Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-02-22
FUN IN THE GALLERY
THE. PHOTOGRAPHER DOESN'T AL WAYS SEE THE HUMOROUS SIDE.


 The Woes With Which He Is Beset by All
 Sorts and Conditions of Men--Et Is g
 Business Where Much Knowledge of Hu-
 man Nature Is Necessary.
 "Oh, my goodness gracious, sakes alivel That's horrid Why, l wouldn t give picture like that to one of my friends for worlds ,
 But, Miss Blank, you forget that this is only proof. '
 "A proof, is it? And what were you trying to prove by making mo look like that? That am 100 years old or had been through fever before the picture was taken?"
 Miss Blank, l think you aro q little unreasonable. This is nothing but ] proof, and all of those dark shadows and hard lines will be toned down. admit, as it is, it does not do you justice =
 Justice? Well, I should say not ain t very conceited about my looks, but if l thought 1 was as hideous as that picture makes mo I'd wear mask
 This, in substance, is q dialogue in q photograph gallery few days ago. A woman had como in to sec her proofs, U and the clerk had blandly handed the cause of all the commotion over the showcase, behind which she had in- trenched herself. The customer, or ''sub- jeot, 1" as the photographers term their patrons, was mad as soon as she saw the proof But tho diplomacy of the young woman behind the showcase would have given points to politician. She was thoroughly in earnest or oonfi- dential or friendly or a little bit trou bled, all in ono breath. It was apparent that she had been there before, and she demonstrated that she was well ao- quainted with tho premises. And she was truthful. She knew that it wasn't fair to judge the plate by the proof and, what is more, she succeeded i'll conyine- ing the subject that this was the case.
 e'Very well, Miss Blank, she said when the atmosphere had cleared some what. '.We will finish some of them, and you come i'll and see lem, and if you feel then as you do now we won ask you to take em.
 As tho door closed the clerk rear ranged some photographs of party gowns on tho showcase, looked away into space for a few moments and murmured, tOh, bummie, " and then went back and thrust her head into the pokebonnet oontriyanee where she was making ugly people look a little less so, and there was silence in the room.
 Do you have many cases of that kind to handler" the photographer was asked
 Well, no, not many. Of course there are some people who are bound to kick anyway But l have noticed that such characters have moro self conceit than they are entitled to- We have all kinds of people to handle. /" And then follow ed little dissertation which would in- terest subjects and particularly the wo- men, who have ever tried and intend to try conclusions with the camera. The stock remark which at some time near ly every subject utters as she comes in- to the presence of the camera cyclops is that sho had 'about as soon have a tooth pulled as to have a picture taken. J But that time honored platitude has lit tle excuse for existence nowadays, said the photographer, because i'll all of the best galleries pictures arc taken by short exposure, which is practically instanta- neous. The people who know moro about photography and tho art of getting a good likeness than does the operator often cause him some annoyance and a good deal of amusement.
 In deciding upon a pose for the face" continued the photographer, i've must exercise great care. In the few sec onds that we have to look at tho subject we must decide (proyidod, of course, we are allowed to deeide) what position of the face will giyo tho best likeness 1t is true of almost everybody that one side of tho face Is quite markedly better look ing than the other, and for this reason comparatively few full face or front view photos are taken. But sometimes we have to deal with individuals who in- sist upon pose of the face that is dis tinctly bad. Not long ago q certain man came to me with the photograph of il friend which showed the face in clear profile. He said ho wanted a photo of himself in exactly that position It so happened that the model which he sub mitted had an unusually good profile, and consequently tho picture was quite effective. But my subjects profile was faulty. Indeed he had nose 'as was a nose. It was gigantic. saw right away that profile of his face would be anything but lattering to tho owner, and I tried to break it to him gently.
 ' But, he said, you admit that this is a fine photo, and knew that the like ness is excellent. Why can't you get the same results from my face? I think am quite as good looking as he is, don t you?
 That isn't tho point, said l, be- cause I didn't want to hurt the man s feelings. You know that no two faces are alike, and am only telling you that profile is not your best view.
 But he wasn't t satisfied and insisted on profile, so rather than anger him l 1 took that view of his faee and after.