if neither reflector nor diffuser be used, get a harsh result because all the light would come from the window side. Therefore, tissue paper is placed over the bottom half of the window and the top half is left clear. The blind can be worked over the top half so as to admit or block out top light as desired. A reflector— white paper, cardboard, or a sheet—should be used at R, and the degree of reflection regulated by its size and the angle at which it is placed. Too much, however, must not be expected from the home studio, and the beginner will do well to attempt nothing but busts unless the equally good results, and the position of the camera can also be altered. Even the difficult " Rembrandt " lighting can be secured by placing the camera and sitter somewhere about and i respectively. Diagrams H to M (based on illustrations appearing in the Photo Revue) show six kinds of lighting obtainable in such a room. The letters indicate the position of window w, sitter s, camera C, background B, and reflector R, and the arrow indicates the direction in which the model is looking. The lightings illustrated are : H, ordinary lighting with one window ; I, normal lighting with two windows ; J, " Rembrandt " lighting ; K and L, profiles with different lightings ; M, " against the light " effect.
In some cases a large and suitable window may be available at the end of a corridor or in a room which does not permit of the camera being placed in the positions shown in the diagrams. An American worker (W. C. Vivian), who produces excellent work, has such a window and he adapts it as shown in diagram N. He uses two curtains, one, A, dark and opaque, to pull up from the floor high enough to serve as a background for the figure ; this will necessitate the camera being pointed directly at the window The top curtain, B, which is drawn down and into the room to reflect the light from the window on to the figure, should be drawn far enough below the top of the dark curtain to prevent direct rays of light from entering the lens. The top of a white curtain rests on brackets which project out from the wall several feet, with notches to enable one to shift the curtain to or from the window top, by which means there may be obtained an over-head light or a more direct light on the face, as may be required.
A very simple system of lighting heads is shown at O. A window should be fitted with a long white blind, which is pulled down (or out) as far as possible, and suspended above a sitter posed against the window. The top part serves as a reflector for top light, while the lower acts as a reflector for side light. The light at the window is controlled by means of tissue paper or muslin.
Hints on work in the studio are given under the heading "Studio Portraiture."