PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
BOOKS ON PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 Optics for Photographers, by Hans Harting, Ph.D. 
 Translated by Frank R. Fraprie, S.M., F.R.P.S. Cloth, 
 $2.50. 
 
 Chemistry for Photographers, by William R. Flint. 
 Cloth, $2.50. 
 
 Pictorial Composition in Photography, by Arthur 
 Hammond. Cloth, $3.50. 
 
 Photo-Engraving Primer, by Stephen H. Horgan. 
 Cloth, $1.50. 
 
 PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES 
 
 Edited by Frank R. Fraprie, S.M., F.R.P.S. 
 
 Editor of American Photography 
 
 1. The Secret of Exposure. 
 
 2. Beginners' Troubles. 
 
 3. How to Choose and Use a Lens. 
 
 4. How to Make Prints in Color. 
 
 5. How to Make Enlargements. 
 
 6. How to Make Portraits. 
 
 7. How to Make Lantern Slides. 
 
 8. The Elements of Photography. 
 
 9. Practical Retouching. 
 
 Each volume sold separately. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 
 cents. 
 
 American Photography Exposure Tables, 96th thousand. 
 Cloth, 35 cents. 
 
 Thermo Development Chart. 25 cents. 
 
 American Photography, a monthly magazine, represent- 
 ing all that its name implies. 20 cents a copy. $2.00 a 
 year. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHIC PUBLISHING Go. 
 
 221 Columbus Avenue, Boston 17, Massachusetts 
 
Fig. 27. ST. JOHN 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 BY 
 
 ARTHUR HAMMOND 
 
 ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 WITH 49 ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHIC PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 1920 
 
COPYRIGHT, IQ20, BY 
 AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHIC PUBLISHING CO. 
 
TO 
 
 DONALD 
 
 FORREST 
 
 ALFRED 
 
 AND 
 
 GORDON 
 
 AS A SOUVENIR OF OUR MANY PLEASANT TRIPS 
 AROUND CAPE ANN AND IN APPRECIATION OF THEIR 
 HELPFULNESS AND CHEERFUL COMPANIONSHIP 
 
 631163 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO tell a photographer how to compose his 
 pictures is like telling a musician how to 
 compose music, an author how to write a novel 
 or an actor how to act a part. Such things can 
 only grow out of the fulness and experience of 
 life. Yet the musician must learn harmony and 
 counterpoint, the novelist must know the rules 
 of grammar and the proper use of words, the actor 
 must study elocution, and all of these are more or 
 less exact sciences which can be taught. Their 
 application is entirely individual. 
 
 So in pictorial photography, some principles of 
 composition can be acquired from books, but the 
 most important element of success the personal- 
 ity and soul of the artist must be implanted in 
 the individual and must grow with his experience. 
 
 I am only too well aware that much has been 
 omitted that should have been included in this 
 little book, and that many important points have 
 been but lightly touched upon, but if it should 
 contain any helpful information and thus serve 
 to encourage some who have hitherto hesitated 
 to embark on the uncharted ocean of pictorial 
 
 It 
 
PREFACE 
 
 photography; if it should help to point the way 
 to the friendly haven of success, my purpose will 
 have been accomplished. If any should take as 
 much pleasure in reading as I have in writing, 
 my efforts will not have been in vain. 
 
 BOSTON, February, 1920. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Introductory How Pictorial Photography has Benefited 
 by the Energy and Enthusiasm of Technical and Scientific 
 Experts The Need for Sound Technical Knowledge 
 and Training Composition The Mechanics of Sugges- 
 tion Teaches Economy in the Use of Tones; Teaches 
 What and How to Emphasize; Teaches What and How 
 to Eliminate; Teaches Appropriate Action Following a 
 Careful Analysis of Impressions The Limitations in 
 Representation What is a Picture? 1-32 
 
 r 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Spacing Lines, Horizontal, Vertical, Oblique Variety of 
 Line The Triangle Curved Lines The S-shaped 
 Curve The Unseen Line Balance Tones The 
 Characteristic Quality of Photography Key 33-61 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Mass Notan Breadth Pictorial Balance The Un- 
 corrected Lens for Pictorial Work Accent Figures 
 in Landscapes Genre 62-83 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Linear Perspective Focal Length of the Lens with Re- 
 lation to the Point of View Aerial Perspective The 
 Effect of Atmosphere on the Tones of a Picture Theory 
 and Practice of Orthochromatic Photography When to 
 Use a Color Plate Full Correction Sometimes Unneces- 
 sary 84-103 
 
 [xi] 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Simplicity Sympathy Restraint The Law of Princi- 
 palityEmphasis 104-122 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Line Composition Applied to Figure Studies The Ver- 
 tical Line Repetition of Line The Curved Line 
 The Lost Edge The Triangle The Rectangle 
 The S-shaped Curve The Figure 8 The Hands in 
 Portraiture The Placing of the Head in the Picture 
 Space Groups The Background 123-141 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Tones in Portraiture Roundness and Solidity Brought out 
 by Lighting Ordinary Lighting Outdoor Portraits 
 Home Portraiture Unusual Lightings The Outfit for 
 Home Portraiture 142-163 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 The Definition of Art The Need for Cultivated Good Taste 
 Picture-making Largely Instinctive Landscape Pho- 
 tography Imagination The Selection of Suitable 
 Conditions The Illusion of Relief The Illusion of 
 Distance The Illusion of Movement Underexposure 
 Fatal to Success Night Photography Still-life and 
 Flower Studies 164-188 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Technique of Pictorial Photography Developer for 
 Negatives Intensification Reduction Printing on 
 Platinum and Other Processes Bromide Enlarging 
 Mounting and Framing Retouching Trimming . . 189-210 
 
 [xu] 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Fig. 27. St. John Frontispiece 
 
 Facing page 
 
 1. A Slimmer Landscape 4 
 
 " 2. Echo Bridge 12 
 
 " 3. Arthur 16 
 
 " 4. Half Moon Beach, Gloucester 20 
 
 " 5. A Spring Flower 22 
 
 " 6. The Camera Club Secretary 26 
 
 " 7. Sumac Lane, Rocky Neck 28 
 
 " 8. An American Boy 32 
 
 " 9. The Fenway, Boston 34 
 
 " 10. Portrait of Freddie 36 
 
 " 11. The Harlem River 44 
 
 " 12. Starting Out 46 
 
 " 13. Plum Island 48 
 
 " 14. Portrait of A. M., Jr 52 
 
 " 15. Portrait of L. W 60 
 
 " 16. The Explorers 64 
 
 " 17. Crescent Beach, Gloucester 66 
 
 " 18. The Painter 70 
 
 " 19. Wingaersheek Beach 74 
 
 " 20. At the Close of a Stormy Day 78 
 
 " 21. A Home Portrait 80 
 
 " 22. A Summer Camper 84 
 
 " 23. Portrait of a Painter ." 92 
 
 " 24. The Fair-haired Boy 96 
 
 " 25. Charlie 98 
 
 " 26. Portrait of Jack 102 
 
 " 28. Portrait, Mr. B 106 
 
 " 29. George, the Scout 110 
 
 " 30. Building the Fire U , 
 
 " 30A. Young Artists ' 
 
 V 31. Ready for the Party 116 
 
 " 32. An Out-door Home Portrait 124 
 
 " 33. In the Studio 128 
 
 xiii 
 
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " 34. Jimmie 130 
 
 " 35. The Day after Christmas 134 
 
 " 36. Swapping Pictures 138 
 
 " 37. Portrait, F. S. H 142 
 
 " 38. Sunlight Effect 144 
 
 " 39. The Composer 148 
 
 " 40. John 156 
 
 " 41. Annisquam Bridge, Sunlight 160 
 
 " 42. Surf at Bass Rocks 162 
 
 " 43. Rocky Neck, East Gloucester 166 
 
 " 44. Sunrise on Lake Winnepesaukee 170 
 
 " 45. The Washington Statue at Night 174 
 
 " 46. The Little Roy in the Park 192 
 
 " 47. Ahnost Human 196 
 
 " 48. Gordon 204 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION IN 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHY 0'itl' 
 
 * ' * j j j 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Introductory How Pictorial Photography has Benefited by 
 the Energy and Enthusiasm of Technical and Scientific Ex- 
 pertsThe Need for Soun<i Technical Knowledge and 
 Training Composition The Mechanics of Suggestion 
 Teaches Economy in the Use of Tones; Teaches What and 
 How to Emphasize; Teaches What and How to Eliminate; 
 Teaches Appropriate Action Following a Careful Analysis of 
 Impressions The Limitations in Representation What is 
 a Picture? 
 
 "PHOTOGRAPHY, with its many and varied 
 JL aspects, appeals in different ways to people 
 of widely differing temperaments and this, doubt- 
 less, is the reason for the almost universal interest 
 taken in cameras and camera results the world 
 over. This interest may be scientific and utili- 
 tarian or it may be purely aesthetic. Photogra- 
 phy may be regarded either as an art or as a 
 science, and, therefore, an artist may find in it 
 just as much to interest him as does one^who is 
 mainly concerned with the scientific laws and 
 principles involved in the production of a photo- 
 graphic print. 
 
 The artist who uses the camera for picture- 
 making is following only one of the many branches 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 of photographic work, and there are others just 
 as interesting. There is for instance, the allur- 
 ing field of photographic chemistry, that tre- 
 \ / Ktendously interesting study of such manifesta- 
 tions of nature working according to fixed laws 
 * l 
 
 t chemical reactions originated by the energy 
 of light and the reduction to metallic silver of the 
 silver salts which have been affected by light. 
 The science of optics, too, is connected very 
 closely with photography, and here is another 
 absorbing study for the practical scientist, who 
 will find much to interest him in the study of 
 light and its transmission through a lens. The 
 purely technical problems of photography, and 
 the cultivation of the ability to produce perfect 
 results under varying conditions, will interest 
 many who are neither artists nor scientists, and 
 such lovers of technical perfection can go far 
 before their interest will wane, for almost every 
 picture, or, at any rate, every class of pictures, will 
 offer new technical problems. In the study of 
 technique alone many years may be spent with 
 pleasure and profit. 
 
 To the chemical and optical experts and to the 
 enthusiastic technicians we, as photographers, 
 owe a deep debt of gratitude; to their careful 
 and painstaking investigation and research are 
 due the wonderful strides made in the invention 
 and manufacture of the photographic apparatus 
 
 ' [2] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 and materials now at our disposal. To the ex- 
 perts in photographic chemistry we owe the 
 perfection of the modern dry plate with its won- 
 derful speed and other advantages over the wet 
 plates of the past. To them,lalso, we owe the in- 
 vention and manufacture of orthochromatic and 
 panchromatic plates, which place in our hands 
 a wonderfully efficient means of securing better 
 pictures. To the enthusiastic technicians and 
 their insistent demands for better and more effi- 
 cient apparatus we owe that marvellous photog- 
 raphic tool, the modern anastigmat lens, which 
 so greatly enlarges the possibilities of photog- 
 raphy. And, in answer to their demands for 
 portability, compactness and convenience of mani- 
 pulation, we have the roll-film cameras and the 
 miniature, vest-pocket cameras with exquisite re- 
 finements of workmanship and tremendous possi- 
 bilities. There are some who look down from the 
 plane of high art and are complacently tolerant 
 of the technician and the chemical and optical 
 enthusiasts, but if it were not for these and for 
 their energy and enthusiasm, photography would 
 not have reached its present high standard of 
 artistic quality. 
 
 Those whose interest in photography is con- 
 fined entirely to its possibilities as a means of 
 artistic expression and pictorial representation 
 are artists, and they recognize in photography a 
 
 [33 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 flexible and responsive medium by means of 
 which they can express their pictorial ideas and 
 convey their impressions to others. 
 
 The appreciation of beauty is an almost uni- 
 versal human attribute. It is manifested very 
 early in life by the little child who, though hardly 
 able to walk, will toddle gleefully to pursue a 
 butterfly or to grasp a flower. This primitive 
 instinct sometimes remains dormant in an adult 
 whose interests and activities along other lines 
 of human endeavor leave little room for unprac- 
 tical and visionary enthusiasms. Often, how- 
 ever, the childish instinct develops and expands 
 in later life, and the desire to create, the longing 
 of the artist to produce some concrete evidence 
 of his thoughts and feelings, is the logical and 
 natural outcome of the interest in beauty that is 
 inherent in us all. 
 
 This impulse to express our ideas of beauty 
 must be guided by knowledge and training, and 
 much hard work is necessary to train the mind 
 and "that clumsy instrument, the human hand" 
 adequately to perform the tasks demanded of it. 
 It is so in all branches of creative art, and photog- 
 raphy is no exception. A musician works hard 
 for many years to perfect himself in his art; a 
 painter has to put in many years of training 
 before he can express himself fully, with satis- 
 faction to himself and others. So the artist in 
 
Fig. 1. A SUMMER LANDSCAPE 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 photography must work and study to make him- 
 self the master of technical difficulties. In his 
 hands the camera and lens should be flexible and 
 responsive to his moods. This implies a thorough 
 mastery of technical details, and a clear, though 
 not necessarily exhaustive, understanding of the 
 scientific principles involved in the production of 
 a photographic print. There must be artistic 
 feeling, of course, but that alone will not suffice. 
 Knowledge and skill are also required to enable 
 the artist to use his chosen medium to the best 
 advantage. It is a mistake, therefore, for the 
 artist in photography to regard technique as be- 
 ing merely mechanical and beneath his notice, for, 
 unless he possesses a thoroughly sound founda- 
 tion of technical knowledge and manual dexterity, 
 his work will always be crude and unfinished, and 
 he will never have complete control over his 
 medium. 
 
 There are many good books and magazines 
 which deal with various portions of the technique 
 of photography from the practical standpoint. 
 Therefore, when technical advice is given in this 
 volume, it will be on the supposition that my 
 readers already possess a thorough knowledge of 
 the elementary principles. The reader is referred 
 to other volumes in this series for additional in- 
 formation on the technical and scientific aspects 
 of photography. My purpose is to try to point 
 
 C5] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 out to the artist in photography some of the uni- 
 versally recognized rules of composition, and to 
 give as much practical help as is possible in deal- 
 ing with a phase of artistic work in which the 
 personal equation is so important a factor. 
 
 Whether or not the ability to make pleasing 
 pictures can be acquired by reading books on 
 composition may be open to question. Person- 
 ally I think it can, because the desire to learn, 
 and the interest in the subject shown by this 
 desire, presuppose a natural inclination and the 
 germ of creative ability. This can be cultivated 
 by study and by practical experience along the 
 right lines. No books on the subject can actually 
 teach a photographer how to make pictures. 
 They can only point out the road and suggest 
 lines of thought. There must be actual experi- 
 ment along the lines suggested. Composition can 
 become a habit like everything else, and the more 
 one works at it the easier it will become. If the 
 desire is there and one is interested enough to 
 keep on trying, one day he will get a real picture. 
 This will be followed later by another, and, in 
 time, the ability to see and arrange a pleasing 
 composition will become habitual. The would- 
 be pictorialist must try to cultivate the ability to 
 see everything pictorially. 
 
 The object of the picture-maker is to express, 
 not facts, but the emotions which these facts 
 
 C6] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 arouse in him. In order to be able to do this, he 
 must understand the laws of composition and 
 also those that affect the distribution of light and 
 shade. His eye must be trained to distinguish 
 values, that is, the varying effect of light on 
 objects of different material, and the gradual 
 change in the color or tone of an object, accord- 
 ing as it is nearer to or farther away from the 
 eye. All this is a matter of study and experience, 
 and is but the natural development of an instinc- 
 tive sense of what is beautiful in line, form and 
 tone. When this instinctive appreciation of 
 beauty has been developed along the right lines, 
 the ability to discuss and criticize pictures as well 
 as the ability to make pictures will be more com- 
 plete. Instead of a more or less vague idea that 
 such a thing is right and that something else is 
 not right, one will be able to give definite reasons 
 and make the criticism constructive and helpful. 
 Artists are not always creative; there are many 
 people who admire pictures, who enjoy music and 
 literature, who can appreciate the artistic feeling 
 shown in works of art, but who are quite unable 
 to express themselves in terms of art, or to con- 
 vey their impressions to others by any means of 
 artistic representation. Such people are just as 
 much artists, however, as those who can paint 
 pictures, compose music or write poetry. Robert 
 Louis Stevenson writes in Ordered South: "We 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 admire splendid views or great pictures; and yet 
 what is truly admirable is rather the mind within 
 us, that gathers together these scattered details 
 for its delight, and makes out of certain colors, 
 certain distributions of graduated light and dark- 
 ness, that intelligible whole which alone we call 
 a picture or a view." 
 
 Those who, in addition to being able to enjoy 
 and appreciate pictures, possess also the power 
 of expressing their ideas 'in such a way that their 
 pictures may be enjoyed and appreciated, are but 
 carrying the inherent appreciation of the beau- 
 tiful to its logical conclusion. In them the appre- 
 ciation of beauty has developed into a craving to 
 create beauty, and pictures are the result of this 
 craving. 
 
 Thus we arrive at the conclusion that pictorial 
 photographs are pictures made with a camera by 
 an artist for the benefit of other artists; pictures 
 in which individual artistic aim and feeling have 
 found their expression by means of the camera. 
 The artistic aim and feeling must be guided by 
 technical skill and by a knowledge of the laws of 
 composition. The technical skill I shall take for 
 granted and shall deal, in this book, mainly with 
 the principles of composition. 
 
 What is composition? Why is composition re- 
 quired? Why is it not possible to photograph a 
 
 [8] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 beautiful scene or a beautiful object, and thus 
 make a picture? 
 
 If we could reproduce in a picture a landscape, 
 just as it appears to each one of us, including the 
 color, the depth and spaciousness, the ever-vary- 
 ing and changing lights, the interest due to the 
 swaying branches stirred by the wind, the sounds 
 and scents of nature, and everything else that 
 goes to make such a view attractive; if we could 
 pick out just what appeals to us most strongly 
 and could include in the picture only what we 
 want to see and leave out everything else, our 
 reproduction would be a picture, in all probability. 
 But it is not possible to represent thus fully or 
 selectively. At best we can only suggest, and 
 composition is the mechanics of suggestion. 
 
 In the early days of photography popular inter- 
 est was excited by the camera's ability to record 
 facts. Today the artist's aim is to make it record 
 his impressions of facts, and to express his per- 
 sonal feeling. 
 
 The artist in photography is handicapped to a 
 considerable extent by the fact that the camera 
 is, essentially, a copying machine. The optical 
 perfection of modern lenses and the orthochro- 
 matic qualities of the sensitive emulsion tend to 
 make it wonderfully efficient in this respect. But 
 the artist must learn to control his medium; and 
 knowledge, skill and experience will enable him 
 
 [9] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 to do this so completely that in his hands the 
 camera will become as responsive as the brushes 
 and pigments of the painter. Mere copying na- 
 ture will rarely make a picture: there must be 
 individual interpretation by the artist, and the 
 camera, properly controlled, will make pictures 
 that show this individuality very plainly. No one 
 who is familiar with the work of the leading pic- 
 torialists would mistake a picture by Coburn for 
 one by Porterfield; and a portrait by Steichen 
 can be readily distinguished from one by Will 
 Cadby. The individuality of the artist is inter- 
 preted by the camera and lens, and the results 
 produced by different workers are different be- 
 cause each artist has used the camera to record 
 his own impressions rather than to reproduce 
 actual facts. 
 
 A view or a landscape will impress different 
 people in different ways, just as a human individ- 
 ual will. Various people will see the same scene 
 in various ways, according to their separate indi- 
 vidualities: some people, on seeing Niagara Falls 
 for the first time, will be so impressed by the 
 grandeur and magnificence of the scene that they 
 will say nothing; it will be beyond mere words. 
 Others might give a casual glance and say: 
 "Isn't it great?" 
 
 What we put into a picture is a record of the 
 impression which a scene made upon us at the 
 
 do: 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 particular time and under the peculiar circum- 
 stances of our seeing it. Naturally, the impres- 
 sions received will vary greatly according to indi- 
 vidual temperament. Each sees only what he 
 has the capacity for seeing, and the capacity for 
 seeing is determined by the physical condition of 
 the eyes, by the individual's power of observa- 
 tion, and by the personal likes and dislikes which 
 lead one to look for certain things in preference 
 to others. A farmer, viewing a familiar land- 
 scape, would see it very differently from one who 
 might happen to be revisiting the dimly remem- 
 bered but dearly loved scenes of a happy child- 
 hood, after many years of absence. The scene 
 itself would also vary greatly under different con- 
 ditions of season and atmosphere. We might 
 photograph the same view a dozen times or more 
 under different conditions, and all the results 
 would be unlike. 
 
 Monet painted the same corner of a courtyard 
 at Hampton Court several times, at various sea- 
 sons of the year and under varying atmospheric 
 conditions, and made several entirely different 
 pictures. What we represent in a picture, there- 
 fore, is just one aspect of a view as it happens to 
 exist at the chosen time. We make our repre- 
 sentation individual by emphasizing those as- 
 pects of the subject that give us the impressions 
 which we desire to convey, and by subduing or 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 eliminating anything that may be antagonistic to 
 these impressions. A work of art, whether a 
 painting or a photograph, is, at best, only an 
 abstract interpretation of actual facts. Nature 
 gives us the subject, from which we select what 
 we want; of what' we select, we emphasize part, 
 or eliminate part; and composition teaches us the 
 practical and common-sense methods of selecting, 
 emphasizing and eHminating. 
 
