Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-05-07
THE PHOTOGRAPHER.
A FEW PRACTICAL HINTS. EsPEcl-
ALLY FOR THE LADIES.

Always Listen to the Suggestion of the
ArtIst-How to Make the Best Of An
Unhandsome Countenanee-short Necks
and Long.
First decide what style you will have-bust,
three-quartor figure, OF full length. The first
two are the prevailing modes, the last i'm
plying more elaborate toilet. Now secure
your sitting 1t ia always better TO do 30,
thus obviating the annoyance Of waiting.
Before leaving the studio, unless the appoint
ment is made by letter, consult the photog-
rapher as to your dress, etc. Let him know
what 1t is TO be- You may DO undecided
which of several to use. 1t then may be
choice in color or in cut, etc. He VIII tell
you at once which is best. He may request
you to try more than one, and in the absence
of such invitation you will be expected TO
pay extra for the experiment.
While you are talking with him about
dress he is studying your face, expression
and form generally If he also be an artist,
and experienced, he may see at glance that
your customary way Of dressing the hair is
not becoming, for strange as it may seem,
comparatively few women havO the knack of
arranging their hair in tho mode demanded
by their face. While he knows that the por-
trait must not be ruined by the hair being
done up in an unfamiliar way, he may yet
give you few invaluable suggestions For
instance he may request you to be more
careful in dressing tho left side than the
right, thus signifying that the left side of the
face is better Few have both sides alike.
There is often almost as much difference as
between two persons. The nose is much or a
little to one side; one eye is smaller, because
one lid droops more: there is depression
over that spot where "A tooth has been ex-
tracted. The uneven shaping of the lips
alone may decide which side of the face
should be prominent You laugh rather to
one side-and by the by, there is always
something pretty about such langh-and
you have developed a dimple, which, sad ex-
perlence teaches the photographer, will be
demanded Of him But as it happens some
times, he may fail to detect the slightest d1f
ference between the right and left, but he
still requests you to take special pains with
certain side OF the hair, rs he prefers To show
that side Of the face. This is because in
every atelier the light is better at one end of
the room than at the other, and he is accus-
toned to place his sitters tlpre.
Now, and not when you come to sit, is the
time for you to tell him what you prefer
You wish a three quarter face, or front
view, or a profile; you have studied the
idiosyncrasies Of your face for years, and
have so decided He listens respectfully,
but his eye has searched out all the little
secrets of anatomy, and fath0med your hid
deu reasons for thus and SO. You are afraid
of that cheek bone; you do not say SO, but
he knows it, and is studying how TO retire it
and lose it in the tinting Of the background.
You are conscious of those ears; they are
large, aud stand well out A photographer
knows how formidable an antagonist is an
hot ,rnfa Mt .irrnf 81.
head; he knows that there is usually but one
way to subdue it, and smiles inwardly at
your emphatic demand for full front
which means that both ears shall show
equally. When he says full face he means
"a pose that almost or entirely loses one ear.
Perhaps you insist that he do not make
you a profile; you often rejoice that YOU
live in an age when silhoutte profiles are
out of fashion. The prominence OF your
nose forbids it, or long chin puts it out of
the question. A side face is just the thing
for you; the photographer sees it at a glance
for, again, strange as it may appear, the
possibilities for a profile do not depend so
much upon the features as upon the hair and
neck dressing. A slight tip bo the head one
way or the other lengthenS or foreshortens
tho features, and the photographer, in
manipulating his light and shade, may refine
or render them stronger at will. He will
hell you not to arrange tho hair till you come
to the studio, for a very short distance,
especially in damp or blusteGing weather,
will ruin it. He will probably request you
not to dress the neck too high or too tight,
or in an exact circle, with the fore part of
it lying close under the chin, for, of
all things, the present high mode of
dressing the neck is distressing to an
artistic photographer 1t is done because the
lady has a short neck or long one, or it is
Min, and the cords must be concealed 1t is
done, for it is the fashion. This is all a mis-
take You are surprised when the photog-
rapher says it, for there is a touch of bitter
ness in his tone. He illustrates his meaning
by winding the lapels of his coat tightly
around his neck "You see, madam, the
effect on long face like my own 1t over
hangs and becomes almost deformed, while
a round face becomes button shaped, and
none of the little tricks of hair dressing or
expression can remedy it, No; it's all mis-
take If your neck is short, you say, do
not lose what you have, lower the drapery,
do little judicious borrowing, and, prestol
the face that was round becomes oval In
any case the neck must not be hidden, for all
the action and grace of position in bust
portrait centers there"
Never ask your friend to enter the opera
ting room with you 1t embarrasses the
artist, and is almost certain to ruin your ex-
preston; in fact, few photographers Will
allow any one to enter the glass room with
the sitter. Remember that bright sunlight
is the worst light you can have. Choose, if
possible, a day with an overcast sky; snowy
day is excellent, The early part of the day
is to be preferred, say between the hours of
10 and 10 a, m, and then the light is more
actinic, and the photographer has not been
wearied by score of sittings. Black, dark
green, crimson, brown and yellow take nearly
the same shade. A dress cut low in the neck
always seems much higher in photograph
than to an observer. A masculine face is
softened and refined by soft neck dressing,
a bit of lace being preferable to the stiff
standing collar.--Harper's Bazaar.