Evening star., 1954-08-08
Camera Angles
Photo Woes
Discussed
By Expert
y Alexander J. WedderburI
curafer Of Phetesraphy
The Smithsonian Iastitufion

We AAVO UOGA % UGGOp1Cu
with topics Of seasonal interest
we haven't had the space to
,publicize some Of the more in
teresting questions that have
crossed our desk.
We now present some ques-
tions and our answers.
Double Exposure Risk
Q.-Ours isia family camera
and more than one person uses
it. We frequently End double !.
exposed frames ON the roll.
How can this be prevented?
Aft a camera is put aside
after the roll has been par
TALLY exposed. even q single
user is apt to forget whether
the frame behind the lens has
been used. When several per-
sons use the camera, the
chances for doubling becomes
greater. II you don't know
whether the frame has been
used. play it safe by advancing
the film another frame. This
way, at worst, only one frame
will be lost while otherwise
you run the risk Of spelling
two pictures. When shooting
out a roll in the course Of a
days picture-taking, double
exposures may be avoided best
by making it a hard-and- fast
rule to advance the film
Immediately after each ex-
poSure.
Tokins Pictures After Dark
Q.-What is the best pro-
cedure for taking color pic
lures after dark?
A.-To start OF on the right
track. load the camera with
tungsten type color Aim.
Then If you have in the past
grown more familiar with
black-and-white fllm, you will
have to readjust your way of
thinking to much slower ex-
posures because color fllm
emulsion is slower to react
to light than monochrome.
With box cameras that have
lenses with an fi8 or I'll
aperture you will find that
an exposure Of 2 or 3 seconds
will be needed even in, a down.
town area where there Is ap-
parently q lot Of light. This
of course calls for q tripod
or other support for the cam
era to prevent blurring from
camera movement. If your
lens is. say. f/4.5 or f/3.5,
make the exposure 1i10th or
1I5th Of q second. With an
fi2 lens you can make a hand
held shot at 1/25th.
Vory Angle, Position
Q.-NO matter how we try to
change the location or story
factor of our home movies
they all seem to have . mo
notOn0us samenesS. What
would you suggest to improve
them?
A.-Perhaps the greatest
contributing cause towards
dull. uninteresting amateur
films is failure to change
camera position and angle. If
all your scenes are shot from
the same distance and angle
they are apt to be dull and
: flavorless. Move your camera
in and out from subjects or
from side to side as the film
progresses. Instead Of filming
from one spot, move in for
closeupS and medium shots
instead Of depending too much
on camera positions where
large areas are included.
Switches in camera angle are
similarly important. Extreme
ly low shots from near the
ground and high angles from
q ladder top or overhanging
tree limb will add zest to your
home movies.
Subject 'Hanrming'
Q.-I would like TO make
some good snapshots Of my
children for . change but they
always "ham it mp" when I
bring out the camera. What
can be done. short Of disciple
nary, measures?
Alt Is perfectly natural
for children to be self
conscious at certain ages and
they try to cover UP by ''harl-
ming 1t up" as you say. When
this happens the best thing to
do is to put the camera down
for a while or pretend you are
making pictures of something
else. Then. when they 60
back to normal play. you can
sneak in q few fast shots be-
fore they know what is going
on. The more direction given
to children during picture tax
ing time the less likely are the
shots to be good.
Exposure Troubles
OIL have been trying for
years to make good snapshots
but nearly always seem to fail.
Most Of the trouble seems TO be
in the exposures; some Of the
pictures are too light while
others are too dark. My work
Color Machine Clears
1000 Rolls in Duy
NEW YORK.
Seven thousand rolls Of color
Aim a dAv Ia the record set hv