 What we can do in the way of actual repre- 
 sentation is very limited. A photograph of a 
 landscape is very largely made up of suggestion. 
 To begin with, we cannot, by the practical 
 methods at present at our command, reproduce 
 color in a print, but can only suggest it by getting 
 the tones and values approximately correct. We 
 cannot actually represent the life and movement 
 of the scene, the changing lights and shadows 
 that make it so interesting; we cannot simulate 
 the glorious, blazing sunlight of midsummer or 
 the brilliant sparkle of the sun on snow in winter; 
 we can only suggest these things by means of a 
 comparatively few gradations of tone, ranging at 
 the extreme from white paper to a black deposit 
 of silver or platinum, a very poor substitute for 
 the infinitely longer range of tones in nature. 
 So we must be careful how we use these grada- 
 tions and must economize and make them go as 
 far as possible. Composition will help us to do 
 
 [12] 
 
Fig. 2. ECHO BRIDGE 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 this. With the aid of composition we can convey 
 impressions, and these impressions will be more 
 clearly and more convincingly conveyed if we 
 make intelligent use of the mechanics of sugges- 
 tion the recognized formulae known as the 
 principles of pictorial composition. 
 
 This applies also in portraiture as well as in 
 making outdoor pictures. We have all seen, I 
 am sure, a snapshot of a friend or even a tech- 
 nically good professional portrait, in which that 
 friend is represented in a way that is quite un- 
 familiar and far from characteristic, so that the 
 picture fails to convey the desired impression. 
 This is usually a case of poor selection; the good 
 points were not emphasized, nor were the unde- 
 sirable features subdued or eliminated, therefore 
 the print fails to be a picture. We have to be as 
 careful in selecting the right conditions under 
 which to photograph a landscape as when photo- 
 graphing a human subject, and here again the 
 principles of composition will help us by teaching 
 us what to look for, and by guiding us in the 
 selection of the best point of view, the best con- 
 ditions of lighting, and so on. Composition, then, 
 is the exercise of the power of selection. 
 
 Every human being has many moods, and a 
 clever and competent artist can make a picture 
 that will be so characteristic of one particular 
 mood that others will be able to recognize it. 
 
 [13] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 The artist does this by emphasis, by elimination, 
 and by suggestion; and a knowledge of composi- 
 tion will tell him what to emphasize, what to 
 eliminate and how to suggest. We cannot actu- 
 ally represent the irrepressible merriment of a 
 happy human boy, but we can suggest this by 
 emphasizing his bright and laughing eyes, and, 
 similarly, we can emphasize the 'grace and dignity 
 of a handsome woman by having a predominance 
 of easy, flowing curves in the line composition of 
 the picture. 
 
 Not only human beings have moods, but every- 
 thing in nature has moods. Possibly this state- 
 ment is not strictly correct because the word 
 "mood" presupposes some intelligence and voli- 
 tion, but the sea, under varying conditions, sug- 
 gests different moods, calm and quiescent, or 
 lashed to fury. A landscape may also be said to 
 have moods, and may thus give rise to different 
 sensations and impressions. It may convey an 
 impression of beauty; its grandeur may inspire 
 awe; it may suggest melancholy or gloomy ideas, 
 or may give an impression of peacefulness, calm 
 and quiet; perhaps solitude may be suggested, 
 or desolation. It is such impressions and sensa- 
 tions as these which we desire to convey in our 
 pictures. We want to suggest the mood of the 
 landscape, just as we suggest the moods and 
 characteristics of the human subject, and we go 
 
 [14] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 about it in much the same way, by emphasiz- 
 ing, eliminating and suggesting, which we are en- 
 abled to do clearly and convincingly by means 
 of a knowledge of the principles of pictorial 
 composition. 
 
 We must be sure, first of all, just what appeals 
 to us in looking at a certain view or landscape; 
 we must try to analyze our impressions, and find 
 out just what the prevailing characteristic is. 
 This will give us some idea what to emphasize 
 and what to subdue or eliminate, so that we can 
 make our impressions clear to others. Composi- 
 tion, then, is appropriate action following a care- 
 ful analysis of impressions. 
 
 Let us see how this works out in actual prac- 
 tice. In viewing the scene before taking the pic- 
 ture, A Summer Landscape, reproduced as Fig. 
 1, the impressions I had were those -of space 
 freedom and plenty of open air, and they were 
 what I wished to suggest in the picture. The 
 appropriate action, it seemed to me, was to leave 
 a good deal of sky above the horizon and to make 
 the trees rather small in the picture space. Again, 
 in Echo Bridge, (Fig. 2), the impression I had was 
 one of tremendous height, for the bridge is very 
 high above the water. I also felt that the curve 
 of the arch of the bridge, repeated hi the water, 
 was a more pleasing line than the straight line 
 of the aqueduct along the top of the bridge. 
 
 [15] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 Thus the appropriate action in this case was to 
 emphasize the height of the bridge, and to giv 
 prominence to the curved line of the arch and its 
 reflection in the water. The height was easily 
 and convincingly suggested by placing the bridge 
 very high in the picture-space. By the same 
 means the curved lines were emphasized and the 
 straight line at the top was brought so close to 
 the upper edge of the picture that it lost a good 
 deal of its force. 
 
 Composition is very largely common sense. 
 Such methods of emphasfe as those referred to 
 are quite obvious and would readily suggest 
 themselves to anybody. The appropriate action 
 will usually be easily discovered as soon as we 
 -have analyzed our impressions and have made 
 up our minds as to just what we want to suggest 
 in the picture. 
 
 The emotions suggested by facts, not the facts 
 themselves, are what concern the picture-maker. 
 This is where he is differentiated from those who 
 seek to make only records and who are concerned 
 only with facts. Nature provides the subjects 
 which are the material to be used in picture-mak- 
 ing, and the manner of using the material is what 
 makes or mars a picture. By careful selection or 
 arrangement of the material, by emphasizing the 
 important features, and by curbing the prolific 
 generosity of nature by ruthless elimination of 
 
 [16] 
 

 Fig. 3. ARTHUR 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 the unessentials, the picture-maker can make 
 his picture deliver a message and convey to others 
 the thoughts and feelings he himself experienced 
 and which inspired him to use the particular 
 material in the particular way. This is composi- 
 tion; knowing what to select, how to arrange, 
 what to emphasize or eliminate and how to do it, 
 and the aim of this book is to give practical in- 
 struction along these lines. 
 
 A straight photographic representation of a 
 scene usually has only a very limited interest, 
 which is purely topographical. A picture may 
 be considered a photographic record if people 
 say, on seeing it: "Oh, yes, that's the Grand 
 Canal in Venice," or, "That's in Honolulu; we 
 stopped there on our trip around the world last 
 year, and there's the very place where we had 
 lunch." But, if they say: "Oh, isn't that just 
 typical of Venice?" or, "That picture of Hono- 
 lulu makes me almost feel the blazing sunlight 
 of Hawaii," then the picture is pictorial, because 
 it suggests an emotion and conveys an impres- 
 sion, instead of merely imparting local informa- 
 tion. 
 
 It is sometimes thought that in order to get 
 pictures one must travel far afield and visit the 
 much lauded beauty spots of the world, but that 
 is by no means the case. In fact, I believe I am 
 not putting it too strongly in saying that the 
 
 [17] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 best pictures can usually be found at home, close 
 at hand, no matter where one may happen to 
 live. In cities like New York and Boston there 
 are endless possibilities. That pictures may be 
 found in the vicinity of a big city, and pictures 
 that are well worth while, may be demonstrated 
 by the success of Rudolph Eickemeyer, who 
 made the majority of his most successful pictures 
 within a mile and a half of his home in Yonkers. 
 You must get the spirit of a place and study 
 it under varying conditions before you can get 
 more than a topographical record. I do not in 
 the least mean to imply that places like Venice, 
 Honolulu or the Grand Canyon will not furnish 
 pictorial material: they certainly will, as much 
 as and possibly more than less favored localities; 
 but I want to make it clear that the success of 
 a picture, as a picture, does not depend upon the 
 topographical interest of the subject, but on the 
 ability of the photographer to convey impres- 
 sions of beauty or interest by his manner of treat- 
 ing it. It would be just as absurd to claim that 
 a portrait of a famous person could not be a good 
 portrait. Whether or not it is a good portrait, 
 and suggests the character and personality of the 
 person portrayed, depends entirely upon the 
 photographer and on his knowledge, skill and 
 artistic ability, but a portrait of a quite unknown 
 and humble individual may also be a very inter- 
 
 [18] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 esting picture if the photographer is able to make 
 it so. To an artist, one of Mrs. Kasebier's Hu- 
 man Documents, or the series of character por- 
 traits by Baron de Meyer, including Mrs. Young 
 of King's Road, Chelsea and Mrs. Wiggins of 
 Belgrave Square, are far more interesting than a 
 conventional professional portrait of a famous 
 personage. In my own case, I have often made 
 friends with rough little Irish or Italian young- 
 sters and have made pictures of them that have 
 been considered interesting as showing the char- 
 acteristics of the type. 
 
 When we consider that a photograph is noth- 
 ing but an arrangement of varying shades of 
 monotone, ranging from white paper to full black 
 or sepia or whatever the color may be, that these 
 shades of tone form certain shapes, some very 
 small and some larger, and that these shapes by 
 their arrangement give us a representation of 
 natural objects, it will be seen that the possi- 
 bilities in this representation are rather limited 
 and leave a good deal to the imagination. 
 
 That imagination and suggestion are impor- 
 tant factors in representation can be proved by 
 the fact that it is quite possible to make by a few 
 pencil lines a sketch of a face that can be recog- 
 nized readily, not only as being a face but as 
 being the face of one particular individual. By 
 a few clever lines an artist can make a likeness 
 
 [19] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 that suggests the character and the personality of 
 a particular individual, and yet there may be 
 nothing but a few outlines. With photography 
 we can go farther than that; we can get, not 
 only the outlines and shapes, but also the shading 
 which will give roundness and modeling. This is 
 composition the mechanics of suggestion for 
 the artist, in making his pencil sketch, was guided 
 by the mechanics of suggestion in the disposition 
 of his lines, and the photographer is guided by 
 his knowledge of composition in the disposition 
 of the halftones and gradations of tone as well as 
 the outlines of the objects in his picture. By 
 means of composition we can to some extent 
 make up for the limitations in representation. 
 
 The lack of color in photographs is a frequent 
 source of disappointment. Often we are at- 
 tracted by a view because its color appeals to 
 us, and we are disappointed when we have photo- 
 graphed it because, without the color, it loses 
 much of its charm. Therefore we must look for 
 qualities which we can more readily and more 
 adequately transfer to our picture. Composi- 
 tion will teach us what to look for and how to 
 transfer it. 
 
 Another limitation in representation that com- 
 position will help us to overcome is the difficulty 
 experienced in trying to represent on a flat sheet 
 of paper the depth and vast expanse of a land- 
 
 [20] 
 

 
 Fig. 4. HALF MOON BEACH, GLOUCESTER 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 scape. This is, obviously, a matter of sugges- 
 tion, for the view that we see may extend for 
 miles into the distance or perhaps only for a 
 few hundred yards, but, in either case, we shall 
 have to make good use of suggestion to give an 
 impression of depth and area on our flat picture 
 surface. We can suggest depth and space very 
 well by photography, if we know how to do it. 
 Composition will help us to solve this problem, 
 for it is one of perspective, linear and aerial, the 
 study of which is included in the study of 
 composition. 
 
 The reduction to a small area, sometimes only 
 a few square inches, of a vast expanse of nature 
 sometimes gives disappointing results, for ob- 
 jects that appear to be quite important in the 
 real scene are almost lost and are hard to dis- 
 tinguish in the picture. This may be because 
 we have included too many different objects, 
 or it may be because the object we regarded as 
 important is not really prominent or noticeable 
 in the landscape, but appeared so because we 
 concentrated our interest on it and overlooked 
 everything else. There may be personal or his- 
 torical interest attached to some particular ob- 
 ject in the view, but unless we emphasize or 
 isolate this particular object and employ the 
 mechanics of suggestion to make it prominent in 
 our picture, it will not be rendered in the picture 
 
 [21] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 any differently from any other objects that may 
 be included in the view. The lens has no per- 
 sonal preferences, has not studied history, and is 
 absolutely impartial. 
 
 This illustrates one of the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of composition, that of unity or concen- 
 tration of interest, and demonstrates the impor- 
 tance of having only one prominent object of 
 interest in a picture. We have to do the best 
 we can to make it evident what our principal 
 object of interest is, and we do it by emphasis 
 and elimination, which are part of the mechanics 
 
 of suggestion. 
 
 1 '.-*' . " & . 
 
 .!* , ''. . - ' * '. . 
 
 Having thus roughly outlined an answer to the 
 question: "What is composition?" the next im- 
 portant question that arises is: "What is a pic- 
 ture?" 
 
 In our daily life we are surrounded by a multi- 
 tude of interesting things, and those of us who 
 are sensitive to beauty often find much of this 
 quality in quite ordinary and commonplace ob- 
 jects and scenes. It is, as Stevenson tells us, 
 "the mind within us" that can see beauty where 
 others can see only the prosaic and commonplace. 
 Such vision is partly instinctive and partly the 
 result of training. Dodge MacKnight can see 
 color and beauty in a line of clothes hanging out 
 to dry, and Stieglitz, Coburn and A. H. Blake 
 
 [22] 
 
Fig. 5. A SPRING FLOWER 
 
8gO?:UAU 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 can see beauty in the mean streets of a great city. 
 The beauty of a picture does not depend entirely 
 upon the intrinsic beauty of the objects depicted, 
 but upon the truth with which the picture-maker 
 suggests to others the impressions that affected 
 him and led him to choose his subject. Beauty 
 of line and tone, concentration of interest, bal- 
 ance, simplicity and so on, are not mere vague 
 terms, the jargon of the studio, but are definite 
 and practical attributes of beauty in pictures, 
 and it is on such things as these that the beauty 
 of our picture depends. Just what these things 
 are, and how they may be used in picture-making, 
 will be explained in the following chapters, but 
 one answer to the question: "What is a picture?" 
 can be given by saying that a picture is a repre- 
 sentation of an object, a scene or a person, in 
 which the picture-maker, by the skilful use of 
 good lines and pleasing tones, by concentrating 
 the interest and by securing balance and har- 
 mony, has made an arrangement that appeals to 
 our imagination and gives us an impression of a 
 mood or an emotion rather than a bare statement 
 of fact. 
 
 Suppose an architect and a painter were walk- 
 ing through the Fenway in Boston and stopped 
 to look at and to make a sketch of the Museum 
 of Fine Arts. Of course the architect might well 
 be an artist, just as the painter is an artist, but 
 
 [23] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 we will suppose that his sketch is intended to be 
 a record of the architecture of the building. Both 
 would use the same subject for their pictures, but 
 each would treat it differently, because it would 
 make a different impression on each of them, 
 and would give rise to different emotions in the 
 two minds. The painter might be impressed by 
 the play of sunlight on the white columns; he 
 might take this as the theme or motive of his 
 picture, and, therefore, do all he could to empha- 
 size this particular feature. Possibly he would 
 select a viewpoint on the other side of the stream, 
 and thus get the columns reflected in the water. 
 In doing so he would be employing a principle of 
 composition, the principle of repetition with 
 variety, and this would help to emphasize his 
 theme. He would in this way concentrate the 
 interest, and make it apparent in the picture 
 that the play of sunlight on the white stone was 
 the thing that attracted him. The rest of the 
 subject would be subordinate, and would form 
 an appropriate setting for the principal object of 
 interest; only just enough would be included in 
 the picture to give a general idea of the rest of 
 the building; the emphasis would be on the sun- 
 lit columns and, from the pictorial standpoint, 
 such a manner of treating the subject might well 
 be entirely convincing and pleasing. The artist 
 would have seen and seized upon one aspect of 
 
 [24] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 the subject and, using this as the theme, would 
 have composed a picture, making this one idea 
 more prominent than anything else. The pic- 
 ture would thus have one definite idea or motive 
 and, if the artist's use of the mechanics of sug- 
 gestion were successful, the picture would con- 
 vey to others the same impressions which the 
 artist received when he selected the subject and 
 resolved to treat it in this particular manner. 
 "Art," as A. J. Anderson tells us in The Artistic 
 Side of Photography, "is the expression of a 
 theme, and composition is the constructive part 
 of expression." 
 
 The architect, on the other hand, might have 
 quite different aims and different motives, and 
 he would go about the work in an entirely differ- 
 ent manner. We will suppose that he is inter- 
 ested in the subject simply as an example of 
 architecture. This being so, he would be apt to 
 put carefully into his sketch all possible detail; 
 he would get as exact and as truthful a record as 
 he could. Nothing would be emphasized or given 
 more prominence than anything else; all would 
 be put in quite impartially. 
 
 This is an example of how two men could use 
 the same subject in different ways and from dif- 
 ferent motives. Each would get what he wanted 
 and each would find the subject interesting and 
 suggestive. Each would see the same thing, but 
 
 [25] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 differently, and the two pictures probably would 
 be quite different, though each might well be 
 very interesting and satisfying, and quite exact 
 and truthful. 
 
 Similarly, two photographers might photograph 
 the same subject with different intentions and 
 with a different result in mind; one might want 
 to make a pictorial photograph, and the other an 
 architectural record. Consequently their meth- 
 ods would vary in much the same way as the 
 methods of the architect and the painter. In the 
 architectural record we should be able to see 
 every detail clearly, and the picture would un- 
 doubtedly be very interesting and very beautiful. 
 The interest and beauty, however, would be due 
 to such qualities inherent in the subject; there 
 would be no personal interpretation, and no sug- 
 gestion of emotions or individual impressions. 
 The pictorial photographer would use the subject 
 as so much pictorial material. He would analyze 
 his impressions and would then try to convey 
 these impressions to others. He would pick out 
 one aspect of the subject, such as, for instance, 
 the play of sunlight on the pillars, and his knowl- 
 edge of the principles of pictorial composition 
 would lead him to emphasize and bring it out 
 clearly. This would be the theme of his picture, 
 and the rest of the subject would be just the 
 setting for the theme. He would select the point 
 
 [26] 
 
Fig. 6. THE CAMERA CLUB SECRETARY 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 of view with due regard to emphasis, would pick 
 out the best lighting conditions, and would do 
 everything possible to make perfectly clear 
 what was the main and important feature in his 
 representation. His picture would be, not a 
 record of a building, but a representation of the 
 beauty of ; sunlight on white columns. He would 
 make use of the mechanics of suggestion to con- 
 vey his impressions to others, and the picture 
 would be likely to have a more lasting interest 
 and to make a stronger appeal than an archi- 
 tectural record, because there would be, in addi- 
 tion to the interest of the subject, the added 
 interest given by an individual interpretation of 
 the impressions of the artist. The picture would 
 "convey a mood, rather than impart local infor- 
 mation," and this would make it a picture rather 
 than a record. 
 
 Composition in picture-making is, to some 
 extent, a matter of common sense. In making 
 pictures we are dealing with impressions rather 
 than with concrete facts. Composition is the 
 application of common sense, with a due regard 
 for the teachings of experience, to finding the 
 best means of making our impressions clear to 
 others. Composition, too, is largely a matter of 
 instinct; the photographer will often be led to 
 yield to an impulse and to arrange his pictorial 
 material in a certain way just because he feels 
 
 [27] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 that it is right to do so, although he may 
 not always stop to reason it out. This psychic 
 quality in the artist is something that is well 
 worth heeding, but such an instinct for composi- 
 tion will be more to be depended upon if it is 
 backed up by a knowledge of the universally 
 recognized rules and principles of pictorial com- 
 position which will be enumerated, explained and 
 illustrated in the following chapters. 
 
 The would-be picture-maker must learn to 
 think pictorially; he must try to regard a pic- 
 ture as a pattern, as an arrangement of lines and 
 shapes, making in themselves a pleasing and 
 satisfying design, quite apart from the objects 
 represented. The lines will form certain shapes, 
 and the shapes will vary in tone; some may be 
 light, some dark and some of intermediate shades 
 of gray, which we call halftones. He must try 
 to disregard the actual subject of the picture to 
 some extent. He must think of it as a series of 
 shapes and masses of varying tone, from which 
 he can select and arrange the material to fill the 
 picture space, so that the result will be pleasing 
 in design and the space will be adequately filled. 
 He must not take it for granted that because he 
 is photographing a beautiful view or a handsome 
 person his result will necessarily be pictorial. It 
 may be, or it may not. That depends entirely 
 upon the photographer, because he has the power 
 
 [28] 
 
Fig. 7. SUMAC LANE, ROCKY NECK 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 to control his results and to make his interpreta- 
 tion individual rather than mechanical. If all 
 photographic representation were pictorial, nearly 
 every photograph would be a picture; for no one 
 would deliberately select an ugly object to photo- 
 graph if the beauty of the picture depended upon 
 the beauty of the objects in it. That this is not 
 the case may, I think, be proved by calling to 
 mind pictures which are beautiful, although they 
 are representations of quite ordinary objects. I 
 remember a picture by an English pictorialist, 
 which was hung at the London Salon some years 
 ago. It was a still-life study, and the objects 
 represented were three or four onions on a dish. 
 We do not usually think of an onion as a pictu- 
 resque object, yet the picture was beautiful because 
 the objects were pleasingly represented; the lines 
 of the picture were good; the shapes and masses 
 of tone were very interesting and made a pleas- 
 ing pattern; the picture was well composed, and, 
 therefore, it was a good picture, even though it was 
 a representation of common and unprized objects. 
 I do not by any means wish to imply that 
 beautiful objects should be avoided in picture- 
 making. Quite the reverse: if the objects repre- 
 sented are beautiful, so much the better. I do 
 want to make it clear that the success of the 
 picture does not depend entirely upon the beauty 
 of the subject, but mainly upon the manner in 
 
 [29: 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 which the picture-maker uses his pictorial material. 
 
