The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-07
RAPHAELs OF THE CAMERA.
City Photographers Resent Their
House-to-Housc Rivals.

City Photographers Resent Their
House-to-Housc Rivals.
If you own a country home you, of
course. have had your experience with the
travelling photographer who has Induced
you to have yourself and family, grounds,
and interiors" perpetuated in views"
AS there is no reason why the itinerant
artist should not be a good one. the views
no doubt are satisfactory.
He is generally an artistic looking fell
low this Raphael of the camera. in strong
contrast to the city photographer, who
seldom dresses or shaves up to his busi-
ness. His enterprising rival usually af-
fects Quarter Latin beard, hair a trife
long, a careless and picturesque uecktie.
and takes every subject with reverent
robustness. He boldly decries the crude
lights. tame painted scenery. and stacy
furniture of the conventional studio and
in nine cases out of ten this reasoning
goes right down with the country house
resident who is further amused and in
terested by the infinite pains the picture
maker is at, and the elaborate schemes
he weaves to achieve a unique result.
The home studio artist usually Spends q
day with his subjects. studying their fea
lures and varying moods, the house and
lawn. and discussing groups and single
portraits.
When the camera appears on the scene,
then the new theory Of inviting express
sion as il is called, is brought into active
employment 1t is a theory OF influencing
agreeable emotions by pleasant sounds,
doors, color schemes, etc. When the pho
tographer has ordered a youthful beauty
into her pose, he subtly places BOIL of
pale pink roses in ner view or orders =
servant to wave a baby blue liberty scarf
in her range of vision. Promptly she re-
spends to pleasurable sensation, evoked
by the sight of the tender color and
superlatively charming likeness is OBJ
tanned.
However 1t is not always the baby blue
scarf or the pink roses that produce what
is glibly termed the psychic moment, for
different temperaments are differently af-
fected and the man behind the lens has
countless methods at his command for
touching your temperament" One sub
iect Will only respond to music. and men
he finds are susceptible to it's charms;
another one arouses to certain lines of
poetry when read aloud, while nervous
women can never be photographed on a
windy day.
When it is settled beyond argument
what sound, color or movement yibrates
most harmoniously with your spiritual
makeup; whether plate of doughnuts, a
sheaf of lilies, the moonlight sonata or
.'Eello, My Baby" it then becomes neces-
sary, according to this new gospel of the
camera, TO give the word that casts the
lips INTO their most natural pose.
To your artist photographer the mouth
is everything. the keynote he calls it, and
the instinct of every subject, directly on
taking pose, is to drag, twist, or stiffe1
the lips into a hard, affected or simpering
line. To overcome this defect a whole
code of single words and sentences has
been compiled AID the sitter is command
cd to speak piece at signal and then,
as the final word or letter slips from the
lips, the muscles of the mouth assume
that repose, the line of the lips that curve
of beauty, which softens and naturalizes
the whole face, so to speak
With women the word "violets,'' spoken
in gentle tone will, as rule, lend the
mouth its happiest arrangement, while a
deliberate and clear defamation of the
Latin motto on the coins of the United
States casts bearded lips into a sort of
firm and heroic mold BETTING the mascu-
line nature. These, however, are but two
examples OF the words and phrases most
commonly used in the new science or art
of photography. Whether or not there is
any value in this method II is fact ineon-
troyertible that the pictures taken by the |
expopents of these novel means are de- |
lighifully successful.
Dozens OF families have come back from |
their outings OF last summer with outdoor |
or what are more properly called pastoral !
portraits Of the grown ups and young folks- |
which, for their backgrounds alone. are |
worth the effort and good price expended |
on them. The consequence has been dis |
tinctly detrimentaJ to the city photcgra- |
pher. fer the man with a studio to keep |
up expects always at this season Of the |
year, when wanderers are getting back to |
town, a rush of custom and one fashionable |
picture taker talked bitterly against his |
itinerant fellow artist.
He has cut under US terribly" said a |
high-priced photographer. because he has /
no expenses of a studio and ne asks as |
much for his plates as We do. At this sea-
sen. We usually are busy with the children |
Of fond parents. who want a likeness of |
the boys and girls in all the robust beau
ty resulting from the country life and sun
burn There are hundreds. too. who have
made a raft of new friends during the holt
days and have promised their likenesses
right and left and you would be surprised |
to know what boom the sumner crop
engagements are to US. The majority of
lovers have their licensees taken especial
~ for oae another. or they pose together
anu OIutI lnt p4hLt DIDhGlls an IL s all /
these pleasant elements that give our bust
ness its autumn activity.
This year we have had one sitter |
where last year we had five. fer the rich |
harvest IF family groups and fat babies
and fond lovers has been neatly reaped |
by the men who make the house to
house rounds in the country and pro-
mulgate the new doctrine that there is
no place like home for having your pic
ture taken"
The photographer should remember,
however, that his travelling rivals is not |
entirely TO blame. He must allow for the |
amateur. II is very likely that at least (
one member Of every country house"
family is what he would probably call |
a camera fend. There is really no d5ubt !
when all is said and done that the most |
natural and daringly picturesque photo
praphs today are the work of men |
and women who took up photography as !
q fad, and who have gone on improving |
themselves until they surpass the pro- |
fessionals. who can neither afford the !
time nor money in perfecting themselves |
in their art.