The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-09-25
TAKING A PICTURE.



How Some People Sit Before PhOto~
Srapher's Camera.
.'Queer sitters? Hundreds of them"
said q. B. dc Morat, the photographer.
yesterday, repeating question and an
swering it. MY greatest trouble with
sitters is that they will almost invari-
ably sit as if they had swallowed
ramrod. A man will come in.
sit down as stiff as poker, and say: I
want my picture taken this way take
it that way. and as matter of course he
Is dissatisfied Had he said to me take
it the way you think best, he would have
been sure Of a good picture. Very few
people know how to assume = proper
expression-and really they have NO
business to assume any expression but
q natural one. like to see business
men come in. for they give me very lit
tie trouble, having no desire to look bet
ter than they are.
1t is very funny to see some people
trying to look pleasant, One day
philanthropist, whose cOuntenance is as
mild rs q wOman's and beams with gen.
tleness, wanted to be photographed. His
face had a strained lock rs he sat in the
chair. and told him To assume . more
cheerful expression. The poor man
screwed up his face in such manner
that he looked like \ red-handed muir
derer. worked with him for half an
hour, and during that time he managed
to make himself look ridiculous in .
hundred different ways. One moment
stage villain. l finally got negative.
but nobody would have taken it for the
picture of philanthropist. Now, if he
had only looked natural there would
have been no trouble at all.
II don't want to be thought ungal-
liant. but am forced to acknowledge
that ladies are far more troublesome
than men. Nearly all of them want to look
sweet and smiling. and in their efforts
to do so some Of them shipper in u way
that is almost enough to break the
camera; and they all want to look young.
That's woman's weakness. An old
lady about sixty called on me one day.
and, selecting the photograph of n young
her picture taken like that. The actress
in the picture had on low-neck-
ed dress, and looked charm
ing. DO yon want it exactly
like that?' asked. Yes. sir, replied the
lady with determination. photo
graphed her and exhibited proof.
That's not the kind of a picture l
want, she cried. 1t doesn't look bit
like the one 1 showed you.' But.
madam expOstulated, Il can not make
lady of your age look like y young
woman Of twenty-five MY age! she
screamed; my age! and flounced out,
boiling with indignation.
1.-The ladies have got neat little
dodge row that bOthers us Il good deal.
Say. for instance. that Mrs. y. wants to
be photographed. OF two of her favor
able dresses she does not know which
would look best in the picture. How
does she overcome the difficulty? Very
nicely. She has her picture taken in
one of her dresses. She subsequently
calls to look ut the proof, and after
cursOry glance says IL does not suit her.
OF course she must sit again. This
time she IS attired in She other dress.
Then she selects whichever picture suits
her; and frequently takes the first, after
all. The photographer who can get
ahead of q W0nr,~ deserves a mOnu-
ment.
'-Ah. the ladies are queer set. Asa
rule, lady does not bsing her friends
with her when she comes to be photo
graphed. But when she calls to exam.
inc the proof she IS accompanied by q
dozen. Eleven of them will look at the.
proof and pronounce it charming. but
the twelfth-ah, there is the stumbling
block. She looks at it very carefully.
gaZes ut me as If / had robbed her, and.
then SAYS. in q voice that warns ME not
to contradict her, that the picture is mis-
cradle and does not look at all like her
friend The others take another look.
while the twelfth LADY, calmly points out
the imaginary defects, and finally they
all agree that the picture must be taken,
over again.
Country people are frequently anus
ing. Two very green country girls
came to- be photographed. While was
taking the negative of one of them the
other got very curic0s and wanted to,
look into, the camera. told her to 90
on, and she pOked her head under the
cloth. One peep was enough. She
looked Mortified. The lens, YOU knOw,.
reverses-the picture on the focusing
plate, and she. saw her sister upside
down.. l lost a customer. She said she
wouldn't have her picture taken that
way, and all my explanations were in:
vain. IN Y Sun