 A study of Japanese art will show that the 
 Japanese often care nothing for truthful repre- 
 sentation, but sacrifice everything to composi- 
 tion. In many Japanese prints we see represen- 
 tations of objects that are like nothing which 
 actually exists on earth, above the earth, or in 
 the waters under the earth, but we always find 
 good lines and interesting masses, and invari- 
 ably the design is pleasing and satisfying, and 
 well fills the picture space. Years ago Japanese 
 art was thought to be grotesque and fanciful. 
 People used to smile at it and think it queer, 
 but now we realize that the artists knew what 
 they were doing, and we accept as sound art 
 many of their ideas and methods in pictorial 
 representation. 
 
 To repeat, the first thing the picture-maker has 
 to do is to learn to think in terms of line, mass 
 and tone; he must regard the subject, not as any 
 specific object or several objects that he is to 
 photograph, but as material with which he is to 
 compose his picture so that the lines are decora- 
 tive and pleasing and so that the shapes of the 
 masses bounded by these lines are interesting in 
 form and tone. The very word composition, 
 defined as "the act of composing; putting to- 
 gether; arranging in proper order," implies that 
 the picture-maker must do something besides 
 
 [30] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 setting up his camera and letting it photograph 
 just what happens to be before it. 
 
 In portraiture, genre pictures or figure studies, 
 and in still-life pictures, flower studies, etc., the 
 picture-maker can actually arrange and put to- 
 gether the component parts of his picture; he can 
 select what he wants and arrange it as he thinks 
 best, and therefore the composition is entirely 
 under his control. This is constructive composi- 
 tion. There is another kind of composition, called 
 selective composition, which is applied to such 
 pictures as depend for their arrangement upon 
 selection both of the subject and of the point of 
 view. Landscape pictures and marine studies 
 come under the head of selective composition, 
 because in such pictures the photographer cannot 
 actually arrange his material. He has to take 
 what exists, and arrange his lines and masses by 
 selecting the proper viewpoint from which good 
 composition can be secured. 
 
 When we study composition, we find that there 
 are certain facts regarding the lines in a picture 
 which we should know; that some lines are re- 
 garded as being more satisfactory than others; 
 and that we can suggest certain emotions, pleasur- 
 able and otherwise, by means of lines. This is 
 dealt with fully and practically in a succeeding 
 chapter. We also find that we must be careful to 
 give the halftones in the picture proper depth of 
 
 [31: 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 tint. What we have to do and how to do it in 
 this respect will also be discussed later. We shall 
 also find that we can help to make a picture more 
 pleasing by having only one main object of in- 
 terest. This law of concentration of interest, and 
 other equally important laws concerning balance, 
 harmony, variety and simplicity, are all quite 
 practical and rational means by which we can 
 suggest emotions and impressions and in this 
 way make our pictures interesting and beautiful. 
 They are simply the obvious and common sense 
 methods that govern the mechanics of sugges- 
 tion. These laws and principles are quite defi- 
 nite and should be thoroughly understood, but 
 their application in practical picture-making must 
 be guided by circumstances. Sometimes the laws 
 may be modified and adapted to the occasion, 
 but they cannot be entirely disregarded, for it 
 will be found, when good taste and critical judg- 
 ment have been developed by practical experi- 
 ence, that a bad line, a false tone, or a lack of 
 balance in a picture will be as noticeable to the 
 cultivated eye as a false note or a wrong harmony 
 would be to the trained ear of a musician. 
 
 [32] 
 
Fig. 8. AN AMERICAN BOY 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Spacing Lines, Horizontal, Vertical, Oblique Variety of Line 
 The Triangle Curved Lines The S-shaped Curve 
 The Unseen Lone Balance Tones The Characteristic 
 Quality of Photography Key. 
 
 simplest possible conception of a picture 
 JL is an arrangement of lines cutting into a 
 rectangular space in such a way as to make it 
 interesting. It may be a conventional pattern 
 or design, bounded by the edges of the picture- 
 space, or it may be a representation of an object 
 or a scene in nature. 
 
 When the picture-space, instead of being blank 
 and empty, has been cut into areas of varying 
 shapes and sizes, our interest is at once aroused, 
 and whether the shapes and areas represent 
 natural objects or whether they form merely a 
 conventional pattern, we have the elements of 
 decoration. From this simple beginning we can 
 go on to the elaboration of shading with half- 
 tones and shadows to give a suggestion of round- 
 ness and solidity, or we can use color to suggest 
 as well as we can the colors of nature, but the 
 fundamental element of picture-making is the 
 cutting of the picture-space by lines or edges of 
 tones, and this is what is known as "spacing." 
 
 [33] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 In Chapter I, I urged the picture-maker to try 
 to think pictorially and to regard a picture as an 
 arrangement of masses and shapes, lines, curves 
 and angles, rather than as a representation of a 
 definite object or scene in nature, and now I 
 would recommend the photographer to regard 
 the focusing-screen of his camera as a space to 
 be divided into a pleasing pattern, rather than 
 as a glass on which a reduced fascimile of a scene 
 or view or a miniature likeness of a person can 
 be seen. The painter regards his canvas as a 
 space to be decorated with a harmonious arrange- 
 ment of lines and areas which will, in themselves, 
 make a pleasing pattern or design; he uses natural 
 objects merely as material with which to compose 
 his picture, and the photographer should try to 
 compose his pictures in the same way. 
 
 If we take a rectangular blank space and cut 
 it by a series of lines, we get a pattern which may 
 be simple or complex according to the number 
 and direction of the lines. On the disposition of 
 the lines in a picture, and on the arrangement of 
 the masses or areas of tone, depend the success 
 of the result. The effective ways of dividing the 
 picture-space by lines and masses are probably 
 innumerable. The finest effects often present 
 themselves as happy surprises. Rules and sug- 
 gestions must necessarily be largely in the nature 
 of what to avoid. 
 
 [34] 
 
Fig. 9. - THE FENWAY, BOSTON 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 It will be obvious, I think, that a very regular 
 arrangement or pattern will be less interesting 
 than one in which the various parts differ in 
 size and shape. A rectangular space exactly bi- 
 sected by a straight horizontal line is less inter- 
 esting than a similar space divided by a horizon- 
 tal line above or below the exact centre, making 
 two spaces of unequal size. When a vertical line 
 is added, cutting the rectangular space in another 
 direction, the interest is greatly augmented. 
 
 This cutting of the picture-space into varying 
 shapes or areas, some of which may be light and 
 some dark in tone, is called spacing. The areas 
 of tone are called masses and, whatever the sub- 
 ject of the picture may be, its success as a picture 
 depends very largely on the effectiveness of the 
 spacing and massing. The pictorialist must re- 
 member this, and must regard the picture-space 
 as an area to be filled by decorative masses, rather 
 than as a window or opening through which things 
 are seen. The edges or boundaries of the picture- 
 space play an important part in the arrangement 
 of lines and areas within the boundaries and are, 
 therefore, important factors in the disposing of 
 forms and masses. 
 
 This aspect of the subject; regarding a picture 
 as a pattern or design rather than as a representa- 
 tion of an object or objects, explains why an 
 artist finds it necessary to select and arrange, 
 
 [35] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 and is not always content to take a fragment of 
 nature and transfer it to his picture. A slavish 
 imitation of accidental facts is not always good 
 art. The artist has to select and arrange in order 
 to make the lines and shapes and space relations 
 conform to his taste and his appreciation of a 
 satisfying pattern. Thus he gets effectiveness 
 and pictorial interest, as distinguished from mere 
 map work or the scientific exhibition of details. 
 In order to be able to select and arrange, we 
 must learn to 'see things in terms of lines, shapes 
 and masses. Then we can determine from what 
 point of view to photograph our subject, if it be 
 a scene in nature, so that its lines and masses will 
 form fine, or at least agreeable, space divisions. 
 The chief difference between drawing or paint- 
 ing and photography is that the painter can build 
 up his picture as he goes along; he begins with a 
 blank space which he desires to fill in a pleasing 
 manner. In landscape painting, the artist often 
 alters the shape or position of the objects he is 
 studying, such as mountains, rivers, or trees, and 
 adapts them to suit his purpose. He seldom 
 draws them absolutely accurately, or exactly as 
 they are; he emphasizes some things and elimi- 
 nates others, and his picture contains only those 
 elements of the scene or view which he considers 
 essential to suggest the impressions he received 
 from that particular scene or view. In conveying 
 
 [36] 
 
Fig. 10. PORTRAIT OF FREDDIE 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 his impressions, the artist makes use of the phy- 
 siological and instinctive impressions conveyed by 
 the "expression" of lines and the shapes of 
 masses, by the modulations of tone, and by the 
 pleasing sensations produced by the harmony and 
 balance of the different elements of the picture. 
 
 The photographer goes about his work in 
 another way; his focusing-screen shows the 
 scene complete in every particular, and some- 
 times the effect of the picture is lost in the elabo- 
 ration of detail. He has to simplify the picture, 
 and to arrange and compose his lines and masses 
 by a careful selection of the point of view. He 
 has to choose carefully the right conditions of 
 lighting and atmosphere to give the desired effect. 
 
 The lines in a picture are of great importance 
 in giving interest, and the sensations that may 
 be conveyed by lines alone are many and varied. 
 The lines not only determine the harmony of the 
 parts, by fixing the relation of spaces and the 
 forms of masses, but, by their direction, give the 
 characteristic impressions of repose or agitation, 
 gaiety or gloom, peace, grandeur, etc. The sub- 
 ject of the picture will not express its sentiment 
 truly and adequately unless it is made to do so 
 by the language of lines. 
 
 Lines have expression, and by the use of lines 
 alone we can suggest impressions. The expres- 
 sion of horizontal lines is that of repose and rest- 
 
 [37] ' 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 fulness; the horizontal lines of the calm ocean or 
 the long low clouds of a sunset sky are examples 
 of this. Long horizontal lines must be used spar- 
 ingly and carefully in pictures because such lines, 
 with the possible exception of the horizon line of 
 the ocean, act as barriers to the vision in going 
 into the picture, and thus a level line continuing 
 entirely across the picture would tend to sepa- 
 rate the parts. Such lines may well be broken 
 by vertical or oblique lines. 
 
 A vertical line suggests dignity, strength and 
 stability, typifying man, the only animal that 
 stands upright. Very long vertical lines suggest 
 grandeur and sublimity; the spires of a cathedral 
 or tall, majestic pine trees convey such impres- 
 sions as these in a picture. 
 
 That vertical lines suggest height and slender- 
 ness, while horizontal lines increase the effect of 
 breadth, is a fact that is made use of by those who 
 design fashions, and it is obvious that a very short 
 and stout individual would do well to avoid hori- 
 zontal stripes in the clothing. Vertical stripes 
 would convey an impression of height and slender- 
 ness, and would tend to make a rather short per- 
 son look taller. 
 
 Oblique lines suggest action and energy; they 
 are lines of motion and lead the eye in the direc- 
 tion which they take from the base-line of the 
 picture. The lines which would exist in a picture 
 
 C38] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 of a person running, seen from the side, would be 
 mostly oblique lines leading the eye in the direc- 
 tion in which he is going. Oblique lines can be 
 balanced and their energy reduced by the opposi- 
 tion of lines inclined the other way. 
 
 That certain lines are more pleasing than others 
 is well known, though the reason for this is not 
 so commonly recognized. It is partly physio- 
 logical, and partly due to the possibility of sug- 
 gesting emotions by means of lines. From the 
 physiological standpoint, an oblique or a curved 
 line is more pleasing than an uninterrupted 
 straight line, either horizontal or vertical, simply 
 because the eye can follow the course of such a 
 line more easily and with less muscular fatigue. 
 To follow closely an uninterrupted horizontal or 
 vertical line puts undue strain on a part of the 
 muscular system of the eye, and the muscles 
 used in this way easily become fatigued, whereas, 
 in following the course of a curve or an oblique 
 line, all the eye-muscles are used and no one 
 particular set of them is overworked. 
 
 This explains from an anatomical and practical 
 point of view why it should be regarded as a rule 
 of composition that curves or oblique lines are 
 more desirable in a picture than a single straight 
 horizontal or vertical line, and this leads to 
 another consideration in composition; variety of 
 line. 
 
 [39] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 By means of variety in the lines of a picture, 
 the muscular effort in viewing it is rendered less 
 fatiguing. The concentrated effort that is needed 
 to follow carefully the course of a single horizon- 
 tal or vertical line is tiring because only a few of 
 the eye-muscles are used, but variety is restful 
 because it exercises without tiring the whole 
 muscular system of the eye. 
 
 A picture may well contain a number of hori- 
 zontal lines or a number of vertical lines, all 
 slightly different in length, such as might be 
 found in a wood interior or in a picture of shipping 
 with a number of vertical masts. This would 
 be restful and pleasing, because the eye would 
 not concentrate on any one single line, but would 
 shift from line to line, noting, perhaps uncon- 
 sciously, slight variations in length and direction. 
 If in a picture containing a number of vertical 
 lines, such as those suggested, there can be intro- 
 duced naturally some strongly opposing line, 
 horizontal or oblique, the variety thus obtained 
 will be physiologically restful and pleasing, and 
 will help toward good composition. All this goes 
 to show that composition, fundamentally, is 
 based on good common sense and is governed by 
 distinctly practical laws. 
 
 Variety, then, is a valuable quality in a picture 
 and can be secured by introducing opposing lines, 
 varying in direction. 
 
 [40] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 One of the most pleasingly varied arrangements 
 of straight lines is given by the triangle. Almost 
 any triangular formation of lines, with the possi- 
 ble exception of a very exact right-angled tri- 
 angle, would be a good arrangement in a picture, 
 because it would satisfy the physiological craving 
 for variety. A very noticeable and exact right 
 angle is not good, because it combines the phy- 
 siological difficulties of the single horizontal and 
 vertical lines. The effort required to turn ab- 
 ruptly from the vertical to the horizontal, bring- 
 ing into play a different set of eye-muscles, may 
 be rather disturbing. A triangle suggests solid- 
 ity and firmness; it is a form which embodies 
 physical stability. It is also a good space-filler, 
 for its outlines tend to suggest other triangular 
 shapes in conjunction with the edges of the 
 picture. 
 
 This is exemplified in the portrait of Arthur, 
 Fig. 3, in which the triangles formed by the 
 entire figure, a smaller triangle with the knee as 
 the apex, and the secondary triangles formed by 
 the outlines of the figure and the edges of the 
 picture, can all be readily discerned. 
 
 When two lines form an acute angle it is easy 
 to follow them both at once, and the gradual 
 approach of the lines near the angle gives early 
 notice to the eye of the coming reversal of direc- 
 tion. The sharp effort of muscular performance 
 
 [41] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 in reversing the direction conveys an impression 
 of energy and action. That is why the spires of 
 a cathedral, for instance, or tall, pointed pine 
 trees, which form acute angles, are interesting 
 and artistically satisfying. 
 
 When the angle formed by oblique lines is ob- 
 tuse, the muscular change from one direction to 
 the other at the angle is performed slowly and 
 easily, not as sharply or as completely as at an 
 acute angle, and this gives an impression of easy, 
 restful monotony, rather than of energy and 
 activity. The valleys between low hills are often 
 in the form of obtuse angles, and seem restful 
 and peaceful when represented in a picture. 
 
 Such impressions as these, induced merely by 
 the direction of the leading lines, are very defi- 
 nite, though, often, our sense of them is instinc- 
 tive, because we do not stop to reason the matter 
 out. Nevertheless the impressions are definite 
 enough and important enough for us to make 
 practical use of them in composing or selecting 
 the subject of the picture. 
 
 We can make one impression counteract 
 another, and too many lines in one direction can 
 be opposed and balanced by introducing lines in 
 another direction. That is why a triangular 
 arrangement is usually so satisfactory, because 
 we get interest and variety in the lines, and one 
 balances another. 
 
 [42] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 In discussing lines, so far, we have referred only 
 to straight lines, and have noted the impressions 
 conveyed and the emotions suggested by such 
 lines varying in direction. When we consider 
 curved lines as well, we shall find that the possi- 
 bilities are very much increased. A curved line, 
 as a rule, will convey an impression of beauty 
 more strongly than a straight line; a curve can 
 be vastly more satisfying and pleasing than a 
 tangent. 
 
 From the purely physiological standpoint a 
 curved line is necessarily more soothing and rest- 
 ful, because, in following the course of a curved 
 line, the different eye-muscles are alternately at 
 work and in repose, and, therefore, there is little 
 strain or fatigue. 
 
 Probably the most completely satisfying curved 
 line is the S-shaped curve which is known as 
 Hogarth's "line of beauty." This line, in one of 
 its many varieties, is often found in nature, as in 
 the sinuous windings of a stream or river or the 
 outlines of a mountain range, and it is exempli- 
 fied very frequently in the lines of the human 
 figure. In Fig. 4 the S-shaped curve starts in 
 the extreme lower left corner of the picture and 
 is carried up along the edge of the surf and back 
 along the top of the rocks to the top right 
 corner. In Fig. 5 we can trace this line, begin- 
 ning in the left hand top corner, around the head 
 
 C43] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 and face and up again along the hand to the 
 flower. A little interest and stimulation to 
 the imagination is afforded by a portion of this 
 curve being trimmed away at the bottom of the 
 picture. The S-shaped line contains the gist of 
 balance and the essence of grace. It may be 
 compared to a tongue of flame that winds and 
 curves and stretches upwards. The S-curve is 
 also found in a more angular form, more like the 
 letter Z. This, too, is a good line. Both the S 
 and the Z are excellent "space fillers"; one is 
 the embodiment of grace, the other of energy. 
 The introduction of such a line will usually give 
 beauty and interest to a picture. A single curve 
 alone is often beautiful, but the S-shaped curve 
 is still more beautiful because of its variety and 
 change in direction. Curved lines must be used 
 sparingly, for a picture made up entirely of curves 
 would be weak and flabby. Such lines require 
 the association of straight lines to develop their 
 full beauty. 
 
 So far, in dealing with lines, we have con- 
 sidered only actual, structural lines, outlines of 
 objects or edges of tones, but there is another 
 kind of line which plays an important part in 
 picture-making of all kinds. This is the line 
 which is not actually expressed, but which is, 
 nevertheless, very strongly felt; the line by which 
 the eye will instinctively connect prominent ob- 
 
 [44] 
 
Fig. 11. THE HARLEM RIVER 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 jects, following the shortest route between two 
 points, for the eye will always take the shortest 
 path. As an example of this powerfully felt, yet 
 wholly imaginary, line, we may consider the face 
 and hands in the portrait of a person dressed in 
 dark clothing, and posed against a dark back- 
 ground, so that the face and hands are the only 
 light accents in the picture (Fig. 6). We shall 
 find that the eye will instinctively and instantly 
 connect these three light spots, and we shall 
 almost see a line going from one to the other. 
 This often gives a suggestion of a triangular line- 
 arrangement, and the influence of the unseen line 
 may be utilized with advantage in forming a good 
 line-arrangement in portraits and figure studies. 
 
 In landscape work such a suggested line may 
 frequently be used with good effect. The tops of 
 a row of trees may suggest a line. A number of 
 boats, small objects or figures in a landscape may 
 be so grouped that a line connecting them will be 
 pleasing and important in the composition of the 
 picture. 
 
 Natural objects, plants, and flowers all exemp- 
 lify this suggested line to a marked degree. The 
 eye notes at once that a circle will touch the ex- 
 tended petals of a sunflower, and that the outer 
 points of the compound leaf of the white ash 
 would lie on an ellipse. It is the powerful influ- 
 ence of these imaginary lines which makes the 
 
 45] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 proper placing of accents so important in pictures. 
 Even the smallest objects, such as birds flying in 
 the air, or pebbles or rocks on the sea shore, 
 might influence the direction of such a line. The 
 roofs of distant buildings, the heads of a group of 
 people, innumerable apparently unimportant ob- 
 jects, must be considered with regard to this 
 influence. 
 
 Balance is a word often used in connection with 
 pictorial composition, so let us try and find out 
 what it means. Balance implies two forces act- 
 ing on a fulcrum, and Mr. Henry R. Poore, in 
 his well-known book, Pictorial Composition, com- 
 pares pictorial balance with the mechanical bal- 
 ance of the steelyard, where a heavy load on the 
 short arm balances a lighter load on the longer 
 arm. This is a perfectly practical and convinc- 
 ing mechanical principle. 
 
 Now, if we have the sole object of interest in 
 our picture exactly in the centre of the picture- 
 space, we get no balance at all. The eye rests 
 on this central object and gets no relief, so that 
 we soon feel a strain, and experience a desire to 
 look away from the picture. If we introduce 
 into the picture-space one or more objects of 
 subordinate interest, the eye can get relief and 
 rest by passing from the main object of interest 
 to the secondary objects, and back in various 
 directions to the principal interest. 
 
 [46] 
 
Fig. 12. STARTING OUT 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 The main object of interest should not be in 
 the exact centre of the picture-space, because 
 that is where we imagine the fulcrum of the 
 steelyard balance to be. In accordance with 
 the principle stated above, an important object 
 near the fulcrum is balanced by a smaller and 
 less important object on the longer arm of the 
 steelyard, that is to say, farther from the centre, 
 and the mechanical balance gives a perfectly sat- 
 isfying pictorial balance. An object exactly at 
 the centre cannot be balanced by any other 
 object at any distance. It must, then, stand alone 
 in the exact centre, which is rarely satisfying, or 
 else take its proper place at a proper distance to 
 effect a balance with its subordinate interests. 
 
