AMATEUR PORTRAITURE BY FLASHLIGHT.
To say that the flash has decided advantages over daylight for doing really serious work in portraiture would seem ridiculous to many people ; but it is a fact that any effect which can be had with day light can also be made with the flash by the proper placing of the light and reflector. Most beautiful work has been done with the flash of late years both by professionals and amateurs, but the fact that the pictures were made by flashlight being unknown, the general public believe them to have been made with daylight, and the prevailing idea of a flashlight picture seems to be those soot and whitewash things of evening party groups.
That the best work can be done with the flash is owing to the great superiority of lenses and flash material made in recent years over those of past times. By the use of the flash the subject can be seated anywhere in the room, which may be most convenient, and with the camera at the proper distance, the flash can be placed anywhere it is deemed neces sary to make the desired lighting. The merest beginner can make fine portraits by this method, as no special apparatus is necessary and only a few simple rules must be observed. To use an Eastman Flash Sheet it is only necessary to obtain a strip of wood about eight feet long on which to pin the sheet. If this strip is tied to the back of a chair in an upright position, it can be moved about the room and placed in any position with out inconvenience. The sheets are best to use whenever the subject is one who has enough self control to remain quiet during the burning of the sheet, which takes about one second ; but for nervous people and little children, it is necessary to use the cartridges as these are practically instantaneous, and by their use we can catch the little ones in their own naturally graceful poses, at play, at work, resting or doing just as they please. It is only necessary for us to have a little patience and focus and arrange the light while they are interested in what they are doing. If you want to make beautiful pictures of children, do not have any pre conceived idea of what you want ; simply do not disturb them ; they are making the pictures continually and it is only for you to catch them on your film.
All flashlight cartridges should be handled with much care as the contents are explosive not only by the application of heat but sometimes from frielion or concussion. If handled with proper precaution, however, there is very little danger. The writer uses this kind of flash a great deal as he is fond of photographing children, and he has never yet had an accident of any kind.
He begs leave to offer the following suggestion in regard to the use of the Eastman Spreader Cartridges in connection with the Pistol : Take a strip of wood about eight feet long and fasten the pistol to the end with a couple of nails or screws. Then by attaching a stout piece of pielure wire to the trigger of the pistol and letting it run down the side to the other end of the pole, you have as handy a flash machine as can be made. The advantage of this machine over holding the pistol in the hand is that you can now sit by your camera where you can watch' the subje& from the same point of view as the lens and you can put the light in any position desired to make the proper lighting. Be careful, however, not to put it near lace curtains or other inflammable material as the light spreads out from the cartridge and might cause damage if placed too close.
Besides a light, another re quisite for doing good flash-light work is a plate or film which is rapid, orthochromatic and non halation. Do not try to make a portrait with the flash on any plate not possessing every one of these qualities, and as these qualities are all combined in the N. C. Film, we have here a medium which is ideal for this work. Of course, these qualities are a great advantage in all photographic work, but it is just such material as the flash sheet and N. C. Film which make flashlight work so much better than we have formerly seen of the soot and whitewash order.