Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-08-27
P~HOTOGRAPHING THE SOUL
TOLD OF BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j. RaskIn

NEW YORK CITY, Aug. 81. =
Ectoplasm hunters and portrait
painters have no monopoly On trying
to make the human soul visible. The
artist photographer specializes along
this line too.
This information comes from
Count de Miro, photographer for one
of the best known theatrical photo
graphic studios. Here is a man who
takes pictures Of innumerable beau
tiful women. He has studied the ia
nous features of musical comedy
queens, of film and stage stars. Yet
when he todd his experiences to a
visitor at the studio he never men
toned the question of beauty at all.
On the wall hung a dozen likenesses
Of nationally known stage folk, most
ly young and beautiful. But the
count talked of souls and individu-
atty emphasizing his precise English
with eloquent gestures.
No longer is the actress backed up
against a curtain and given a paper
lily. with instructions to gaze visit
fully with the head titled just a little
more to the left, please. Those meth
DDS have long been dropped. Recall
ing them only services to remind us
how far photography has travelled.
The modern photographer does
not pose his subject at all. Instead
he indicates a comfortable chair and
proceeds to put his visitor at ease.
The theory, so far as a theatrical
Photographic studio Is concerned, is
that an actress is supposed to be at
her best when she is being natural.
She is used to assuming graceful
poses. Radiating charm is a part of
her profession. So the photographer
leaves all this to her, and as they
chat he concerns himself mainly
with that elusive quality which he
calls the soul. He notes the char
acteristic mannerisms and facial
pressions and guides the conversation
accordingly. He has no wish to put
a quiet personality into a ~jocular
frame of mind. The idea of looking
pleasant is never mentioned. Few
smiling pictures are taken anyway.
A cheerful seriousness is considered
more natural for most subjects.
The technique and psychology of
the, occasion are carefully conceal
ed, 30 that to any one accustomed
to strictly businesslike photography,
taking the pictures might seem al
most an incidental part Of the
visit.
individuality Is Sought
This painless photography is pos
sible because theatrical pictures are
becoming less theatrical, in one
sense at any rate. OF the pictures
displayed on the dramatic pages the
majority represent the actors in or
binary street dress. The actors in
dividuality is shown in the facial
expression, and that is depended on
to catch your interest rather than
a costume or setting of the play.
Dramatic stars rarely exhibit their
emotional atSAties in their photo
graphs. Dancers, on the other hand
are still pictured in striking atti-
tudes TO indicate their skill and ar
tistry. This creates a problem for
the photographer who looks with
disfavor on the precisely posed like
ness.
1t might be supposed that the
dancer, with her technique and mus
cular control, could take any position
and hold II with an effect of ease as
might be necessary. This is not the
case. The body would become set
and stiff just as a facial expression
stiffens after 1t is held consciously
for a minute or longer. Nor would
it do for the dancer to go through a
few chosen steps and leave the
photographer to take some pictures
on the fly, so to speak.
In the dance, says Count de Miro,
the lines of the body constant
ly changing. A position of the hand
or head that may be artistic enough
when it is merely held for a fleeing
instant may be ugly when it is pre-
served in a picture. Yet the pose
that is caught must suggest plastic
ity.
He has the dancer select her own
pose. He may mention a softening
OF the fingers or a deeper curve of
the arm. That is about all. Then he
places his camera before a mark on
the floor. Perhaps the dancer is to
be poised on one toe in the we'll
known flying Mercury fashion. She
comes forward on her toes and takes
the position at the marked places
just as she you'd do 1t in the course
Of her dance, and the exact moment
he takes the picture.
Two kinds of pictures are still
posed more or less in the old FASH
lion sepAeu One u tha "sSt piatms''