 The main object of interest in a picture can be 
 made evident by lines leading to it, or by being 
 prominent in tone, that is to say, by being dis- 
 tinctly lighter or darker in tone than other parts 
 of the picture. Sometimes the important object 
 in a picture is strongly emphasized by placing a 
 light tone and a dark tone close together. In a 
 well-composed picture the eye should at once be 
 strongly attracted to some spot of predominat- 
 ing interest, but should be able to get relaxation 
 and relief by passing on to other, less important, 
 points. If there is in the picture another object 
 or point of equal importance, the balance will be 
 destroyed, because there will be competition in- 
 
 [47] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 stead of harmony, and the eye will jump from 
 one object to the other in the effort to decide 
 which is really the stronger. 
 
 Fig. 7 is an example of balance and emphasis 
 obtained by contrast in tones. The boy's white 
 waist stands out prominently against the darker 
 tone of the water, and it attracts the eye by 
 being the only light spot in the picture with the 
 exception of the sailboat, which is the secondary 
 and balancing object demanded by the mechan- 
 ical balance of the steelyard. This small object 
 balances the larger and more important object 
 very satisfactorily. 
 
 On the principle of the steelyard, only a very 
 small and comparatively unimportant object is 
 needed, at a distance from the fulcrum, to bal- 
 ance a large and important object nearer this 
 point. Too many lines and too many objects of 
 equal importance in a picture will cause confusion, 
 discomfort and eye-strain. Sunlight seen through 
 foliage, for instance, making a number of bright 
 spots, is irritating and uncomfortable, and is, 
 therefore, not conducive to good composition. 
 A landscape picture showing two roads or paths 
 of equal or nearly equal importance, branching off 
 in different directions, would not be a well com- 
 posed picture. The usual remedy in such a case 
 is to cut the picture in two, giving a road to each 
 part. 
 
 [48] 
 

 Fig. 13. PLUM ISLAND 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 Probably the most important consideration in 
 dealing with pictures made with a camera is that 
 of tones, for photography is preeminently the 
 medium by which we can render tones. Every 
 means of pictorial representation has its own 
 peculiar characteristics, and an artist will use the 
 medium best suited to the effect which he wants. 
 Oil and water-color painting each have their own 
 individual and distinctly different qualities; one 
 is rich and oily, the other delicate and luminous. 
 A wash drawing has characteristics that differen- 
 tiate it from a pencil or charcoal sketch. Each 
 different medium is recognized as having some 
 special quality. So photography, having a place 
 among artistic processes, has its own distinguish- 
 ing quality which cannot be duplicated by any 
 other medium. To know what this quality is, 
 and how it can be controlled, is a necessary part 
 of the pictorial photographer's technical training. 
 
 It may help to make clear what has just been 
 stated with regard to the characteristics of differ- 
 ent mediums by which pictures can be produced, 
 if we compare picture-making with music. There 
 are many distinctly different musical instruments, 
 just as there are many distinctly different methods 
 of making pictures. Each instrument has virtues 
 and limitations peculiar to itself, and we cannot 
 successfully imitate one instrument on another. 
 We cannot make a piano sound like a violin, and 
 
 [49] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 similarly we cannot make a charcoal sketch look 
 like an oil painting, or a photograph look like a 
 pencil drawing. If a photograph looks like some- 
 thing else, it is not a good photograph, and the 
 artist has not made the most of the virtues of 
 photography. Sometimes there may be a super- 
 ficial resemblance. For instance, a delicate plati- 
 num print or a bromide in a high key, such as 
 Will Cadby's child studies, might resemble a 
 silver-point or a wash drawing, but it would 
 be a wonderfully good wash drawing that could 
 imitate the infinitely delicate and subtle tone- 
 gradations of photography. To set out delib- 
 erately to imitate some other medium is decidedly 
 unsatisfactory and futile. That is why I think it 
 is a mistake for a photographer to make a print 
 in one of the pigment processes, oil, bromoil or 
 gum-bichromate, and exercise personal control 
 with the idea of making his print look like a 
 painting. If he is very clever, he might get an 
 exceedingly interesting result, but it would be 
 neither one thing nor the other, not a painting, 
 for it would lack most of the characteristics ot a 
 painting, and not a photograph, for the personal 
 control would have destroyed the photographic 
 quality. I believe that a gum-print that is allowed 
 to develop automatically is capable of showing 
 photographic quality, but when the artist at- 
 tempts to control the picture by brushing away 
 
 [50] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 highlights and by squirting water over the print, 
 he usually destroys the very thing that makes 
 the photograph worthy of serious consideration 
 as a work of art. When the artist has grasped the 
 fact that photography has a distinguishing and 
 characteristic quality of its own, and when he 
 desires, as an artist should, to utilize this quality 
 and make the most of it, I believe he will modify 
 his methods in making pigment prints. This is 
 an important point and should be understood 
 from the beginning. 
 
 It is sometimes thought that the characteristic 
 quality of photography is the facility with which 
 it can render fine detail with amazing accuracy, 
 but this is not strictly true, for the ability to re- 
 produce fine detail is the distinguishing quality of 
 a fine lens rather than of photography in general. 
 A photograph can be made with an unconnected 
 lens, or with no lens at all by making an exposure 
 through a fine needle-hole in a thin metal disc, 
 and the result may be a picture showing the char- 
 acteristic virtue of photography, the rendering of 
 infinitely delicate gradations of tone. This is 
 where photography stands alone, and this is the 
 distinguishing quality which has given it a place 
 among the fine arts. Therefore an artist who has 
 selected photography as the medium in which to 
 express his ideas should make the most of this 
 quality, and not try to make a poor imitation of 
 
 [51] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 something else. The drawing of fine detail and 
 the drawing of infinitely delicate tone gradations 
 are not exactly the same, though one depends 
 upon the other. The lens could not render fine 
 detail if the dry plate were not capable of register- 
 ing a long range of tones and delicate gradations. 
 Strictly speaking, what we see when we look at 
 an object is the light it reflects, rather than the 
 object itself. If there were no light we could not 
 see the object, though we might perceive it by the 
 sense of touch. The lens "sees" things in very 
 much the same way as the eye, and the light re- 
 flected in varying degrees of intensity is what the 
 lens transmits to the sensitive plate or film. What 
 we mistake for the ability of the lens to render 
 fine detail is the ability of the sensitive emulsion 
 on the dry plate or film to differentiate and re- 
 produce exceedingly minute variations in the 
 strength of the reflected light transmitted to it 
 by the lens. The lens draws fine shading rather 
 than fine detail, and the sensitive emulsion, pro- 
 vided the exposure and development are correct, 
 can register fine shading in the negative. So it is 
 more correct to say that the characteristic quality 
 of photography, the distinguishing virtue which 
 differentiates it from all other methods of pictorial 
 representation, is its power to draw shading and 
 to reproduce infinitely delicate gradations of tone, 
 rather than the ability to render fine detail, for 
 
 [52] 
 
Fig. 11. PORTRAIT OF A. M., JR. 
 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 this is within the scope of whatever kind of a 
 lens is used, whether it is an uncorrected lens or a 
 fine anastigmat, and is equally so when the ex- 
 posure is made through a needle-hole instead of 
 a lens. 
 
 As soon as we accept this as a postulate and 
 recognize the fact that a good and characteristic 
 photograph is one that shows good tones rather 
 than one that shows fine detail, we shall see why 
 photography may rightly claim to be classed 
 among the fine arts and why it may be regarded 
 as a medium of self-expression. It is quite possi- 
 ble to have both good tones and fine detail in a 
 photograph, and such a photograph may well 
 be considered a picture. It is possible also to 
 make a photograph showing good tones, but 
 with broad masses instead of fine detail, and such 
 a photograph might also claim recognition as a 
 picture. The drawing of fine detail is a mechani- 
 cal quality, governed entirely by the amount of 
 time and trouble expended by the optician in 
 making the lens, and, as a matter of fact, the 
 drawing of fine detail is a quality that the pictorial 
 photographer sometimes has no use for. Fre- 
 quently this quality in a lens which makes its 
 construction very expensive is a nuisance. On 
 the other hand, the drawing of shading and tone- 
 gradations is a quality which can be controlled by 
 the photographer, and whether or not the tones 
 
 [53] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 in his picture are good depends upon his technical 
 skill and on his artistic judgment. The artist 
 can take some credit to himself for good tones, 
 but for fine detail he must give credit to the 
 optician who made his lens. Anyone with a little 
 practice and a high-grade lens can get fine detail 
 in a picture, but it takes an artist and, moreover, 
 an artist with considerable technical skill and 
 experience to get good tones. There are so many 
 chances for error that only an unerring judgment, 
 cultivated by long experience, and much tech- 
 nical knowledge can overcome the inherent ten- 
 dency of the photographic plate or film to render 
 tones incorrectly. Errors in exposure and de- 
 velopment, or lack of orthochromatism in the 
 plate or film, will upset the tones. It is quite 
 possible that a photograph might show a lot of 
 fine detail, while at the same time the tones might 
 be all wrong. 
 
 But, what are tones? What we call tones in a 
 picture are the shades of light and dark which 
 represent the contrasts of reflected light and the 
 color values of the objects photographed. The 
 relation of these tones to one another varies 
 according to the strength of the light by which 
 the objects are illuminated. An outdoor scene 
 would vary very much in regard to its contrasts 
 of light and dark and its color values, according 
 to the strength, direction and quality of the 
 
 [54] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 light. In bright sunlight the contrasts would be 
 stronger and the colors brighter than on a dull 
 day, and the problem is to reproduce these con- 
 trasts of light and shade and these color values 
 as varying tones of monochrome, so that they 
 will truthfully convey the desired impressions. 
 Where light falls on an object and is reflected 
 back to the eye, we see a highlight; where it 
 strikes at an angle and is reflected back other 
 than directly to the eye we see halftones; where 
 no direct light falls on the object we have 
 shadows: and these highlights, halftones and 
 shadows are modified by light reflected into 
 them by other objects and by other parts of the 
 same object. The lens can see light-contrasts, 
 highlights, halftones and shadows in just the 
 same way as the eye, but in many subjects there 
 is too long a range of tones, too much contrast 
 between the lightest and the darkest tones, for 
 us to be able to get them all in the picture; and 
 when it comes to the reproduction of color values, 
 unless proper precautions are taken, the plate or 
 film will reproduce them all wrong. There is a 
 great deal of difference between the actual tones 
 in the subject and an artistically correct and 
 pleasing representation of the tones in a picture, 
 and we are very much handicapped by the fact 
 that a photographic print can give only a com- 
 paratively short range of tone gradations. We 
 
 [55] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 can get a far greater range of tones in a negative 
 than it is possible to reproduce by any method 
 of printing on paper. Anyone who has had any 
 experience in printing on developing-out papers 
 will have noticed this. If we have a negative 
 with a long range of tones and try to print it 
 on this medium, we have to sacrifice some of the 
 tones; if we print for the highlights, our shadows 
 will be black and solid, while if we print for the 
 shadows, the highlights will be harsh and lack- 
 ing in gradation. Platinum papers have a longer 
 range, with carbon tissue coming next, but no 
 method of printing yet available will give as long 
 a scale as it is possible to secure in a negative on 
 a double-coated plate. It is, therefore, necessary 
 for the pictorial photographer to recognize this 
 fact, and to keep the range of tones in the nega- 
 tive within the limits of the printing medium he 
 intends to use. 
 
 In a picture on paper we have a certain scale 
 or range of tones, the lightest being the paper 
 itself and the darkest being the blackest deposit 
 of platinum or silver that our paper will give. 
 Between these two extremes we have a number 
 of varying shades or intermediate tones. In a 
 photographic print these intermediate shades 
 let us call them halftones are what we use to 
 compose the picture, and our scale of halftones 
 is limited by the printing process hi just the same 
 
 [56] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 way as the tones and semitones of the composer 
 of music are limited by the instrument for 
 which he is writing. A piano has seven and a 
 half octaves, and, therefore, a composer of music 
 for the piano has a greater range of available 
 notes than a writer of songs for the human voice. 
 It is seldom that a composer uses the entire 
 range of tones when composing music for the 
 piano, and in writing songs he has to adjust the 
 scale of tones to suit the voice. In writing for a 
 bass singer he uses low notes, while for a colora- 
 tura soprano he avails himself of the singer's 
 ability to reach high notes. Songs, like pictures, 
 are in different keys. The tones in a picture 
 are not arranged in a definite sequence like the 
 tones and semitones on a piano. They might 
 better be compared to the slur of tones possible 
 on a violin. 
 
 Very closely connected with the matter of 
 tones is the question of "keys," for the key of a 
 picture is determined by the predominant tones. 
 If the picture is composed mostly of light tones 
 with, possibly, only a small touch of dark to give 
 it strength, it is said to be in a high key; If dark 
 tones predominate, with or without a light accent, 
 it is in a low key. Will Cadby's characteristic 
 child studies are usually in a high key. Every- 
 thing is light in tone, white dress against a white 
 background, with a darker accent in the eyes 
 
 [57] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 and hair. A photograph taken at night which is 
 all in dark tones except a lamp or two, would be 
 an example of a picture in a low key. It is sel- 
 dom that the whole possible range of tones is 
 used in a picture, even though in some printing 
 mediums the range is limited. Frequently most 
 effective pictures can be composed of only a very 
 few tones, and usually the artist should be spar- 
 ing in the use of the extremes of black and white. 
 The darkest shadows should show some detail, 
 and there should be gradations in the highlights. 
 When we take pictures by moonlight or by arti- 
 ficial light we may make our shadows black, solid 
 and empty, but shadows in daylight are very 
 seldom devoid of all detail. 
 
 While it is true that a photograph cannot re- 
 produce the same range of tones as is seen in 
 nature, and cannot reproduce light and shade as 
 strongly contrasted as in actuality, it is possible 
 to reproduce the tones in the same relative propor- 
 tion. The actual highlights in the subject must 
 be highlights in the picture, and anything that 
 is really lower in tone than this actual highlight 
 must be lower in tone in the print. Suppose we 
 are photographing a landscape in which there is 
 a barn painted white, or a whitewashed wall. 
 If the sun is shining and there are no clouds in 
 the blue sky, the sunlight on the white barn or 
 whitewashed wall will make it look a good deal 
 
 58] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 lighter in tone than the blue sky. So, if the sky 
 in the picture were white and the barn or wall 
 were also white, the tones would be wrongly 
 reproduced and the picture would give a wrong 
 impression. If we are making a portrait of a 
 man wearing a white collar, the lightest portions 
 of the subject will be the highlight on the collar 
 and possibly the catchlights in the eyes and, if 
 they were showing, the highlights on the teeth. 
 These are the only parts that could correctly be 
 reproduced as white in the photograph. The 
 flesh tones, even the highlights on the skin, would 
 be lower in tone than the highlights on the glazed 
 white collar, so that if any part of the face were 
 as light in the picture as the light part of the 
 collar, the tones would not be true. 
 
 So, even if our range of tones is shorter and 
 we have to compress the tones into a shorter 
 scale, we can preserve truth of value only by 
 keeping the tones in about the same relative 
 proportions. We should make our lightest tone 
 light and our darkest tone dark, and then get in 
 as many tones as we can in between. 
 
 In Fig. 8 there is "tone" in the face. The 
 only parts of this picture that are actually white 
 are the light spots in the eyes and the highlights 
 on the teeth. The face looks white, that is to 
 say, there is no suggestion of any racial color, 
 yet, in reality, it is not absolutely white. 
 
 [39 ] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 The question of correct tone-rendering is not 
 always a matter of simple contrasts of light and 
 shadow. Usually we have to deal also with color 
 contrasts, which makes it rather more compli- 
 cated. For the present, however, we will ignore 
 the question of color, and will take it up later 
 when we are dealing with orthochromatic pho- 
 tography. 
 
 Practically speaking, the securing of true tones 
 in a photograph depends entirely upon the ex- 
 posure. Development has very little to do with 
 it. Development determines only the key, and, 
 by varying the time of development, we are 
 enabled to lengthen or shorten a little the range 
 of tones, and thus can adapt the negative to the 
 printing process we intend to use. The correct- 
 ness or incorrectness of the tones depends en- 
 tirely upon the exposure. A. J. Anderson says: 
 "Expose for the tones that are most desired." 
 If light tones predominate in the subject and are 
 what we desire to reproduce in our picture, we 
 must adjust the exposure to give gradation and 
 quality in these light tones. If we want shadows, 
 we must expose for shadows. Overexposure will 
 tend to block up the highlights and underexposure 
 will give empty shadows without detail or grada- 
 tion. Correct exposure will give the maximum 
 gradation in both highlights and shadows. It is 
 here that the artist can control his results and 
 
 [60] 
 
Fig. 15. PORTRAIT OF L. W. 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 make the medium interpretative of his own per- 
 sonality. He alone is responsible for the tones 
 in his picture, and in order to render them cor- 
 rectly he has to learn, first of all, to see them in 
 the subject and then to reproduce them correctly. 
 The tones in the subject, especially in the 
 most distant planes, are affected to a large extent 
 by the atmosphere, which tends to make light 
 objects at a distance appear darker and dark 
 objects lighter, so much so that under some con- 
 ditions a dark object and a light object might 
 appear to be of the same tone. This and other 
 matters relating to tones will be dealt with more 
 fully in the chapter dealing with orthochromatism. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Mass Notan Breadth Pictorial Balance The Uncor- 
 rected Lens for Pictorial Work Accent Figures in 
 Landscapes Genre. 
 
 WHEN the surface of the picture-space is 
 cut by lines into various shapes and areas, 
 this is described as "spacing." The various 
 shapes and areas, which may be light or dark in 
 tone or of an intermediate shade, are called 
 masses. The masses, together with spacing, 
 govern, to a great extent, the pattern or design 
 of the picture. It is the important masses that 
 we see when we look at a picture through half- 
 closed eyes, which is often done with the idea of 
 eliminating detail, so that we can more clearly 
 appreciate the pattern. If the masses are good, 
 and form, in themselves, a pleasing and satisfy- 
 ing design, we may be sure that the composition, 
 as far as masses are concerned, is satisfactory. 
 
 The massing of a picture is what we first notice. 
 If it interests us at a first glance, it makes us 
 anxious to investigate further and give the pic- 
 ture more careful inspection. The masses are 
 what attract attention when looking at a picture 
 from a distance, too far off to be able to distin- 
 guish details or even, perhaps, to make out just 
 
 [62] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 what the subject of the picture may be. It is 
 interesting when we go into an exhibition room 
 where there are paintings or photographs, to stand 
 in the middle of the room, glancing around casu- 
 ally at the pictures. Those with strong and inter- 
 esting masses will stand out from the rest; they 
 will attract attention and create a desire for 
 closer study. Good masses will give a favorable 
 first impression. 
 
 The desire to attract attention and make the 
 picture noticeable, so that it will stand out among 
 others, is often shown by making the picture very 
 large and by placing it on a large mount, but, as 
 a matter of fact, good masses and an attractive 
 pattern are not in any way dependent upon size, 
 and mere size will not make a picture attractive 
 unless the masses are good and are well balanced. 
 Even a small picture may be very strong, and 
 may stand out among larger ones, if the masses 
 are striking and attractive. Fig. 9 is a small 
 picture, and a contact platinum print, 3Jx4J, 
 is almost insignificant by the side of a 20x24 
 gum print, yet such a print proved to be suffi- 
 ciently strong to be accepted and hung at the 
 London Salon in 1912. The strength of masses 
 depends upon their own inherent qualities rather 
 than upon their size, and they gain in strength 
 and effectiveness by being very simple and by 
 forming a simple, yet pleasing, design. 
 
 [63] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 To describe the pattern or decorative aspect 
 created by the disposition of the masses of a 
 picture, Arthur Dow suggests the word "Notan," 
 which is a term used by the Japanese to signify 
 an arrangement of light and dark. In his 
 book, Composition, Mr. Dow writes: "To attain 
 an appreciation of Notan, and the power to 
 create it, the following fundamental fact must be 
 understood, namely, that a placing together of 
 masses of light and dark, synthetically related, 
 conveys to the eye an impression of beauty en- 
 tirely independent of meaning. For example, 
 squares of dark porphyry against squares of light 
 marble, checks in printed cloth, and the blotty 
 ink sketches by the Venetians, the Dutch and the 
 Japanese. When this occurs accidentally in na- 
 ture, as in the case of a grove of dark trees against 
 a light hillside, or a pile of dark buildings against 
 a twilight sky, we at once perceive its beauty, 
 and say that the scene is 'picturesque/ This 
 quality which makes the natural scene a good 
 subject for a picture, is analogous to music. 
 Truthful drawing and 'conscientiousness' would 
 have nothing to do with an artist's rendering of 
 this. This is the kind of 'visual music' which 
 the Japanese so love in the rough ink painting of 
 their old masters where there is but a mere hint 
 of facts." 
 
 Notan determines the pictorial balance of a 
 
 [64: 
 
Fig. 16. THE EXPLORERS 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 picture, not so much the mechanical steelyard 
 balance of objects or accents, as balance in a 
 larger aspect, the balance of design. For the 
 pattern of a picture, to be agreeable, must be 
 well balanced; it must not be topheavy, or too 
 large or too small for the space it fills. Whether 
 or not the pattern is well balanced can be decided 
 only by cultivated good taste and judgment. 
 Some of Francis Libby's gum prints are good 
 examples of bold and effective massing, and Wil- 
 bur H. Porterfield's work shows that he has a 
 keen appreciation of notan as well as the decora- 
 tive line. The pictures of both these artists are 
 simple, strong and attractive. Good examples of 
 Japanese art might well be studied for the appre- 
 ciation of notan and the skilful placing of 
 accents. 
 
 The picture-space should be filled, but need 
 not be crowded, and it must be remembered that 
 in judging balance, not only the masses of the 
 subject, but also the shapes of the area remaining 
 after being cut into by the outlines of these 
 masses, have a bearing on the general design of 
 the picture. 
 
