SOME ELEMENTARY OBSERVATIONS UPON THE ARTISTIC TREATMENT OF TIIE SUBJECT.
in the nature of a treatise upon art would obviously be out of place in an elementary text-book, but photography and art are so closely united that to entirely abstain from referring to the subject would certainly be wrong.
I would say, at the outset, that the reader who takes up photography, possessing some prior knowledge, however slight, of composition, balance, light and shade, will find even a superficial knowledge of art principles of the greatest possible assistance in attempting to secure pictures by photographic agency.
It may, unfortunately, be said with truth of the majority of photographers, that they care little for, and pay small heed to, artistic considerations in the pursuit of their hobby. A great many people, having mastered all tech nical details, go on year after year producing photographs good from a technical point of view, but entirely lacking in pictorial merit. This, however, would not be the case if some slight attention were paid to the elementary prin ciples which govern composition. It is, of course, infinitely easier to acquire a knowledge of photography than to learn 10 to be an artist.; but there is no reason why a small amount of study and training should not make the reader a little of each.
It must not, however, be inferred from the foregoing observations that the mere knowledge of certain so-called " rules of art" will enable the reader to straightway go and produce good pictures. The two best books upon this subject, which a photographer can, refer to, have been written by Mr. H. P. Robinson, and are called " Picture-Making," and " Pictorial Effect in Photography." I would strongly advise the reader to obtain copies of these, and " read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest " their contents.
Photographic views which are of an essentially topo graphical character may very often, by a little careful attention to the selection of the point of view, be consider ably improved ; but with such subjects I am not for the moment dealing.
It should always be remembered that every successful picture possesses some leading idea, some principal object of interest, all the rest being merely accessory or subordinate. The photographer, therefore, should always endeavour to give emphasis to the principal object by focussing it care fully, and making it the sharpest portion of his picture, and by careful adjustment of the focus it is possible to gain an effect of atmosphere and distance. In order to produce this
effect the largest stops permissible should be used. As I have said, the principal object should be focussed sharply with the open aperture of the lens. If this object be in the immediate foreground, as it generally will be, the middle distance and clistance will possibly be very indistinct and fuzzy ; smaller stops should then be inserted until the middle distance is fairly but not microscopically sharp, the distance may then be left to itself. F/16 is a most useful aperture, and, if possible, a smaller stop should not be used, except it be for architectural subjects or special purposes.
In taking a group, or in coroposing a picture in which several figures form a prominent part, anything approach ing symmetry, like a file of soldiers standing at " attention" (fig. 1 opposite), should be studiously avoided, and the figures grouped in a pyramidal form, as in fig. 2.
One of the rules of art to which I have referred is that the lines of the composition should be so arranged as to form a pyramid or series of pyramids. A striking ex ample of this is to be found in Wilkie's " Blind Fiddler." The principal object should never occupy a central posi tion in the picture, for the centre is in reality its weakest point. For instance, in photographing a landscape with buildings, the latter should not be in the centre, but rather to the right or to the left ; figs. 3 and 4 are illustrations of this. In the same way in photographing a street scene, the camera should never be placed in the middle of the road, but on one side, either to the right or left, so that the vanishing point may not occur in the centre of the picture. Try and avoid a repetition of lines as in fig. 5, either per pendicular or horizontal, because monotony is introduced ; sloping lines opposed to each other are far more pleasing (fig. 6). By following this rule the effect known as " balance " will be obtained, and the picture rendered in a pleasing and effective manner.