Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-04
PICTURES THAT COUNT
by r. S. COLE

Tons of paper, and barrels of prin-
ters ink have been devoted to the
great subject of how to make pictures
and the choice of proper subjects fol
the camera, but few photographers or
writers of Photographic lore have de-
voted more than a passing thought to
the equally important subject of what
not to take. The average amateur,
when he starts out in search of mater
ial for snapshots" gives never a
thought to the things he should not
take, with the result that when he
comes to examine his pictures" he
finds that they consist principally of
wasted film and spoiled paper, with
little, If anything, that is of value for
his friends or his album.
Just a little thought and care would
have eliminated much if not all of the
trouble, but it was the old story, the
photographer did not know what not
to take. The great fault of the be-
ginner is that he or she makes too
many exposures, giving little or no
thought to composition and study of
effect, instead of eXpending a little
time and energy in searching for real
pictures. On the vacation or hunt
ing trip the enthusiastic amateur
keeps his shutter clicking at every
thing within range of his lens, regard
less of the real value of the subjects,
careless alike of foreground and back
ground, and seeing only the object
which has for the moment attracted
his attention. The net result of this
sort of photography is wasted mater
ial and disappointment. In almost
every instance, the picture would
have been good but for just one glar-
ing fault, and it is only too evident
when it is too late, and the print re-
veals the trouble, that a little fore
thought and study of the subject
would surely have eliminated the trou-
BILE.
For instance, many an otherwise ex-
cellent picture is spoiled by the pres
ence of obstructive rocks, weeds, or
low hanging branches of trees in the
foreground. A small twig, three feet
from the lens, but between it and
the chosen subject of the camera, ap-
pears too small to be of Importance
to the average careless amateur, but
when the plate or film is developed,
and the distorted image of that same
twig is shown to be the most pro-
nounced feature of the picture" the
photographer realizes his mistake,
and wishes too late that he had been
more careful in the beginning. An
other frequent cause of trouble is the
making of pictures against a back
ground of trees or bushes, the bran
ches of which allow the light to filter
through, the result being that the en-
tire background of the picture is COW
cred with spots of high light which
were overlooked by the hasty or care
less photographer, but which too often
utterly spoil the resulting print.
One of the faults most commonly
found in the work of the amateur who
is too careless, or what is worse, too
lazy to make a preliminary study of
the subject chosen for a picture, is
the posing of a sitter for an outdoor
portrait or a group, under a tree, the
branches of which allow the light to
come through in patches. The resu t
is that the faces are distorted with
patches of glaring high light, inter-
spersed with spots of dense shauow,
making recognition of the sitter or
members of the group practically Inn
possible, and rendering the prints ut
terly worthless.
Many devotees of the camera SEEM
ingly fail to learn, until they have
ruined many dollars worth of plates
or film and paper, that good pictures
cannot be made in glaring sunlight.
Undaunted by repeated failure to
"get results" they continue to ex-
pose plates or films on objects light
ed by the direct rays of Old Sol, with
the result that their prints are simply
"soot and whitewash,' the high lights
utterly impenetrable, and the shadows
burned to a black that almost goes
through the paper as well as the