 A mass may be light or dark in tone. Some- 
 times the striking masses are in light tones against 
 dark. A nude figure or one dressed in white might 
 form a light mass against a dark background. In 
 the portrait of Freddie, Fig. 10, the child's figure 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 forms a triangular light mass against the dark 
 background. 
 
 In order properly to appreciate masses it is 
 sometimes necessary to eliminate some of the fine 
 detail in the picture, for a very highly corrected 
 lens often will give too much detail. In such 
 elaboration of detail the pattern of the picture is 
 obscured, the bigness and impressiveness of it 
 are lost. When we look at a tree, we cannot and 
 do not want to distinguish all the leaves in sight 
 or take in at a glance the labyrinth of boughs 
 and twigs. We would rather have the twigs 
 and branches compose into a general character 
 of structure and direction, and the foliage into a 
 mass or arrangement of masses. 
 
 The best way to subdue detail is by the use of 
 a lens that is so constructed that it will not give 
 critically sharp definition. It can be done by 
 making an enlargement which is just a trifle out 
 of focus, by enlarging through bolting-cloth, and 
 so on, but the most satisfactory way to get soft 
 definition is by the use of a soft-focus lens. The 
 proper use of such a lens will not destroy or 
 obliterate detail, but will render it in such a way 
 that it will take its proper place in the general 
 scheme of the picture and not be too insistent. 
 With a soft-focus lens properly used, a tree can 
 be rendered as a decorative shape or mass instead 
 of as a collection of innumerable leaves, twigs 
 
 [66] 
 
Fig. 17. CRESCENT BEACH, GLOUCESTER 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 and branches; the texture of the bark and foli- 
 age (like the textures of clothing, etc., in figure 
 studies) can be adequately suggested, and the 
 eye will not be distracted from the harmony of 
 the picture as a whole by the insistent clamoring 
 of fine detail for microscopic examination. This 
 massing of fine detail will impart to a picture the 
 much desired quality known as "breadth." We 
 can have some detail in the masses and still re- 
 tain breadth, provided the detail is properly sub- 
 dued and does not attract undue attention. 
 
 In advocating the use of the uncorrected lens 
 for pictorial work, it must not be understood that 
 no other lens is suitable, for, after all, a picture 
 is a picture and, no matter what lens has been 
 used in its production, the result is what counts. 
 It is the arrangement or selection of the subject, 
 as well as the disposition of lines, tones and 
 masses, which determines the artistic merit, 
 rather than the accidental charm of soft and 
 pleasing definition. The end in picture-making 
 justifies the means, and if the finished result is a 
 picture, no one need bother himself as to the 
 details of its production. 
 
 I must confess, however, that the uncorrected 
 lens is a great help and source of inspiration to 
 the pictorialist. The image seen on the focusing- 
 screen is so fascinating that there is a keen satis- 
 faction in seeing a bit of nature so rendered by 
 
 [67] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 the lens, and a great joy in striving adequately 
 to transfer it to the print. With such a lens one 
 can better suggest the vibrant quality of sunlight 
 and render the transparent luminosity of shadows, 
 I think, than by any other means. The lack of 
 hard edges and the entire absence of that biting 
 hardness of definition that is unavoidable with 
 some lenses is just what the picture-maker 
 wants. That is, in fact, just what he is striving 
 for when he makes his enlargements through 
 bolting-cloth, or prints on a paper with a very 
 rough surface. Such methods can, at best, be 
 regarded only as attempts to make the best of a 
 bad job, and if we can get the desired quality in 
 the original negative, it is far better. But it 
 should be real quality, not merely softness. There 
 is no artistic virtue in the mere obtaining of soft, 
 hazy and uncertain definition. A picture is not 
 necessarily a picture because it is blurred and 
 fuzzy, though it may possibly be a good picture 
 in spite of it. 
 
 When the original negative is sharp all over 
 and is softened by means of bolting-cloth or dif- 
 fusion in enlarging, the softening is carried out 
 to the same degree all over the picture. Every 
 part of the picture is equally diffused: fore- 
 ground, middle distance and distance are all the 
 same; but with a soft-focus lens, properly used, 
 the softening need not be universal. The fore- 
 
 68] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 ground, for instance, may be more sharply fo- 
 cused than the distance, and instead of a picture 
 soft all over, with everything equally diffused, 
 we can have the principal object standing out 
 clearly against a subdued but perfectly coherent 
 background. 
 
 With a soft-focus lens one can make a picture 
 that will "carry" better than one made sharp 
 and softened in enlarging, for the picture closes 
 up and becomes coherent at a little distance, like 
 a good impressionist painting. 
 
 In other respects, too, a lens of this type is 
 eminently suitable for pictorial work. Such lenses 
 as a rule are very much cheaper than fully cor- 
 rected anastigmat lenses of the same focal length 
 and speed. We shall see later, in Chapter IV, 
 that for pictorial work a long-focus lens is de- 
 sirable. Appreciating this fact, the makers of 
 pictorial lenses have designed the mounts and 
 flanges so that the lenses shall be as compact 
 and as light as possible, and yet of sufficiently 
 long focal length to assure good drawing and 
 perspective. With regard to speed, which is 
 commonly supposed to be an advantage possessed 
 by the anastigmat alone, the semi-achromatic 
 lens is not far behind. The Spencer Port-Land 
 lens has an effective aperture of /: 4.5, the Verito 
 doublet works at /: 4, the Smith lens (the original 
 single lens, now known as the Series 1) usually 
 
 [69] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 works at /: 6 and the Struss Pictorial lens at 
 /: 5.5. The new Smith Synthetic lens works with- 
 out halos at /: 5. For outdoor work such aper- 
 tures are fully adequate for all work likely to be 
 undertaken by a photographer who is interested 
 primarily in making pictures rather than high- 
 speed records. Another factor greatly in favor 
 of the uncorrected lens is the tremendous amount 
 of control in the quality of the image that is 
 possible. Slight variations in focusing and in the 
 size of the diaphragm will alter very materially 
 the quality of definition. This, combined with 
 the great apparent depth of focus of such lenses, 
 makes them most satisfactory instruments to use. 
 I say apparent depth, because such lenses are 
 governed by the same inexorable laws of optics 
 as are other lenses. Probably the effect of depth 
 is due mainly to the fact that there is no sudden 
 and abrupt change from sharpness to out-of- 
 focusness, but, really, at times, it is almost un- 
 canny. I have a picture taken with my single 
 Smith lens at Revere Beach. In the immediate 
 foreground is a group of boys playing on the sand. 
 These boys are clearly focused, and yet the diving- 
 raft and the people on the raft, far out in the 
 water, are just as clearly defined as the group in 
 the foreground. I have also a surf study, made 
 with the Spencer lens, in which there is a vessel 
 off on the horizon just as clear as the rocks and 
 
 [70] 
 
Fig. 18. THE PAINTER 
 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 surf close at hand. An anastigmat lens, of course, 
 will give depth of focus when it is stopped down, 
 but the semi-achromatic lens seems to show re- 
 markable depth at a comparatively large aperture. 
 
 For portraits and figure studies such lenses are 
 almost indispensable. It is possible to secure 
 delightful textures, subtle modeling, and round- 
 ness with the Smith or the Verito and other 
 similar lenses. There is no insistent and irritat- 
 ing detail, but just the personality, the character 
 and individuality of the subject, with the essen- 
 tials emphasized and the unessentials eliminated. 
 When a generous exposure is given and the plate 
 developed for softness and shadow detail, little 
 or no retouching will be necessary on portrait 
 negatives; in fact, handwork of any kind, how- 
 ever skilful, will be apt to destroy the quality. 
 
 Probably the greatest advantage of all in the 
 use of such lenses lies in the fact that with them 
 real picture-making can be accomplished, with- 
 out any need for handwork or manipulation of 
 any kind except purely photographic treatment, 
 united to a proper appreciation of the principles 
 of pictorial composition. By real picture-making 
 I mean making pictures which conform to the 
 ideals set up by the leaders of modern pictorial- 
 ism, who believe that a space properly filled is 
 more of an accomplishment than the exact repro- 
 duction of actual facts. 
 
 [71] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 Looking at things from this point of view, it 
 does not matter at all what the subject of the 
 picture may be, as long as it fills the picture-space 
 harmoniously, and makes an agreeable and well- 
 balanced pattern. The treatment of the subject 
 is considered to be more important than the sub- 
 ject itself. The late H. Snowden Ward had just 
 such an idea in mind when he defined a picture 
 as being "a thing beautifully photographed rather 
 than a beautiful thing photographed." Many of 
 our latter-day pictorialists consider a picture to 
 have attained its purpose when it is nothing more 
 than some decorative shapes or lines bounded by 
 a mount or frame, some beautifully-shaped marks 
 on paper. This viewpoint necessitates the posses- 
 sion of unusual ability to select and arrange one's 
 material, and calls forth the artist's constructive 
 instincts in the creation of something which is 
 indicative of his own personality, whereas the 
 mechanical reproduction of what exists demands 
 merely a certain amount of skill and technique. 
 
 A semi-achromatic lens will help greatly hi 
 enabling one to appreciate the design or pattern of 
 a subject rather than the bald actuality. With 
 it a tree can be rendered as a decorative mass, 
 not as a collection of twigs and branches. Vari- 
 ous small objects will take their proper places in 
 the picture-scheme as spots and accents, light or 
 dark, and will not by their fine detail demand ex- 
 
 [72: 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 animation and conjecture as to their identity. 
 They will be merely spots and, as such, will help 
 the general decorative arrangement of the picture. 
 A soft-focus lens is an instrument that needs 
 to be studied and experimented with to some 
 extent before its full capabilities are discovered, 
 and in this study and experiment there is much 
 joy for the conscientious artist. Such a lens 
 improves on acquaintance; the more one uses 
 it, and the more fully one understands it, the 
 more one realizes that the maker of it has placed 
 at our disposal an ideal instrument for the work 
 in hand. Such control, such power of personal 
 modification of the quality of the image, have 
 never before been accessible in making the origi- 
 nal negative. Hitherto one was forced to get the 
 original negative more or less as the lens would 
 make it, and depend upon subsequent modifica- 
 tions for the production of pictorial quality, but 
 now one can control the picture from the very 
 beginning. I am a firm upholder of and a strong 
 believer in the merits of the straight print, not 
 that I disapprove of hand work, but because I 
 believe that hand work carried too far will tend 
 to destroy the very quality that makes photog- 
 raphy worthy of being considered a fine art. 
 Personal control is a different thing entirely, and 
 should be freely used at every stage in the pro- 
 duction of a picture, but not the hand work that 
 
 [73] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 consists in altering the tones of a print by brush- 
 ing away highlights and gradations, or darkening 
 shadows by means of paint or pencil on the print 
 itself. Photography, properly controlled, can 
 render tones better than any other medium of 
 artistic expression, and personal control of ex- 
 posure and development will be all that is neces- 
 sary to get good tones and truthful gradations, 
 for the camera, properly guided and then left to 
 do its own job in its own way, will take care of 
 the tones of a picture very well. 
 
 In outdoor work, a good way to judge the 
 masses of a picture before making the exposure, 
 is to rack the lens in or out a good deal, so that 
 the image on the focusing screen is entirely blurred 
 and out of focus, and all detail is obliterated. 
 This will leave only the shapes and forms of the 
 masses, which can then be studied purely on 
 their merits as a pattern, for it will be almost 
 impossible to tell what they represent. If this 
 study shows that the notan is interesting, if the 
 masses are properly balanced and fill the picture 
 space without appearing to be too crowded or 
 too meagre, if the pattern or design is agreeable, 
 that view may be considered as promising ma- 
 terial for a picture. 
 
 Broad, simple masses and long, flowing lines 
 are very desirable in pictures, but all pictures do 
 not contain large and impressive masses. Some 
 
 [74] 
 
Fig. 19. WlNGAERSHEEK BEACH 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 may consist of quiet, restful tones, light or dark, 
 with only a very small patch or two of contrast- 
 ing tone. A small but noticeable patch of con- 
 trasting light or dark tone would more correctly 
 be described as an accent than as a mass, and it 
 will be found that, as a rule, an accent is needed 
 to prevent a picture from becoming monotonous 
 and uninteresting. 
 
 In another chapter we refer to the desirability 
 of keeping the tones in a picture quiet and simple, 
 and of avoiding too great contrast of light and 
 dark or too long a range of tones, but if this is 
 carried to extremes the result may be weakness 
 and monotony. If a picture is composed of only 
 a few tones, a definite accent is usually needed to 
 pull them together and make the picture interest- 
 ing. If the prevailing tones are dark, the accent 
 may well be light, while if light tones predomi- 
 nate in the picture, a dark accent will be needed. 
 As examples of accent, light and dark, we may 
 refer to The Harlem River (Fig. 11), in which a 
 light accent is seen in the puff of steam against 
 the low tones of the sky, and to Starting Out (Fig. 
 12), in which we see a dark accent in the hull of 
 the sailboat. Without such accents the pictures 
 would be dull, lifeless, and lacking in interest. 
 Very often the accent is used to emphasize the 
 main object of interest in the picture. Some- 
 times the main object itself may present suf- 
 
 [75] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 ficient contrast to make it stand out promi- 
 nently from its surroundings, as is the case in 
 Plum Island (Fig. 13), where the child, the main 
 object of interest, is the only dark accent in the 
 picture. 
 
 When the accent itself forms the principal ob- 
 ject of interest in the picture, as is the case in 
 Fig. 11 and Fig. 13, its position in the picture- 
 space must be carefully considered. It will be 
 found, as a general rule, that a point about one- 
 third of the width of the picture-space from the 
 top or bottom of the picture, and about one-third 
 from one side, will be a strong position for such 
 an accent. These points may be found by imagin- 
 ing that your picture-space is divided both ver- 
 tically and horizontally into three equal strips by 
 lines that will cross each other at four points. 
 Each of these four intersection points will be a 
 strong position, and an accent at any one of these 
 points will be well placed in the picture-space. 
 It will not matter at all what the shape of the 
 picture may be, whether it be an upright or a 
 horizontal rectangle, or a square, these four 
 points, each of them one-third of the width of 
 the picture-space from top or bottom and one 
 side, will be strong points. So, in trimming the 
 print, or in arranging the picture on the focus- 
 ing-screen, it is a good plan to get any promi- 
 nent accents as near one of these strong points 
 
 [76] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 as possible. Many landscape workers have the 
 ground glass of the focusing-screen ruled with 
 pencil lines, as in the diagram, and this is a very 
 
 good idea. If it is not possible to get the accent 
 in the right place in the original negative, its 
 position can often be modified by proper trim- 
 ming of the enlargement or the print. 
 
 Sometimes a portrait in which there is a com- 
 paratively short range of tones needs an accent 
 to pull the tones together and make them look 
 right. In Fig. 14, the black necktie is needed to 
 prevent the flesh tones from looking too flat and 
 weak. Without this dark accent the face would 
 look too dark in tone, by reason of the contrast 
 
 [77] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 with the light background. Cover up the neck- 
 tie, and you will see how much the touch of black 
 improves the picture. The same effect is seen in 
 Fig. 15, in which the light accent of the white 
 collar helps to keep the tones of the face in their 
 right relation, and prevents the contrast with 
 the dark background making the face look too 
 white. A similar use of such an accent may be 
 observed in The Fair-haired Boy (Fig. 24), and 
 in other illustrations. 
 
 In a landscape picture, a small figure care- 
 fully placed in the picture space may often serve 
 as an accent. This is just what has been done 
 in Plum Island. The child in this picture is not 
 merely an accent of contrasting tone; it is the 
 main object of interest in the picture, and gives 
 it the needed touch of human interest. 
 
 Whether figures shall or shall not be included 
 in a landscape or a marine picture depends en- 
 tirely upon whether they are needed to carry out 
 the idea. If they help the picture to tell the re- 
 quired story, they should be put in, and their 
 size and importance should be regulated by the 
 importance of the part they play in the composi- 
 tion. Mere size does not always determine the 
 importance of figures in a landscape. They may 
 be quite small, and yet acquire considerable im- 
 portance by reason of their placing in the picture- 
 space and their contrast in tone. 
 
Fig. 20. AT THE CLOSE OF A STORMY DAY 
 
c f r f e c r ^r c rrt- r 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 The arguments in favor of including figures in 
 landscape pictures are these: they increase the 
 range of emotions that may be expressed in the 
 picture; they help to accentuate the important 
 features; they often provide the vertical or diago- 
 nal line that is needed to balance horizontals in 
 the landscape; a figure is sometimes helpful in 
 suggesting scale; and unusual height of build- 
 ings or trees may be indicated by the compari- 
 son with figures. In genre pictures figures are 
 nearly always needed to tell the story. Against 
 the use of figures are the facts that they are some- 
 times difficult to harmonize with a landscape as 
 regards form and pose, expression and costume, 
 and that many emotional qualities such as wild- 
 ness, ruggedness or desolation are lost in their 
 presence without the most careful treatment. 
 The artist must decide for himself whether the 
 landscape or the figures can be made the more 
 interesting. 
 
 The laws of principality and unity, harmony 
 and balance, must always be observed. The pic- 
 ture should tell one story, and only one. So, in 
 every case, we must decide whether figures are 
 needed or not. If we decide that figures are 
 needed; if we decide that the figures are more 
 interesting than the landscape and that they are 
 to form the main object of interest in the picture, 
 we must try to make the landscape subordinate 
 
 [79] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 to the figures, so that it will serve merely as a 
 setting and a support for them. A painter, by 
 the skilful use of color, can make idyllic pictures 
 in which a figure or a group of figures is not 
 the dominant thing in the picture, but for a 
 photographer this is more difficult. When there 
 is only one figure and it is intended to be the 
 dominant item, it should be placed in the picture 
 space in accordance with the general laws of com- 
 position. When there are two or more figures, 
 one must dominate the others, or they must be 
 grouped together so that the interest will not be 
 scattered. They may well be engaged in some 
 common occupation which will provide a reason 
 for the grouping. 
 
 If the idea of the picture is romantic, in the 
 sense that it is a picture that tells a story, figures 
 may be needed, but a safe rule is to omit figures 
 when there is any doubt as to whether they add 
 to the picture or not. There may, of course, be 
 figures in a landscape that are merely quite unim- 
 portant accessories; they may help to develop 
 the landscape and not detract from its importance. 
 On the other hand, if the figures tell the story, 
 the landscape must be subordinated as much as 
 possible. In The Explorers (Fig. 16) the story 
 is told by the figures, while the landscape merely 
 provides an appropriate setting, but in Crescent 
 Beach (Fig. 17), the little figures in the foreground 
 
 [80] 
 
Fig. 21. A HOME PORTRAIT 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 are entirely subordinate, yet add a touch of 
 human interest. 
 
 The subject of figures in landscape pictures 
 naturally leads to the consideration of genre 
 work, for when the figures are the important part 
 of the picture and the landscape is subordinated 
 to them, the picture comes into the class of genre 
 rather than landscape. Genre subjects often pro- 
 vide good material for the photographer, and this 
 is a branch of artistic work that can be handled 
 very adequately by the camera. Such pictures 
 come under two general heads: some are planned 
 and arranged by the photographer, and some, 
 occurring naturally, are seen and seized upon 
 by the photographer without any preliminary 
 arrangement on his part. In other words, the 
 composition may be either constructive or selec- 
 tive. In building up such pictures, the impor- 
 tant principles of art should always be observed. 
 Unity, balance, simplicity and harmony must all 
 be considered. 
 
 A genre picture, as distinguished from a por- 
 trait group, should emphasize the occupation of 
 the persons rather than the persons themselves, 
 and, therefore, it is often permissible that some 
 of the figures may be turned away from the 
 camera, either entirely or partly, if arrangement 
 and idea are thus best served. In The Painter 
 (Fig. 18) all the figures are turning their backs, 
 
 [si: 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 and in The Explorers, none of the boys are ren- 
 dered in such a way as to show the features clearly, 
 but in both cases the story is told clearly and 
 that is the main requirement. Both these ex- 
 amples were obtained by seizing the opportunity 
 as it occurred and making the exposure without 
 any preliminary posing or arrangement of the 
 figures. In fact, I do not think, in either case, 
 the people shown in the pictures were aware that 
 they were being photographed. I think that this 
 is the best way to secure the naturalness and lack 
 of self-consciousness that are so important hi such 
 pictures. 
 
 In building up genre pictures with models who 
 are fully aware that a picture is being made, the 
 main difficulty is to avoid showing evidence of 
 conscious posing. The difference in the use of 
 the model by the painter and the photographer is 
 at this point made manifest. To the one he 
 appears as a suggestion, to the other he is the 
 fact. The photographer must, therefore, be en- 
 dowed with such distinguished gifts or conver- 
 sant with such clever devices as will make the 
 model forget himself. This can be done and often 
 has been done with entire success by photograph- 
 ers. Perhaps the best examples I can refer to 
 are the supremely perfect photographs of posed 
 models by Guido Rey of Turin, each in its way a 
 little masterpiece of composition and arrange- 
 
 [82] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 ment, and without a flaw technically. But it 
 seems to me that the photographer would do 
 better to avail himself of the peculiar facility 
 offered by photography for making the picture 
 almost instantaneously when the figures are 
 either totally unaware of what is being done or 
 are not making any conscious effort to adopt a 
 preconceived pose. 
 
 [83] 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Linear Perspective Focal Length of the Lens with Relation to 
 the Point of View Aerial Perspective The Effect of 
 Atmosphere on the Tones of a Picture Theory and Prac- 
 tice of Orthochromatic Photography When to Use a 
 Color Plate Full Correction Sometimes Unnecessary. 
 
