Evening star., 1934-01-01
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

/ in fancy words. It may as well be plain
common sense, which, after all, Is lust
about what 1t Is.
The essence of good composition is
to include all that the picture calls for,
and to leave out all that Is not called
| for
One Is as important as the other
with the accent. anything. on the
latter.
Where Is the amateur Photographer
who has not had the experience of
say, to find that he had forgotten such
al unesthetic object as the garbage
can In the background.
| The picture turned out good, as we
say. the dogs likeness was unmis-
taxable. Spot was good dog and
looked his best-but look at that gar
! bage canl
In the excitement OF catching SPOT
in good pose no one had noticed that
unfortunate inclusion.
A garbage can Is necessary and
| highly utilitarian article. but it seldom
shows up well in photography of the
everyday variety.
Mostly 1t is best left out, and the
same may be said of many other things
which always seems to get into amateur
| pictures.
No imp puts them there. however,
no imp of the perverse, nothing ex-
cept the photographer himself, who not
only is in too great hurry, but who
mostly fails to give background its real
due
Some types of fine cameras take care
| of this detail by blurring the back
! ground, but the average camera used by
the amateur does not provide for that,
it merely takes what is there.
The important thing, therefore Is to
see that what one wants to appear is
there, and that what one does not
want to appear is not there
! 1t Is simple enough in theory.
Actually 1t Is not so easy. Here a
Billie with a Christmas wreath around
his neck, sitting amid the pleasant
debris of yards OF tissue paper and
/ gayly colored wrapDings of many gifts
The photographer wants to catch
that expression, SO he levels the inStru-
nent. takes a chance Several days
! later he is dissatisfied. because the gay
colored papers and ribbons and so OF
do not look like anything much, as he
says. The effect is not so much Of
Christmas as-dare he say it?-ar
I untidy home
Had he looked at the scene without
sentiment, as the eye of the Gamers
would look at it, he would have real.
lied perhaps, that all is not gold that
glitters in photography any more thar
| elsewhere.
-
The main chance must not be over
| looked but If it can be secured at the
| same time that effective background is
! attained, so much the better all around
| Only experience will give this, ever
in approximation, in fairly full form
| but almost any one. even the --latest
| recruit to the gentle art of picture
| taking. can use his eyes on the back
ground.
Do not be content with looking intf
the finder. You will not find ii In
the finder
Look at the scene itself look at what
| ever is behind the subject, or mair
object. Especially if something living
is being photographed. look for any.
thing in the nature of distraction
I or detractlOn.
Remember that the incongruous shows
more in the print than in real life
Look over the background, realizing
! that cameras have an unpleasant trick
of making background objects stano
out far beyond their merits. In many
cases, and that little thought in timt
often will save nine bad prints.