The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-09-27
OF FEMININE INTEREST
PHOTOGRAPHY OFFERS A PROFITA-
BILE FIELD FOR WOMEN
A Woman May He Good and Her In
nuence BE Bad-The Outlook of
FashiOn-Odds and Ends.

Several men and women were talking
about woman's work and the possibilities
of her success in the professions, says a
writer In the New York Sun, when a
man who had evidently given some thought
to the subject took the floor and made the
following remarks. which may be helpfully
suggestive to capable women who have
not yet entered upon their appropriate ca
reers:
mo finer opportunity for professional
success is presented to. women, especially
to young women" he said, than may be
found in the practically unoccupied field
of photography. This is at once an art, a
profession and business, and young wOm-
who might hesitate at law or medicine.
or would decline to sell groceries or real
estate, or would be unequal to career in
art as the term is generally understood,
can find in photography a combination
which answers all their requirements and
removes all doubt as to the propriety of
women in the professions.
Possibly in the largest cities the oppor-
tunity is less than in smaller communities,
because in these cities higher standards are
demanded, more money is required and
competition is greater. But in the lesser
cities and in the towns the field is almost
entirely unoccupied by women, particularly
in the towns of from 10000 population
down. / know personally dozens of the
smaller towns in which there are no women
photographers. and, in fact, cannot now
recall one in which there is a woman pho
tographer. 1 know of one town Of 1900
people where three years ago there were
two photographers, both men, and their
galleries were of the kind usually found
in such towns. There were several capa-
bic women In the town who had asked sug-
gestions from me as to what they might
do for the Improvement of their material
condition, and / suggested to two of them
that they buy out these galleries and
open one which would be a credit to the
town and to themselves. They simply look
ed at me in surprise, and said they had
never heard Of such a thing as woman
photographer and could not think of doing
such work. Within year an enterprising
man came along, bought out the galleries.
opened a fairly good one, not anything like
such a one as the women could have had,
and since that time has made money right
along.
I'm some of the larger cities women pho
tographers have taken positions in the very
forefront of the profession, but they have
not done there what is possible in the small
towns. Let us suppose that two young
women of the same town, of good social
position and acquaintance, of good taste
and of artistic sense, which most women
possess by nature OF agreeable man
ners, OF INDUSTRIOUS habits and OF fair
business abiity-SuppOse two such young
women determined to open studio in such
town, having already prepared them
selves by a year of study and reading and
practice amateur photographers. They
would select quarters on the ground floor
the average town photograph gallery
being up a dark and narrow stairway-in
quiet street near the business center,
with ample accommodations and all the
latest appliances for their work; recep-
ton room artistically fitted and furnished
with books, pictures, ETC., for the comfort
ing rooms and other surroundings as un-
shoplike as possible. To such quarters the
best people OF the town would resort, and
when a plain woman from the country
came in she would find all about her object
lessons that would benefit her In her own
household appointments. and when she
wanted her picture taken she would not