 T)ERSPECTIVE is a science of which the 
 iL picture-maker should know something, for, 
 though it is usually taken for granted that the 
 lens will, automatically, render linear perspec- 
 tive correctly, it is often the case that correct and 
 scientifically accurate perspective is not the most 
 pleasing from the artistic point of view. It is 
 quite true that the lens will, if it is properly 
 manipulated, draw objects in correct perspective, 
 but if this correct perspective looks wrong it will 
 not be at all satisfactory to the artist. 
 
 The apparent truth of the perspective given 
 by the lens is governed entirely by the point of 
 view from which the picture is taken. If we are 
 using a short-focus lens and get very close to our 
 subject, in order to make it large enough properly 
 to fill the picture space, we shall be apt to get 
 violent perspective or what an artist would call 
 "bad drawing." The perspective is not wrong. 
 According to the laws of optics, it may be abso- 
 
 [84] 
 
Fig. 22. A SUMMER CAMPER 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 lutely correct, but it is not pleasing or natural, 
 for the eye does not naturally see at once as wide 
 an angle of view as can be included by a short- 
 focus lens. The eye is, practically, a long-focus 
 lens. It covers only a comparatively narrow 
 angle, and in order to see as much as can be in- 
 cluded in a picture made with a short-focus lens 
 we have to move the eyes a little and look at the 
 various objects in succession. 
 
 For purely decorative or pictorial photogra- 
 phy, a lens of comparatively long focus should 
 usually be selected, because such a lens will pro- 
 duce an image that more closely approximates 
 what is seen by the eye. The use of a long-focus 
 lens will also obviate the necessity for getting too 
 close to the subject and thus obtaining violent 
 and unpleasant perspective. Distortion and exag- 
 geration are not the result of using a short-focus 
 lens, but of selecting a wrong viewpoint. 
 
 The focal length of the lens determines the size 
 of the objects photographed. A short-focus lens 
 will show everything smaller and will include 
 more of the surrounding objects than a lens of 
 longer focus used at the same viewpoint. The 
 size depends upon the distance between the lens 
 and the objects photographed. Suppose we are 
 making a portrait, and are using a nine-inch lens 
 and a 5 x 7 plate; if the camera is about ten feet 
 from the sitter we shall find that the figure is 
 
 [85] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 quite small in the picture. A full-length average 
 standing figure would be only about four or five 
 inches high and the head, of course, would be 
 quite small, only about half an inch or so in 
 diameter. If we want to make the head larger, 
 so that it will nearly fill the plate, there will be 
 two courses open to us. We can either move the 
 camera nearer the subject, or we can use a lens 
 of longer focus from the same viewpoint. 
 
 Unfortunately, the first is what is usually done, 
 with the result that we get unsatisfactory per- 
 spective, not because we are using a short-focus 
 lens, but because we have selected too near a 
 viewpoint. The lens is not at fault; the bad 
 drawing is caused simply by its being too near. 
 This is true not only of portraits but of all kinds 
 of pictures, but it is more noticeable in por- 
 traits because a much foreshortened hand, arm 
 or shoulder usually is very prominent. Suppose 
 we are photographing a landscape, such as a tree 
 with some hills in the background. With a ten- 
 inch lens on a 4 x 5 plate we can get a very satis- 
 factory arrangement, with the tree in the fore- 
 ground of the proper size, and the distant hills 
 about as large as they ought to be. Now, sup- 
 pose we substitute a five-inch lens for the ten- 
 inch lens, and photograph the same view from 
 the same standpoint. We shall get just the same 
 relative proportions in the size of the tree and 
 
 [86] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 the distant hills, but both will be smaller, only 
 half as large as in the picture made with the ten- 
 inch lens, and more of the surrounding country 
 will be included on the plate. But we want the 
 tree to be large enough to show up well in the 
 picture, so we proceed to move the camera closer 
 to the tree, until we can get it about the same size 
 on the focusing screen as it was in the picture 
 made with the ten-inch lens. The tree may now 
 be all right, but what about the distant hills? 
 They will be very small and the whole distance 
 will appear to be dwarfed and insignhicant, so 
 that anyone who knows the locality will see that 
 they appear to be only about half their proper 
 height, while the foreground and middle distance 
 will seem too large and flat. 
 
 This effect is caused by the wrong viewpoint 
 having been selected. If we were to enlarge the 
 portion of the negative made with the five-inch 
 lens from the same viewpoint as the ten-inch 
 picture, and to make the tree just the same size 
 as it was in the ten-inch picture, everything else 
 would be just the same size, and the two pictures 
 
 the direct print from the ten-inch picture and 
 the enlargement of part of the five-inch picture 
 
 would be exactly alike. 
 
 So, when using a short-focus lens (and, for pic- 
 torial purposes, anything less than nine or ten 
 inches for a 4 x 5 plate would be considered short) 
 
 87] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 we must be satisfied to take our pictures small and 
 subsequently enlarge only the part we want. 
 
 It must be understood, and perhaps it is un- 
 necessary to mention, that the characterization 
 of the focal length is relative to the size of the 
 plate for which it is used. A 10-inch lens when 
 used for a 4 x 5 plate would be considered a long- 
 focus lens, but the same lens if used for an 8 x 10 
 plate would be a short-focus lens. So, if we trim 
 a 4 x 5 print until we have a little picture measur- 
 ing only, say, an inch by an inch and a half, and 
 if we had used a five-inch lens to make this 
 picture, we could consider it a long-focus lens, 
 because for a plate that size it would be, rela- 
 tively, a long-focus lens. 
 
 Sometimes it is roughly estimated that the sum 
 of the length and breadth of the plate is about 
 right for the focal length of the lens. That would 
 give twelve inches for a 5 x 7 plate, nine inches 
 for a 4 x 5, and so on. In any case a lens with a 
 focal length measuring less than the diagonal of 
 the plate is not advisable for picture-making ex- 
 cept for specific purposes. The diagonal of a 
 4 x 5 is 6.4 inches, of a 5 x 7, 8.6 inches, and of 
 a 6J x 8, 10.7 inches. 
 
 The amount of view that can easily be seen 
 without moving the eyes or turning the head 
 includes about 25, whereas the angle of view 
 included by a five-inch lens on a 4x5 plate is 
 
 [88] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 about 65. A fourteen-inch lens used on a 4 x 5 
 plate would include just about the same angle 
 of view as is seen by the eye, but a nine- or ten- 
 inch lens, for a plate of this size, gives quite 
 agreeable perspective. Sometimes, in architectural 
 work, a short-focus lens, or, as it is sometimes 
 called, a wide-angle lens, has to be used in order 
 to include enough of the subject when it is not 
 possible to select a sufficiently distant viewpoint 
 to get it all in with a long-focus lens. Hence we 
 get rather abrupt and not the most pleasing per- 
 spective. So, if you want large pictures, as when 
 you want to photograph a head and shoulders on 
 a comparatively large scale, you must use a long- 
 focus lens or enlarge a small image, rather than 
 get the size by going too close to the subject. 
 As a general rule, it is advisable never to place 
 the camera nearer than seven or eight feet when 
 photographing a person. At seven feet, to make 
 a head four inches high a lens of twenty inches' 
 focal length will be needed. 
 
 Those who possess a symmetrical rapid recti- 
 linear lens might try the effect of using only a 
 single component of the lens, either the front or 
 the back combination. This will give a single lens 
 of about twice the focal length of the combined 
 lenses, which will be found to give sufficiently 
 good definition for portraits and for landscapes. 
 
 For outdoor work, landscape and marine pic- 
 
 [89] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 tures, a long-focus lens is usually more satisfac- 
 tory, because with it we can more easily isolate 
 and emphasize the principal object of interest, 
 and make it large enough without having to get 
 too close. Of course, no very definite rules can 
 be given with regard to this, for each worker 
 must be guided by circumstances. I might per- 
 haps state that most of my own outdoor pictures 
 are made with an eleven-inch lens (a Smith single, 
 semi-achromatic) which I use on a 4x5 Reflex 
 camera. The focal length of the lens and the 
 type used must be determined by individual cir- 
 cumstances, depending upon the size and type 
 of the camera and other details. Sometimes one 
 of comparatively short focal length must be used 
 in order to include all of the subject required, but 
 when there is any choice, the longest possible 
 focal length should be selected, so that a more 
 distant viewpoint can be taken, with the corre- 
 sponding advantage of more natural and more 
 agreeable perspective. 
 
 If the pictorial worker will bear in mind the 
 fact that the viewpoint rather than the focal 
 length of the lens determines the perspective of 
 the picture, he will prefer to get his original image 
 small and get the required size by enlarging from 
 part of the negative, rather than to get the image 
 larger by getting too close. 
 
 This is about all a pictorial worker really needs 
 [90] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 to know about linear perspective, but there is 
 another kind of perspective that is of great im- 
 portance in picture-making. This is known as 
 aerial perspective, and this kind of perspective 
 imparts "atmosphere" and depth to a picture, 
 and gives a suggestion of space and distance in 
 an outdoor view. It suggests atmosphere in a 
 picture because it is caused by the presence of 
 invisible particles of dust and moisture in the 
 air. By means of aerial perspective we can make 
 distant parts of the scene seem remote, and can 
 get a satisfactory separation of planes. 
 
 As the different objects in a landscape recede 
 farther and farther from the eye, they lose their 
 intensity of color and their contrasts become 
 softened. This is caused by atmosphere. 
 
 Atmosphere must not be confused with mist 
 or fog, for on days on which there is no mist there 
 is still atmosphere, and this the particles of 
 dust and moisture alters both the contrasts 
 and the local colorings of distant objects. 
 
 In Leonardo da Vinci's Note Book we find this: 
 "Objects being at a distance from the eye . . . 
 and when this is the case there must of necessity 
 be a considerable quantity of atmosphere between 
 the eye and the object, and this atmosphere inter- 
 feres with the distinctness of the form of the 
 objects and consequently the minute details of 
 these bodies become indistinguishable and un- 
 
 [91] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 recognisable." Again we find: " Shadows become 
 lost in the far distance, because the vast expanse 
 of luminous atmosphere that lies between the eye 
 and the objects . . . etc." 
 
 Let us suppose that there are a white house 
 and a dark oak tree far off in the distance. The 
 "vast expanse of luminous atmosphere that lies 
 between the eye and the objects" might reduce 
 the white house and the dark tree to the same 
 shade of gray, for the tree, seen through the vast 
 expanse of atmosphere, would look gray instead 
 of black, and the brilliant rays of light reflected 
 from the white house, in passing through the 
 atmosphere, lose so much of their brilliancy that 
 the house appears to be gray instead of white. 
 
 There are occasionally days in the summer 
 when the atmosphere is very clear and dry, when 
 there is presumably very little moisture in the 
 air, and on those days the distance is unusually 
 clear, distinct and dark in tone. I have seen 
 such days in New Hampshire, toward the end of 
 summer, when the hills across Lake Winnepe- 
 saukee look almost black, and one can almost 
 distinguish individual trees and houses many 
 miles away. A photograph made on such a day 
 would be entirely lacking in atmosphere. The 
 distance and middle distance would be just as 
 dark, and would appear to be just as close as 
 the foreground, and only the diminished size 
 
 C92] 
 
Fig. 23. PORTRAIT OF A PAINTER 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 of objects in the distant planes would suggest 
 perspective. The effect would be much the same 
 as is seen in photographs that are underexposed. 
 There would be no separation of planes, and the 
 whole scene would look flat, like the conventional 
 design on a willow-pattern plate. 
 
 It is often stated and commonly believed that 
 the use of an orthochromatic plate and a deep 
 color-filter will cut out atmosphere, but this is 
 not strictly true. The orthochromatic rendering 
 simply does not exaggerate the atmosphere, but 
 the ordinary plate with no color-screen, being 
 very readily affected by the blue, violet and 
 ultra-violet rays in the atmosphere, really exag- 
 gerates and increases a little the appearance of 
 atmosphere in the picture, while the orthochro- 
 matic plate with the color filter represents it 
 more as it really is. On days, therefore, when 
 there is already a good deal of visible atmosphere, 
 it might be better to employ orthochromatic 
 methods, unless even more mist and fog were 
 wanted in the picture. 
 
 The problem of adequately rendering the con- 
 trasts of light and shade in a photograph is a 
 difficult one, but when we add to it the compli- 
 cations of color contrasts we increase the diffi- 
 culty. Some years ago it was thought to be 
 inevitable that certain colors would photograph 
 too dark and others too light. This was regarded 
 
 [93] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 as an unavoidable limitation of photography, but 
 scientists have been investigating and working on 
 that problem and now, by using a panchromatic 
 plate and a properly adjusted ray-filter, we can 
 render colors according to their true visual in- 
 tensity. This is very desirable in many branches 
 of photographic work. White light, as we know, 
 is made up of all the colors of the spectrum, those 
 that we can see being red, orange, yellow, green, 
 blue and violet. There are also invisible rays 
 at both ends of the spectrum, the infra-red and 
 the ultra-violet. An ordinary photographic plate 
 or film is abnormally sensitive to the light rays 
 at the violet end of the spectrum and is strongly 
 affected by the ultra-violet rays, which are in- 
 visible though they are present in sunlight, but it 
 is practically insensitive to red and to the colors 
 at the red end of the spectrum. Therefore, 
 an ordinary plate sees red as black and is 
 affected only very little by orange and yellow, 
 so that those colors appear very dark while, 
 on the other hand, being so sensitive to blue 
 and violet, these colors are made to appear too 
 light. That is why we can use a red light in the 
 darkroom, as the plate is affected, practically, not 
 at all by red light. 
 
 "Through the thick corn the scarlet poppies peep 
 And 'round green roots and yellowing stalks I see 
 Pale blue convolvulus in tendrils creep: 
 
 [94] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 And air-swept lindens yield 
 
 Their scent, and rustle down their perfumed showers 
 Of bloom on the bent grass where I am laid, 
 And bower me from the August sun with shade; 
 And the eye travels down to Oxford's towers." 
 
 There is much color in nature, and unless the 
 colors can be properly rendered in a photograph 
 the tones and values will be incorrect. With a 
 plate that sees blue as white and red as black 
 and other colors more or less incorrectly, how 
 could we picture scarlet poppies, the greens and 
 yellows in roots and stalks, and pale blue con- 
 volvulus? 
 
 * Yellow is often a very bright color; its visual 
 intensity is very high, but its actinic value is 
 low. Blue may be a dark blue, of low visual in- 
 tensity, but it would be very actinic. When 
 colors are mixed, when we have brown, green, 
 purple and so on in a landscape, it is hard to tell 
 just what is going to happen. 
 
 If things worked out strictly according to 
 theory; if, in an ordinary outdoor scene, the 
 colors were pure colors; if a red object reflected 
 only red light, a green object only green light and 
 so on, it would be quite impossible to photograph 
 such a scene with an ordinary plate and get the 
 colors so that they would look right. An ordi- 
 nary plate is blind to yellowish green, orange and 
 red, and, therefore, according to theory, it would 
 
 [95] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 be impossible for an ordinary plate to photograph 
 grass or flowers except those that were blue or 
 white, but, as a matter of fact, practically all 
 objects reflect more or less white light as well as 
 their predominant color, and when they are 
 objects like grass and leaves which have com- 
 paratively shiny surfaces, they probably reflect 
 an immense amount of white light and blue light 
 from the sky. More especially is this the case 
 when they are wet. Then, too, just because an 
 object looks yellow or red or green, it does not 
 necessarily follow that it absorbs all the blue and 
 violet light-waves. Some time ago I made a 
 darkroom lamp, using a piece of ruby glass and 
 a piece of orange glass. The ruby glass looked 
 red and the orange glass looked orange, but the 
 two together were able to pass enough white light 
 to fog plates and films with great ease and rapid- 
 ity. And do we, for pictorial purposes, always 
 desire to reproduce colors absolutely correctly? 
 We want them to look right; we want the shades 
 of tone to suggest the original colors; but do we 
 always want absolute and scientific accuracy? 
 
 The ordinary plate, as we know, renders colors 
 incorrectly. Blue comes out too light, and yellow, 
 green and red too dark. A panchromatic plate 
 exposed correctly through a perfectly balanced 
 and accurately matched color-screen will render 
 every color and every shade of color with abso- 
 
 [96] 
 
Fig. 24. THE FAIR-HAIRED BOY 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 lute accuracy. Yet with proper exposure and 
 soft development, which will prevent the sky 
 from becoming too dense in the negative, the 
 ordinary plate will often give a far more pleasing 
 and more restful picture; the sky will be simple 
 in tone and we will get the full effect of haze, 
 mist and atmosphere to soften and simplify the 
 distant planes. We shall get detail mostly in 
 the grays and bluish greens, while the rest will 
 be simplified. Full correction is rarely needed 
 in pictorial photography. The simplification of 
 the picture and the elimination of unessential 
 details are more easily accomplished by the 
 thoughtful and rational use of just so much color 
 correction as is needed for the special subject. 
 
 For all practical purposes I believe that an 
 orthochromatic plate, used sometimes with a 
 screen and sometimes without, will enable a 
 photographer to exercise some control over his 
 results, for he can use the screen or not accord- 
 ing to the effect he wants to get and the tones he 
 wants to emphasize. Personally I have seldom 
 used a ray-filter that multiplies the exposure 
 more than four times for outdoor work. When 
 used without a ray-filter, any first-class, rapid, 
 orthochromatic plate will do everything that an 
 ordinary plate can accomplish, and, with a ray- 
 filter, it is capable of much of a most desirable 
 type of work that is quite beyond the possibili- 
 
 [97] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 ties of ordinary photography. The orthochro- 
 matic plate, being blind to red, can be safely 
 developed by a good red light, whereas a pan- 
 chromatic 'plate has to be developed in the 
 dark. 
 
 Without a screen an orthochromatic plate is 
 very similar to an ordinary plate, except that it 
 is more sensitive to yellow and green. It is still 
 abnormally sensitive to blue, violet and ultra- 
 violet, just like the ordinary plate, and there is 
 practically very little difference between a good 
 ordinary plate and an orthochromatic plate used 
 without a ray-filter, but as soon as we use even 
 a pale color-screen and begin to cut down the 
 intensity of the blue and violet, we notice a dif- 
 ference at once. The screen allows the greens, 
 yellows and reds to pass through unchecked, while 
 it stops the ultra-violet and reduces the intensity 
 of the blue and violet rays. The cutting out of 
 the ultra-violet and the checking of the violet 
 and blue allow of a longer exposure being given, 
 and this extra time gives the greens, yellows and 
 browns a chance to catch up and get themselves 
 more strongly impressed on the plate. There 
 are times when we can produce a picture that is 
 pleasing and not obviously untruthful by using 
 an unscreened plate, and again there are times 
 when the violet and ultra-violet rays are too 
 strong, or when the delicate tints of the landscape 
 
 [98] 
 
Fig. 25. CHABLIE 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 are so beautiful that it would be a serious error 
 not to translate them as accurately as possible, 
 and then the screen should be brought into play. 
 A panchromatic plate, absolutely corrected, is 
 seldom necessary for pictorial work unless the 
 subject depends for its truth and effectiveness 
 upon the correct rendering of red (scarlet poppies, 
 yellow stalks and blue convolvulus, for instance). 
 For all ordinary purposes an orthochromatic 
 plate used intelligently, with or without a screen, 
 as occasion demands, will give such negatives as 
 the pictorialist can best make use of. 
 
 It must not be thought that there is any desire 
 on my part to depreciate orthochromatic methods 
 or to advise against taking advantage of the un- 
 doubted benefits to be derived from the proper 
 use of orthochromatic plates and ray-filters. For 
 certain kinds of photographic work they are in- 
 dispensable; for copying paintings and all colored 
 objects, and for commercial photography of many 
 kinds, a panchromatic plate and a properly ad- 
 justed ray-filter are absolutely necessary for the 
 best results, but we are dealing in these chapters 
 with the purely pictorial and artistic aspect of 
 photography, and the artist who knows when 
 and how to use a screen, and who knows also 
 when and how to obtain certain desired results 
 without a screen, is the skilled craftsman, whereas 
 the man who works by one fixed plan, whether 
 
 [99] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 he adopts orthochromatic methods or whether he 
 refuses to do so, is working mechanically. 
 
 It needs some experience to decide just when 
 and under what conditions a screen is needed and 
 when it would be better not to use it, for there 
 are times when a more pleasing, a simpler and 
 more interesting picture can be made with an 
 unscreened plate. Of course, when Nature hap- 
 pens to be just right (and that does happen quite 
 frequently, in spite of Whistler's assertion that 
 "Nature is very rarely right") he who tries to 
 improve upon panchromatic methods plus a 
 screen is making a mistake. Very frequently, 
 however, the desired effect can be better secured 
 without a screen; the dreary stillness of a gray 
 day can be emphasized, or the mystery and charm 
 of gleams of sunlight breaking through an early 
 morning mist with a hazy and atmospheric dis- 
 tance can be enhanced. When working in a big 
 city we frequently need to soften and subdue an 
 uninteresting and prosaic background, and often 
 we can do it by using an unscreened plate that 
 will tend to increase any fog, haze or smoke that 
 may be present, whereas if we used an ortho- 
 chromatic plate or a panchromatic plate with a 
 screen all the commonplace and uninteresting de- 
 tails in the background would be brought out 
 distinctly. 
 
 Another reason why I think full correction of 
 
 [100] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 color values is often unnecessary is because as 
 was mentioned in Chapter I the camera is 
 essentially a "copying machine," and our aim 
 in pictorial work is to interpret nature rather 
 than to reproduce things exactly as they are. 
 When a panchromatic plate is used with a cor- 
 rectly adjusted filter, the efficiency of the camera 
 as a copying machine is much increased. The 
 camera can then reproduce not only the correct 
 light and shade contrasts, but also correct color 
 contrasts. 
 
