The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-23
PHOTOGRAPHS.
HOW Some Women Take Handsome
Ones and How Some Don't.

nortant DrdnCH Ol uol pIoAooSAOA UAloV oh0
has improved in amazingly during the last
year" -, IA.
ou;shed dramatic critic. "Seems to me
That She always had every requisite for sue
cess but the power to act; she is no prettier
than she used to be; she always dressed
beautifully. she was always diplomat and
sIa never looked like one What more
could she have except historionic talent?"
"Ah. but she has only lately learned to
have her otographs taken. True, she
was as pretty two; three, nve years ago as
she is now, but did you ever see the photo
graph she took then? She didn't put them
in the shops, but nevertheless she had
Good many taken by the best photograph
ers of course, both here and abroad, and
thew varied from downright ugly to fairly
GOOD looking. 1t was generally understood
hat she was one of the people who did not
photograph well. She has changed all that
md YOU ever see portraits more strlk1ngly
handsome, or if the truth must be tod,
more fattering than the newest ones OF her
that adorn Broadway"
II is a fact that few outsiders understand
that the art of getting good photograph is
one depending chiefly on the sitter. Society
women are always wondering why they
don't take as handsome pictures as many an
actress not, so far as they can see, as hand
some. But the actress, if she is clever, has
studied the ways and means to get good
nicture of herself with heartfelt attention,
and in this, as in everything, it is practice
that leads to perfection.
"But the famous photographer" you say,
where does he come 1ng'
The. famous photographer knows some
thing. but if YOU think he knows as much
about pretty woman's beauty. her best
curves, her faulty angels, her mfst becom-
ing lights and kindest shadows as she knows
herself you fiatter his intellect. When she
mas given her mind to learning the relation
of these things to photography the best
thing that the famous photographer can do
is to humbly follow her suggestions, and
Justify his title to eminence by his readi-
ness and ouickness in catching her ideas.
And that is what he does do. The fact that the
women who are photographed the most are
the women that photograph the best might
be regarded as evidencipg nothing more
than the discretion and vanity of the allur
ing sex, but it does prove IN fact that the
women who are photographed great
deal learn how to have it done. Mrs. Potter
is not the only pretty stage woman whose
first luck at the photographers hands was
bad. Adelaide Nelson, in the early part of
her career, photographed SO badly that she
learned the business of retouching herself,
learned it thoroughly, and ever thereafter
retouched all her own negatives. 1t is
doubtful if there is a photograph of her in
this country which has not been benefited by
Ter skill.
Mrs. Langtry always photographed well;
that fact had great deal to do with her
success. and so she never learned much
about the business. If she had Bernhardt
could never have put up that cruel Job on
her when she was here last, by which she
lad herself and the Lily photographed to-
gether, the irregular-featured Frenchwoman
looking like mixture of Eastern hourl and
Burne Jones angel, and the classic English
woman like her own cook. That was a
wonderful photograph, and it is no wonder
that it was called in by by Mrs. Langtry
soon after it's exhibition. What Sarah don't
know YOU might as well leave out, and she
is a humorous cat too. Ada Rehan has not
only advanced in her acting in the last
five years, but in two other important de-
tails of her business, her wigs and her photo
graphs--never d woman on our stage wore
such lovely wigs as she does now, except
Sara Jewett, and never any one improved
more in her photographs. Go back and
look at Rehan's old photographs, and you'll
see that they look a dozen years older than
her recent ones. 1t is the arrange
ment of the light that she has
learned to attend to. Fanny Davenport
had been taking dreadful looking pictures
for several years, until she began acting La
Tosca, and then she realized that something
must be done to boom, and she gave her
mind to getting some good pictures in the
part. She gave days to it, wore herself out
and Sarony too, and finally half dozen
good pictures out of half a hundred sittings
The rejected plates she broke herself, for
sometimes Sarony has different opinion of
what is good from the fair sitter, and there
have been some pretty rows up there about
his publishing pictures that he had been de-
sired to suppress. A photographers ten
dency is to think picture good that is very
sharp cut, every eyelash showing separately,
and in which the light is distributed to show
the modelling of the face. To show model
ing is very we'll, when the modelling is good,
but as people get older there are various
hills and dales in their faces that don't add
TO their beauty, and if a photograph shows
these at all it exaggeratcs them. For such
faces suffused soft light casting no shadows
is best. The perfection of this light is shown
in all the photographs of Adelaide Detchon
recently imported Miss Detchon is not the
woman to miss any points in getting on in
the world, and the popularity of her photo
graphs-for they are utterly unlike any
other on exhibition-show that she has
grasped the idea of what her face needs and
he's put her idea in execution. Consequently
she displays pictures that look about eigh-
teen.
For few years after Modjeska came here
nho GOOk DeduJllul plCUuIeo. anu SIG uHU6T-
stood herself in that line 10 perfection, but
she is not sitting much in the last two years.
She is evidently gaining rank with Clara
Morris and Patti and concluding that 1t is
better to rest on her laurels won than to at
tempt fresh conquests in the photographers
gallery. Clara Norris never was much on
photographs. She never had the patience
to sit, nor to study effects, and she had al
ways passion for draping things over her
head like village belle that much interfered
with the charm she might have achieved.
Rose Coghlan rarely gets justice done her
IN photographs, and she never hitherto
bothered herself much on the subject; she
got on well enough without that. But be-
lore starting off on her starring tour this
year she declared her intention to expert
nent in country galleries and learn some
thing more than she knows as to what
makes some of her pictures better than
Others Ellen Terry is the one who takes
ner bad portraits with most lnsousiance.
She actually enjoys them. 'rm never
pretty, you know, when you hold me still,
and put me down in black and white, SO
what difference does a little more or less
uglness make? If they are bad enough they
make people talk, and that is always well,
Is tnota / let the photographers do just as
they please. They don't distinguish them
selves, do they~
When Miss. Flora McFlimsy wants to
set photograph of herself that will be as
beautiful as PLAIN little Maud Bronscombe
used to be, she would not, as she generally
does faka ~ bor 70 IN IN