 Full color-correction demands approximately 
 correct exposure and development of the plate, 
 for the more nearly correct is the exposure, the 
 more truthfully will the color contrasts be re- 
 produced in the negative, so, by reason of the 
 necessity for scientific accuracy, we lose the 
 possibility of varying the effect by varying the 
 exposure and development. We cannot play 
 with the tones as we can with an unscreened 
 plate; we cannot expose for the tones that are 
 most desired, and modify the scale of tones in, the 
 picture by giving a full exposure arid: .^topping .. 
 development when the tones are wjiarfc* w *want. 
 With a panchromatic plate and a*jy^,:thpjc6rr;.*; ; J J ; \ 
 rect normal exposure must be given, and* tne 
 plate must be developed to the proper normal 
 density, otherwise the tones and color contrasts 
 will be wrong. The operation is purely scientific 
 
 [101] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 and mechanical; there is no opportunity for per- 
 sonal control, nor is any modification possible or 
 desirable. So, when conditions are such that the 
 artist can get the effect he desires by copying 
 nature, and by reproducing as accurately as 
 possible the color contrasts in the subject, he 
 should use an orthochromatic or a panchromatic 
 plate with a proper compensating filter, and 
 should do all in his power to avail himself of the 
 wonderful efficiency of the camera as a copying 
 machine, but when he wants to modify the tones 
 in the subject, he is perfectly justified in doing 
 so by any possible means as long as, in doing so, 
 he merely emphasizes, eliminates, or modifies cer- 
 tain aspects of the subject, and does not actually 
 and obviously falsify the tones. 
 
 The tones may be simplified without being falsi- 
 fied by using an unscreened plate, so that, instead 
 of having every color and every shade of color 
 accurately differentiated, they may be massed and 
 rendered less complex by exaggerating instead of 
 truthfully rendering the atmospheric effect. The 
 pietcri^list is not bound by the rules of the expert 
 copyist, '"who, is more concerned in reproducing 
 ;t|ie'^rkiii,;Textiire and high finish of the rosewood 
 case of a grand piano than in rendering the grace, 
 beauty and airy lightness of a group of silver 
 birches against a background of pine trees. The 
 beauty of a picture and the message we want to 
 C1023 
 
Fig. 26. PORTRAIT OF JACK 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 convey may depend upon the correct translation 
 of tones and color contrasts, or they may depend 
 upon the emphasis of certain aspects of the sub- 
 ject. The artist must decide whether complete 
 orthochromatism is desirable, or whether modifi- 
 cation and simplification of the tones and con- 
 trasts will better enable him to get the effect he 
 wants. In this he can be guided only by experi- 
 ence. 
 
 For snow scenes, whether there is sunlight or 
 not, a screen is nearly always desirable, for other- 
 wise it is almost impossible to suggest the color 
 of snow and to get the proper tone-relation be- 
 tween the snow and the sky. 
 
 103] 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Simplicity Sympathy Restraint The Law of Principality 
 Emphasis. 
 
 of the most important qualities a picture 
 can possess is simplicity. This is true not 
 only of photographic pictures but also of draw- 
 ings, paintings or etchings. By being simple a 
 picture gains enormously in strength and effec- 
 tiveness; it wears well; one can live with it and 
 enjoy it without getting tired of it. 
 
 Simplicity is especially valuable in photographs 
 because it is so fatally easy to include in a photo- 
 graph too many interesting objects; to make it 
 so crowded with lines, masses and tones that it 
 becomes irritating and far from restful. 
 
 Every means of pictorial expression has its own 
 inherent difficulties; each art, painting, music or 
 poetry, is shackled with material fetters. The 
 impartiality with which the camera records every- 
 thing in the field of view is the greatest difficulty 
 which the artist who uses a camera has to guard 
 against, and he must do all he can to curb the 
 lavishness and prodigality of the lens. The eye 
 of the camera, the lens, is mechanical, it has no 
 accommodating brain behind it, and it records 
 
 [104] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 everything it sees in a manner very different 
 from what our eyes see. Just because it can take 
 in more detail at one time than the human eye, 
 the accuracy of the lens is often regarded as in- 
 fallible, whereas, from the artistic standpoint, a 
 lens is less accurate than the trained eye. 
 
 Simplicity of line is essential in a photographic 
 picture, because, if there are too many prominent 
 lines, actual or suggested, they lose their force 
 and fail entirely to have any expression or to 
 convey the desired impressions. Simplicity of line 
 does not necessarily imply that there must be 
 only one or two different objects in the picture, 
 but, if there are many different objects, they 
 should be massed together so that the lines of 
 the masses are prominent rather than the lines of 
 each individual object. The picture may repre- 
 sent, for example, a number of trees or a crowd of 
 people or a group of shipping, but if the different 
 objects are well massed, the lines of the picture 
 will still be simple, for the outlines of the masses 
 will be the ones that are strongly felt rather than 
 the outline of each tree, each person in the crowd, 
 or each spar or mast in the shipping group. 
 
 Simplicity of tone is necessary in a photograph 
 on account of the limitations of photography, 
 which can reproduce only a comparatively short 
 range of tones. So the tones have to be simplified, 
 because the range of tones in the subject is often 
 Lies: 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 far greater than the range of gradations possible 
 with any pointing process yet available. We can 
 get a long range of tones in the negative by using 
 a thickly coated or double-coated plate. There 
 might then be small portions that are bare glass, 
 together with gradations increasing in density to 
 those which were quite opaque, but we could 
 never print all these tones. If we had such a 
 negative and tried to make a print from it, we 
 would have to sacrifice some of the tones, either 
 at the top or at the bottom of the scale. If we 
 printed until the gradations in the highlights 
 were visible we would find the shadows much 
 overprinted, very black, solid and empty, and if 
 we printed for the shadows, the highlights would 
 be harsh and chalky and would be entirely lack- 
 ing in gradation. Therefore it is evident that a 
 very long range of tones is not desirable in the 
 negative, for the negative is merely a means to 
 the end and the picture is what we are working 
 for. So the artist, in making his negative, will 
 develop until the highlights have just sufficient 
 density to print out without blocking the shadows, 
 and he will expose so that the shadow detail, or 
 as much shadow detail as he wants, can be de- 
 veloped without overdevelopment of the high- 
 lights. This means full exposure and careful 
 development, not carried too far. 
 
 If the subject is one in which there is a full 
 
 [106] 
 
Fig. 28. PORTRAIT, MR. B. 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 range of tones, it will sometimes be necessary 
 to sacrifice some of the middle tones and compress 
 the scale, so that we can get in the print the 
 darkest and lightest tones in proper relation, and 
 as many tones between as possible. If the high- 
 est light and the darkest shadow are approxi- 
 mately correct the highest light in the print 
 being white paper and the darkest shadow being 
 the blackest deposit of silver or platinum our 
 print is capable of giving the tones will look 
 right, even if some of the middle tones are miss- 
 ing. If it is necessary for us to shorten the scale 
 of tones, we must do it by compression, rather 
 than by leaving out any tones at the top or 
 bottom of the scale. 
 
 In our attempts to secure simplicity of tone 
 we shall often find that we do not need to use 
 even the full range of the printing paper. A 
 picture can often be adequately suggestive when 
 very few tones are used. In Wingaersheek Beach 
 (Fig. 19), there is no black and very little pure 
 white; the whole picture contains only a few 
 tones, yet it suggests the scene under the condi- 
 tions at the time the picture was taken. The 
 artist usually should be sparing in the use of 
 absolute black and white, and these should be 
 used, if at all, only in very small areas. An 
 accent of black or white will often strengthen a 
 picture and pull the tones together. 
 
 [107] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 In Fig. 20, At the Close of a Stormy Day, the 
 light in the sky is the accent that strengthens 
 the picture, just as the dark line at the horizon 
 is the accent in Wingaersheek Beach. Without 
 these accents, one light and one dark, the pic- 
 tures would be monotonous and lacking in 
 strength and interest. This same principle is 
 often exemplified in Will Cadby's delicate studies 
 in light tones: there is invariably one dark accent 
 in the picture that pulls the tones together. 
 
 Simplicity of tone must not degenerate into 
 monotony and an accent, black or white, will 
 prevent this. It will provide a standard to which 
 all the other tones will correlate. As an example 
 of this let us refer to Fig. 14, and imagine what 
 this would be like without the dark accent pro- 
 vided by the necktie. The flesh tones would then 
 appear I too dark in comparison with the light 
 tones surrounding the face, but the black tie cor- 
 rects this tendency and, by its contrast, makes 
 the face appear to be of about the right tone. 
 
 Simplicity of subject is, to a great extent, a 
 matter of selection. Simple subjects with good, 
 definite lines are the ones that make the most 
 attractive pictures, and such subjects can be 
 found very readily by one who has learned to 
 see them. The selection of the point of view also 
 affects, to a great extent, the simplicity of the 
 final result. Simplicity of subject, being so largely 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 a matter of selection, is almost entirely under the 
 control of the picture-maker. Each worker will 
 necessarily have his own choice in the matter of 
 subjects; to some, landscape pictures will make 
 a strong appeal, others may be interested in 
 marine subjects, harbor and shipping scenes, surf 
 and rocks, while some will find a great attraction 
 in human nature and may devote themselves al- 
 most exclusively to figure studies, genre and por- 
 traiture. But, though the choice of subjects may 
 be varied, each in his own particular line should 
 take care that the subject of the picture, what- 
 ever it is, is simple. There is a tendency among 
 "advanced" pictorialists to neglect the choice of 
 an interesting subject and to trust to an effective 
 pattern to make their pictures interesting. Such 
 pictures are often interesting, but they are inter- 
 esting more as studies in artistic technique than 
 as pictures. 
 
 In striving to convey impressions in a picture 
 an artist must have a certain amount of sym- 
 pathy with and understanding of his subject. 
 There must be a thorough grasp of the subject so 
 that the artist can enter into the spirit of it. If 
 you consider the work of leading pictorialists, 
 such as Mortimer, Cadby, Day or Mrs. Kasebier, 
 you will find that each is specially interested in 
 a special subject, in each case a thoroughly 
 worthy one. Subject is important in picture- 
 
 [109] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 making for, even if a picture is "the expression of 
 a theme," there can be no theme if there is no 
 subject, and the subject should have sufficient 
 interest and importance to be worth expressing. 
 It should have sufficient character to merit close 
 and intimate study. It should be one that in- 
 terests the artist so that he will be thoroughly in 
 sympathy with it. There should be sympathy 
 between the artist and his subject for, if it inter- 
 ests him, he cannot treat it in an uninteresting 
 manner. Each worker must choose his own sub- 
 jects. Often an artist will be sufficiently inter- 
 ested in many things to express them well in 
 pictures, but, usually, there will be one thing 
 one type of subject that makes a stronger 
 appeal to him than any other. Mortimer has 
 made many landscape pictures and figure studies, 
 and good ones too, but it is pictures of the sea 
 that specially interest him. It is a mistake, I 
 think, to imagine that a picture needs no subject, 
 that it can be merely a record of impressions, for 
 there must be a subject before there can be 
 impressions. 
 
 The importance of simplicity must be kept in 
 mind at all stages, from the selection of the sub- 
 ject to the mounting of the finished print. Some- 
 times certain conditions of atmosphere are needed 
 in order to simplify a subject; a background or 
 distance that is too busy and too full of compli- 
 
 [110] 
 
Fig. 29. GEORGE, THE SCOUT 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 cated detail can frequently be blotted out and 
 the picture simplified by choosing for the expo- 
 sure a day and a time of day when there is a slight 
 mist or haze over the distance. Sometimes a 
 picture can be simplified by liberal trimming or 
 by enlarging from only a small portion of the 
 negative. : 
 
 One of the greatest obstacles a photographer 
 has to overcome in making his pictures simple is 
 the propensity of the lens to render detail with 
 absolute impartiality. It necessarily makes no 
 discrimination between the essential and the un- 
 essential. Everything in the field of view is de- 
 picted with equal emphasis, so it is necessary for 
 the photographer to modify this as far as possi- 
 ble by selective focusing and by careful selection 
 of the most suitable conditions of light and 
 atmosphere. Selective focusing means getting the 
 important parts of the picture a little sharper and 
 more clearly defined than those that are less 
 important. This can often be done in outdoor 
 genre pictures and figure studies by focusing on 
 the figures and letting the background be slightly 
 diffused and out of focus. This must not be 
 carried too far, because the difference in sharp- 
 ness, if carried to extremes, is irritating and dis- 
 turbing to the eye and thus defeats the object in 
 view. So, in striving to get breadth and to elimi- 
 nate fine detail, many ingenious dodges have 
 [1113 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 been resorted to, such as enlarging through bolt- 
 ing-cloth or throwing the entire picture a little 
 out of focus in making the enlargement. Possi- 
 bly the best way to get breadth and carrying 
 power without destroying detail is by the proper 
 use of a semi-achromatic lens. Such a lens will 
 render detail clearly, yet without the insistent 
 and biting harshness of an anastigmat. It will 
 give a more gradual blending of definition with- 
 out an abrupt change from sharpness to absolute 
 lack of sharpness, which is unnatural and disturb- 
 ing. There are none of the disconcerting halos 
 and grotesque distortions of out-of-focus objects 
 which are sometimes seen when using a fully 
 corrected lens at a large aperture. 
 
 In portraiture and figure studies there is very 
 little excuse for lack of simplicity, for the subject 
 and its arrangement are almost entirely under 
 the control of the artist. If the background is 
 not sufficiently simple, he can make it so, either 
 by a change of position or location in an outdoor 
 picture, or by removing unneeded objects from 
 the background if he is working indoors. Often 
 a picture on the wall or an ornament or piece of 
 furniture comes'in the wrong place in the picture, 
 but it is usually possible to remove it. The pose 
 of the sitter and the disposition of the leading 
 lines can be arranged by the photographer to a 
 very great extent, either by suggestion or by 
 [112] 
 
Fig. 30. BUILDING THE FIRE 
 
 Fig. 30A. YOUNG ARTISTS 
 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 actual manipulation. The arrangement of the 
 train and veil in a picture of a bride is an example 
 of such manipulation. 
 
 Simplicity in a portrait adds very much to its 
 interest and charm. The face is usually the 
 main object of interest in such a picture, and if 
 the face can be seen easily and without having 
 to search for it carefully among a number of 
 equally prominent, though far less important, de- 
 tails, the picture will make a stronger and more 
 direct appeal. A study of the works of the great 
 painters will show that they fully appreciated 
 the importance of simplicity. Most of Velasquez' 
 famous figure pictures are extremely simple and 
 so are Rembrandt's. Whistler's portrait of his 
 mother and the very similarly arranged portrait 
 of Carlyle are both quite simple in arrangement, 
 and in line and tone, and both are wonderfully 
 effective. Whistler and other great artists real- 
 ized not only the importance of simplicity, but 
 also the fact that it needs considerable thought, 
 care and skill to get this quality into a picture, for 
 nothing is so difficult of achievement as simplic- 
 ity. The gift of reproducing it is rare; the gift 
 of appreciating it is less so, but is still far from 
 universal. There are many photographers who 
 have not learned to appreciate the strength, 
 effectiveness and restfulness obtained in a pic- 
 ture by ruthless elimination of the unessentials. 
 
 [113] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 Profuse ornamentation, overadornment, "fussi- 
 ness" of every kind is easy to accomplish; but 
 simplicity stands as the desirable and difficult 
 of attainment. Take as an example not only 
 pictures, but anything from a frock to a marble 
 palace. Restful simplicity is the hardest note to 
 strike. The propensity of the lens to include too 
 much is one of the important things to guard 
 against, and the photographer has to curb this 
 propensity in every way possible. 
 
 In using a semi-achromatic lens to subdue 
 detail, it must be kept in mind that detail as 
 such is not detrimental to the success of a picture, 
 and that clear definition is not antagonistic to 
 pictorial results. Detail is not detrimental unless 
 it destroys simplicity, and clear definition is 
 eminently desirable. Some of the best examples 
 of painting, especially miniature painting, show 
 exquisite detail and this is considered to be a 
 special merit, but in such works of art the draw- 
 ing of detail is done with discrimination; the 
 important parts are clearly drawn, the unim- 
 portant parts either slurred over or suggested, 
 and the unnecessary parts and redundant detail 
 are left out. The lens draws fine detail every- 
 where, the unimportant parts being treated with 
 the same care and precision as the important 
 parts, without discrimination, and this is its weak 
 point. The artist does not object to fine detail, 
 
 [114] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 but to the lack of discrimination of the lens in 
 drawing it. Stop down an anastigmat lens and 
 everything is sharp; use it at a large aperture, 
 focusing the point of interest, and the streak of 
 definition runs right across the picture from edge 
 to edge. Both methods are undesirable, and the 
 nearest approach to discrimination in the draw- 
 ing of detail is provided by the soft-focus, semi- 
 achromatic lens, which, if used intelligently and 
 with a due appreciation of its limitations, will 
 give the artist something approaching the quality 
 he desires. With such a lens one can get clear 
 definition that is not sharp or hard, for there is 
 a difference between clearness and sharpness. 
 Clear is defined as "pure, bright, undimmed, with- 
 out blemish, transparent," as, for example, a 
 clear day, clear-cut features, clear water, clear 
 definition. The word sharp means, "having a 
 thin cutting edge, affecting the senses as if 
 pointed or cutting, severe, keen, barely honest, 
 shrill." Examples: a sharp wind, sharp words, 
 sharp practice, a sharp, shrill voice, sharp 
 definition. 
 
 The quality of definition obtained by the use 
 of a soft-focus lens should never be allowed to 
 degenerate into fuzziness; there should always 
 be firmness and certainty in modeling and tex- 
 tures. The clearness and coherency of a picture 
 depend to some extent upon the tones and grada- 
 
 [115] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 tions as well as upon the quality of definition, 
 and the degree of softness in the definition must 
 be governed a good deal by the size of the picture. 
 Clearer definition is demanded in a small picture 
 that is to be examined closely than in one that 
 would be large enough to hang on the wall, not 
 to inspect at close quarters. As long as the pic- 
 ture closes up and becomes clear and coherent 
 at a little distance, it cannot rightly be stigma- 
 tized as "fuzzy." 
 
 Closely allied to simplicity is a quality that we 
 can best describe as restraint. Personal restraint 
 avoids over-elaboration and over-expression; so- 
 cial restraint leads the artist to avoid subjects 
 and methods that might be displeasing to others, 
 and artistic restraint never oversteps the limita- 
 tions of the medium. 
 
 I was out on a tramp one day with a troop of 
 boy scouts. One of the boys was a little more 
 energetic, a little more alert and more observant 
 than the others, and he was very much in evi- 
 dence on this trip. George is very much inter- 
 ested in scouting and all that is connected with 
 it, and he has the happy knack of making the 
 most of his opportunities. On this walk George 
 discovered a woodchuck's hole when no one else 
 saw it. He knew what it was and looked around 
 for the other hole, for he knew there would be 
 two of them. The result was that George at- 
 
 [116] 
 
Fig. 31. READY FOR THE PARTY 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 traded more attention than any other scout, and 
 my recollections of that trip are chiefly con- 
 cerned with George's energy and enthusiasm, and 
 the pleasure and profit he derived from the out- 
 ing. In a symphony or concerto or other musical 
 work there is usually one theme or motive that 
 runs through the entire composition. In a melo- 
 drama there is usually one scene that forms the 
 climax of the play, and in a well-constructed 
 short story there is one incident or one situation 
 that holds the interest and attention. All these 
 things are examples of the law of principality, 
 and in picture-making we find the same principle 
 used to secure unity of interest and to provide 
 a point of focus for the eye to rest upon. 
 
 We have seen that it is essential to have only 
 one principal object of interest in a picture. 
 Without it the picture is not completely satisfy- 
 ing, for the eye is apt to wander over the surface 
 of the picture, seeking rest and finding none. 
 
 If the principal object of interest in a land- 
 scape is not sufficiently prominent to take its 
 proper place in the picture as the point of focus 
 for the eye to rest upon, it may be necessary to 
 emphasize it, so that it will be unmistakably evi- 
 dent that it is the principal object in the picture, 
 and to make it so by any legitimate means at our 
 disposal. Sometimes there are so many different 
 things in a landscape that it is hard to tell just 
 
 [117] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 which is the principal object, and it is necessary 
 to emphasize one in the picture. Another reason 
 why emphasis is often necessary is that the human 
 vision is stereoscopic and the object we are look- 
 ing at stands out from its surroundings, but an 
 ordinary camera with only one lens sees every- 
 thing without any stereoscopic relief, and objects 
 are sometimes apt to sink into the background 
 and not appear as prominent in a picture as we 
 thought they were. The lack of color sometimes 
 robs an object of much of its prominence. Then, 
 also, the eye sees only a very narrow angle com- 
 pared with an average lens. When the eye is 
 fixed on one particular object in a landscape, it 
 will see only about 2 or 3 clearly, while the lens 
 can see about 45. The eye, unlike the lens, 
 has a human brain behind it and sees just what 
 the brain is interested in, ignoring everything else. 
 When the eye is fixed on one object, everything 
 else is blurred and out of focus. It is really re- 
 markable how differently two people can see the 
 same things when their interests are different. 
 George, the scout, for instance, would probably 
 see all kinds of things that I would not see, if we 
 were out together, and perhaps, if I were think- 
 ing about pictures, I would see some things that 
 he would not notice at all. Our interests would 
 be different, and different messages would be 
 telegraphed from the brain to the eye. 
 
 [118] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 Therefore, it will be obvious that in order to 
 make an object sufficiently prominent it is some- 
 times necessary to emphasize it in a picture so 
 that it will unmistakably be the chief point of 
 focus. 
 
 Emphasis can be obtained in many different 
 ways; by isolation, by the elimination of every- 
 thing else that might compete with the principal 
 object, by the position of the principal object in 
 the picture-space, by the radiation of lines lead- 
 ing the eye directly to the principal object, by 
 contrast of tone, and so on. The little child in 
 Plum Island (Fig. 13) is obviously the chief ob- 
 ject of interest in the picture. He is the only 
 human being in sight, he is placed in a strong 
 position in the picture-space, the line of the surf 
 leads the eye directly to him and he is strongly 
 emphasized by contrast in tone. Thus we have, 
 in this picture, a definite object to provide a 
 resting place for the eye and to prevent it from 
 wandering outside the picture margins, and a 
 feeling of unity is established. 
 
 In a portrait the face is usually the chief point 
 of interest and it is sometimes necessary to subor- 
 dinate everything else to this one thing. That is 
 one reason why it is always necessary to con- 
 sider very carefully the position of the face in 
 the picture-space. We can subordinate the rest 
 of the picture because, when we are looking at 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 a person's face, we can see very little else and 
 are only dimly aware of the details in the clothing. 
 In a landscape in which there are many differ- 
 ent objects, the one thing that we are looking 
 at and thinking about is the thing we must em- 
 phasize, because we shall find that, though this 
 object appears to be quite prominent when we 
 are looking at it, in the photograph everything 
 that is in the same plane will be rendered im- 
 partially and with equal emphasis. When the 
 eye is fixed on one particular object in a land- 
 scape, the highlights and shadows acquire an 
 importance that makes them appear stronger 
 than they really are and, unless the principal 
 object is already sufficiently differentiated, like 
 the child in Plum Island, it may be necessary to 
 strengthen a highlight or a shadow in order to 
 make it so. Of course, if the object is already 
 quite prominent, if it is something that would 
 naturally stand out from other objects, like the 
 puff of steam in The Harlem River (Fig. 11), or 
 the white sail in Starting Out (Fig. 12), no modi- 
 fication of the highlights or shadows is necessary, 
 as they are already strong enough. When addi- 
 tional emphasis is needed, it can often be obtained 
 by a slight modification of the negative or by 
 control in printing. This must never be over- 
 done, and it will be found that just the very 
 least darkening of a shadow or the slightest rais- 
 
 [120] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 ing of a highlight will be all that is necessary. It 
 is in this respect that the pigment printing proc- 
 esses offer great facilities, though in some re- 
 spects this very facility is a disadvantage. It 
 is so easy to modify such prints that the hand- 
 work is often overdone, with disastrous results. 
 Manipulation of this kind may be regarded as 
 being perfectly legitimate, for it is only carrying 
 out the idea of the mechanics of suggestion in a 
 reasonable way. Such actual manipulation as 
 this is not needed in many pictures, for selective 
 focusing, skilful placing in the picture-space, and 
 the selection of an already prominent object will 
 give quite sufficient emphasis. Often, in land- 
 scape pictures or figure studies outdoors, we can 
 emphasize our principal object or figure by hav- 
 ing it clearly focused and the rest of the picture 
 slightly less sharp. In some pictures, such as, 
 for instance, a flower study, where there are 
 several similar objects in the picture, one of them 
 may need to be emphasized by strengthening the 
 light and shade contrasts a little. 
 
 The strength of a highlight or a shadow depends 
 very much upon the surrounding tones. It is 
 possible to demonstrate this very easily and 
 very clearly by cutting from a sheet of gray paper 
 two small squares or circles. If one of them is 
 placed in the middle of a sheet of white paper 
 and the other in the middle of a sheet of black 
 
 [121] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 paper, the one surrounded by white will look 
 darker than the one surrounded by black, al- 
 though we know that they are both exactly alike. 
 We can make use of this illusion to modify a 
 tone or an accent. Sometimes emphasis can be 
 secured by placing the lightest tone and the 
 darkest tone close together, as in the hull and 
 white sail in Starting Out. 
 
 [122] 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Line Composition Applied to Figure Studies The Vertical Line 
 
 Repetition of Line The Curved Line The Lost Edge 
 
 The Triangle The Rectangle The S-Shaped Curve 
 The Figure 8 The Hands in Portraiture The Placing of 
 the Head in the Picture Space Groups The Back- 
 ground. 
 
 IN applying the principles of pictorial composi- 
 tion to portraiture and figure studies, we shall 
 be working very much along the same lines as 
 when dealing with outdoor subjects, such as land- 
 scape and marine pictures, but as we have more 
 plastic material to work with, we have far more 
 scope and can do more in the way of arrangement 
 than when using inanimate objects. The artist 
 can arrange the lines and masses in such pictures 
 according to his own ideas, and should have a 
 definite theme or motive in the arrangement that 
 will help to make the picture interesting apart 
 from the interest in the person or the persons 
 depicted. Instead of selecting his pictorial ma- 
 terial from nature, which requires him to take 
 what he can find and make it conform to his 
 ideal to the best of his ability, the portrait pho- 
 tographer can, in much the same way as the 
 painter, arrange and build up his composition, and 
 [125] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 construct the pattern of lines, masses and tones 
 more or less as he wants it, and when everything 
 is right, he can photograph it. Thus the com- 
 position in portraiture and figure studies may be 
 constructive rather than selective, though it will 
 be found that selective composition also plays 
 an important part in portraiture. 
 
 The lines of the picture in a figure study may 
 often be determined by the placing of the "ac- 
 cents" and are then unseen lines such as were 
 referred to in Chapter II, that is to say, not 
 actual outlines and edges of tone, but the imagi- 
 nary lines by which the eye will instinctively 
 connect any two prominent objects in the picture. 
 
 In order to be able to build up and construct 
 a picture the artist should know the rules and 
 recognized formulae in pictorial arrangement. 
 He need not always adhere strictly to rules, but 
 he should know them so that he will know what 
 he is doing when he breaks them. 
 
 The function of composition is to make a pic- 
 ture interesting, and the disposition of the lines 
 in the picture, the opposition of lines, and their 
 placing in the picture-space will all help in giving 
 the desired interest. Such things as this, depend- 
 ing as they do upon the pose of the figure and the 
 selection of the viewpoint, are to a great extent 
 under the control of the photographer, and a sug- 
 gestion from him as to the general pose, together 
 
 [124] 
 
Fig. 32. AN OUTDOOR HOME PORTRAIT 
 
, c e c . ,;. 
 
 . ' , r 9 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 with the proper placing of the camera at the right 
 distance and at the right height, will often give 
 a line arrangement that is satisfactory. 
 
 The simplest pose of all is the full-length, stand- 
 ing figure. This has great possibilities, because 
 the most attractive and commanding line in art 
 is the vertical. The full-length standing pose is 
 an obvious and natural one for the human figure, 
 because in this position it occupies almost double 
 the space it would if seated. There is, however, 
 a serious objection to this method of represent- 
 ing the figure. This is the monotony and regu- 
 larity, as well as the suggestion of the picture- 
 space being divided into strips, caused by the two 
 oblong spaces on either side of the subject. This 
 can be overcome very simply and easily by the 
 introduction of an opposing horizontal line or 
 oblique line to tie the figure to the edges of the 
 picture-space and give a suggestion of a cross or 
 a triangle. 
 
 This principle is illustrated in the two portraits, 
 Figs. 21 and 22. In both cases we have a full- 
 length standing figure strongly contrasting with 
 the background, and a very similar line arrange- 
 ment may be observed in each. The extended 
 arm with the hand on the doorknob in Fig. 21 
 makes a strong enough line and, similarly, in 
 Fig. 22 the boy's arm has the same effect. The 
 placing of the figures, a little out of the exact 
 
 [125] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 centre of the picture-space, gets rid of the effect 
 of similar vertical strips on each side of the figure. 
 In Fig. 23, the extended palette furnishes the 
 opposing vertical, as an accent rather than as a 
 line, and in this instance the merging of the out- 
 line into the background also helps to lessen the 
 force of the vertical line. 
 
 The repetition of a line in another part of the 
 picture dissipates the force of such a line. In 
 both Fig. 21 and Fig. 22 we see this exemplified 
 in the edge of the door and in the light tree trunk. 
 Without some balancing influence of opposing 
 lines or prominent accents, a vertical composition 
 is apt to be weak and far from interesting. 
 
 Sometimes a suggestion of a simple curve 
 makes a pleasing line arrangement. In Fig. 24, 
 we can feel a curve from the head to the hands. 
 The head, because of its placing in the picture- 
 space, is obviously the main object of interest, 
 and is adequately balanced by the hands, which 
 form the only other light mass in the picture. 
 
 The device of losing the outline is one that is 
 often employed by painters to lessen the insist- 
 ence of lines. It is simply a method of simplifi- 
 cation by elimination; by merging the contour 
 into the background we make the substance of 
 the body a part of the tone which envelops it. 
 The line then becomes the unseen line rather than 
 an actual, structural outline. By careful selec- 
 
 [126] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 tion of a background of the right tone, and by 
 creating shadows on the background, a photog- 
 rapher can often avail himself of this device as 
 has been done in Figs. 23 and 24 and in some 
 others. 
 
 In the effort to make the subject fill the space, 
 the artist often has recourse to another of the 
 fundamental forms of construction, the triangle. 
 This is in many ways one of the easiest arrange- 
 ments to secure in a picture, and it has the merit 
 of being not only an excellent space-filler, but 
 also one that is capable of almost unhmited 
 variety. It may take the form of a long upright 
 pyramid, as in Fig. 25, or of a more stable tri- 
 angle with a broader base. In any case it affords 
 a shape endowed with physical stability, and it 
 allows the lines of the subject to tie with the sides 
 of the picture. This does away with the difficulty 
 of dealing with the spaces left at the sides of the 
 figure, for these spaces, instead of being rectangu- 
 lar, become triangular. Thus we get the relief 
 experienced by the introduction of similar, echo- 
 ing shapes; repetition with variety. Ah* that is 
 necessary to secure such a scheme of lines is to 
 broaden out the lines of the figure in some natural 
 way at the bottom of the picture. In a seated 
 figure, as in Fig. 6, all that has to be done is to 
 get one hand as far forward and the other as far 
 back as possible, thus getting three accents indi- 
 
 [127] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 eating the angles of the triangle. Other variations 
 of the triangular arrangement are shown in Figs. 10 
 and 3. In Fig. 10, the light mass of the child's 
 dress forms a very definite triangular area, and 
 Fig. 3 is all triangles. 
 
 Another frequently used line arrangement is the 
 rectangle, of which an example is shown in Fig. 
 26. This differs from the cross and the triangle 
 in that it has not in itself the qualities necessary 
 to give the required balance, and so depends for 
 balance upon some object within the angle, which 
 can usually be supplied by something in the back- 
 ground. In the example given, the balance is 
 supplied by the light spots on the background 
 and the little strip of white below the collar. 
 These are comparatively unimportant in them- 
 selves, yet, without them, the composition would 
 be somewhat lacking in balance. They furnish 
 the needed attraction within the angle and be- 
 cause of their unobtrusiveness they do not pull 
 too much. 
 
 In portraiture, just as in landscape work, a 
 curve has in itself greater possibilities for beauty 
 than any arrangement of straight lines. A simple 
 curve, or the more complete S-shaped curve, 
 which is, as we have seen, an excellent space- 
 filler, often can be incorporated in the lines of a 
 figure picture. Such a line, either the curved 
 S-line or the more angular Z-form, not only fills 
 
 [128] 
 
Fig. 33. IN THE STUDIO 
 
,-, :s ;:.:: 
 
 c c c c 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 the space satisfactorily, but also ties the subject 
 very well to the sides of the picture-space. With 
 either of these forms there is very little depend- 
 ence upon the background for balance, for both 
 have sufficient balance in themselves. As a line, 
 the letter S is so complete that the feeling among 
 artists is, when possible, to let it alone. Such a 
 line can often be used for full-length standing 
 figures, and it may also be found in pictures 
 showing only the head. In Fig. 5 we have an 
 example of the use of this line, which can easily 
 be traced in the outline of the head and face and 
 up to the hand and flower. This line has the 
 valuable quality of suggesting movement and of 
 giving a semblance of life and energy. In this 
 respect it differs from the simple curve, which is 
 essentially a line of repose. It also conveys an 
 idea of unity and completeness. 
 
 Sometimes we can get an elaboration of the 
 S-shaped curve, taking the form of a figure eight, 
 such as is seen in Fig. 27 (Frontispiece). This is 
 a scheme that might easily be worked out iri 
 portraits of ladies in evening dress. 
 
 We have spoken of the use of the hands in a 
 portrait as accents and points of direction for 
 the unseen line. Though it adds to the difficul- 
 ties, I think it is advisable to show one or both 
 hands in a portrait, provided they can be treated 
 naturally and gracefully. A really natural hand, 
 
 129] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 one that has not been obviously arranged by the 
 photographer, is a valuable asset in showing 
 character. If the self-consciousness of the sitter 
 is such that the hand is not entirely natural, it 
 is better to leave it out altogether, for a bad hand 
 will rum an otherwise attractive portrait. Some- 
 times it is necessary to give the hands something 
 to do or something to hold, as in Figs. 23, 5 and 6. 
 In Fig. 23, the hand holding the paintbrush shows 
 considerable energy and is obviously natural. 
 Sometimes the photographer has to change the 
 position of the hand a little to make it photo- 
 graph better, and with some people the necessary 
 changes can be made without loss of naturalness, 
 provided it is done tactfully and without drawing 
 too much attention to the hand. Making the 
 sitter conscious of the hand usually results in 
 awkardness, and a stiffness and woodenness in 
 the pose that is very disagreeable. 
 
 As a rule a hand will photograph better, and 
 without giving cause for the complaint that it 
 looks too big, if it is turned with one side towards 
 the lens, not showing the full width. If a lady is 
 photographed with her hand in her lap, turn the 
 hand so that it is lying with the palm upwards 
 and it will look more graceful. The fingers should 
 not be folded, which will make the hand look like 
 a clenched fist, neither should they be too much 
 spread apart. Just as a suggestion, it is often a 
 
 [130] 
 
Fig. 34. JIMMIE 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 good plan to rest the thumb against the second 
 finger and have the other fingers curved a little, 
 but not too much. This will give an arrangement 
 that will look well from almost any position. 
 Sometimes the hand can be used to support the 
 head, but this should not be done unless the 
 pose is quite natural and characteristic. Never 
 deliberately arrange such a pose, but if, during 
 the proceedings, the sitter should happen to 
 adopt such a position quite unconsciously and 
 naturally, photograph it just as it is, provided it 
 looks well. The hand supporting the face should, 
 if possible, be on the shadow side, away from the 
 camera, though, as is the case in Fig. 28, this is 
 not an infallible rule. In this the obvious na- 
 turalness of the hand offsets its possible lack of 
 grace. Personally I think that a portrait in 
 which the hands are not shown is incomplete, 
 unless of course it is a large head, and, although 
 it sometimes adds to the difficulties, it is always 
 worth while to make an effort to include a natural 
 and well-drawn hand, or both hands, in the 
 picture whenever possible to do so. 
 
 There is a distinct tendency in modern por- 
 traiture to devote the greater part of the pic- 
 ture space to the head and face. Certainly a 
 large-sized head will command more attention and, 
 as the likeness is mainly though by no means 
 entirely shown by the face, a large head will tell 
 [131] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 its story plainly, and will give greater opportuni- 
 ties for showing the features in clearer and more 
 perfect detail. It might be thought that a pic- 
 ture that includes only the head and shoulders 
 would be easier to make and would demand less 
 skill in posing, but I think that just as much 
 thought, care and skill are needed to pose for a 
 head as to pose for a full-length or three-quarter 
 figure. Possibly the composition is simpler, but 
 the problems of filling the space adequately and 
 of getting a suggestion of character, personality 
 and likeness are practically unchanged. 
 
 Unless the head is set naturally and easily on 
 the shoulders, there will be a suggestion of con- 
 straint and stiffness in the pose, which will de- 
 stroy likeness. Let us look at Fig. 29. The 
 forward-leaning position is characteristic and 
 natural, thoroughly typical of this young sitter. 
 Other examples of natural and characteristic poise 
 of the head are shown in other examples. 
 
 In making a large head, we may select a point 
 of view that will show the full face, a three- 
 quarter view, or a profile, and of these three, 
 probably the three-quarter view is the most ex- 
 pressive and the most agreeable, on account of 
 the variety it introduces in the lines of the neck 
 and shoulders. The full-face view gives less 
 agreeable lines with less variety and balance than 
 the three-quarter view, but sometimes the direct 
 [132] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 gaze results in a more forceful and more compel- 
 ling picture, while the profile often gives an op- 
 portunity to get a very interesting continuous 
 line. Fig. 14 is regarded by the boy's friends as 
 a good likeness, and the outline of the head and 
 face is decidedly interesting. 
 
 The placing of the head in the picture-space 
 must be carefully considered. In a direct profile 
 picture, it is always well to have more space in 
 front of the face than behind the head. In any 
 picture showing only the head and shoulders, if 
 the sitter is leaning forward, it is necessary to 
 leave sufficient space at the top to make us feel 
 that there is enough room for him to raise his 
 head and straighten up without hitting the top 
 edge of the picture. A very erect and upright 
 pose needs only a very little space at the top, 
 above the head. The trimming of the print and 
 the amount of space around the head will be 
 taken up in detail elsewhere, but in making large 
 heads there will be a loss of dignity and impor- 
 tance if the face is too low in the picture-space. 
 Too much space at the top will be apt to give 
 the impression that the sitter is sliding out at 
 the bottom of the picture. 
 
 Another reason why the head should be kept 
 well up near the top is that the eyes in a portrait, 
 being the centre of interest, must not be too low 
 in the picture-space. They should always be 
 
 [133] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 well above the middle and, if too much space 
 were left above the head, the line of the eyes 
 might coincide with, or even be a little below, a 
 horizontal line through the centre of the picture- 
 space. It is not generally known by those who 
 have not studied drawing that the eyes are, 
 normally, exactly in the middle of the face, and 
 that the space below the eyes to the point of the 
 chin is equal to the space above the eyes to the 
 top of the head. So, if the head be represented 
 as an egg-shaped area, the eyes will be situated 
 on a line exactly bisecting the area in a horizontal 
 direction, and there will be just as much space 
 above the eyes as there is below. Therefore, if 
 the eyes are to be above the middle of the pic- 
 ture, as is generally desirable, to give them force 
 and prominence, the head must be well raised in 
 the picture-space and, if held erect, may well be 
 quite near the top. 
 
 Sometimes, and especially when the sitter is 
 wearing a hat, it is necessary even to cut into the 
 head or the hat to prevent the eyes from being 
 too low. This has been done in Fig. 28. Trim- 
 ming like this, which actually cuts away a part 
 of the image, must be done carefully, and only 
 when there is a perfectly good reason for it, as 
 in the example shown. The tendency to imitate 
 the methods of other artists must always be 
 governed by a careful investigation as to the 
 
 [134] 
 
Fig. 35. THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS . 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 reasons why they do certain things. It is a mis- 
 take to chop off part of the head in a picture, 
 just because Coburn or Diihrkoop have done it 
 in certain instances, unless you are sure that 
 your reason for doing it is just as good as theirs. 
 The dissatisfaction often voiced in regard to what 
 is known as artistic photography is usually due 
 to the fact that many of the pictures in ques- 
 tion are really anything but artistic, copying, as 
 they do, perhaps, some of the mannerisms asso- 
 ciated with the photographs of a true artist, but 
 lacking the qualities which formed the basis of 
 the real worth of the pictures. To make pictures 
 that are fuzzy and blurred, just because some 
 photographers sometimes use a soft-focus lens in 
 order to get a certain desired effect, and then to 
 label them artistic photographs, when they often 
 possess little or no artistic merit, is as foolish as 
 it is futile. So, if the trimming of the picture or 
 the arrangement of the subject in the picture- 
 space is in any way unconventional, it is neces- 
 sary that there should be a good and satisfactory 
 reason for such departure from the beaten track. 
 In making large heads, if direct prints are 
 wanted rather than enlargements, a long-focus lens 
 must be used in order to get the required size, 
 rather than a near viewpoint. This point is dealt 
 with in Chapter II. If a lens of sufficient focal 
 length is not available, the artist must be content 
 
 [135] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 i 
 
 to make the head small on the negative, and 
 then enlarge the portion he wants to the required 
 size, for the viewpoint should rarely be closer 
 than seven or eight feet. 
 
 In making group pictures, the same principles 
 regarding lines and spacing must be applied. 
 Sometimes, if there are three or more figures in 
 the group, they can be arranged in such a way 
 that a line connecting the heads, hands or other 
 accents will form a triangle, a circle, an ellipse, 
 or some other agreeable shape that fills the space 
 in a pleasing manner. 
 
 In Fig. 30, the four boys at the left of the pic- 
 ture give a suggestion of a triangle and easily 
 hold the attention, the little fellow on the right 
 being a secondary object of interest necessary to 
 give good pictorial balance. 
 
 You will notice I said in a preceding paragraph: 
 "If there are three or more figures in the group," 
 and this is an important point, for a group of 
 two is very hard to handle pictorially. If both 
 are equally prominent, there will be competition 
 and a constant effort to decide which is more 
 important. In order to get principality in a 
 group of two, one of the figures must be unmis- 
 takably more important and must dominate the 
 picture. In a group consisting of a mother and 
 child, the mother should be content to occupy a 
 subordinate position in the picture, in order that 
 
 [136] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 the interest may be concentrated on the child. 
 One of the most charming of Sargent's paintings 
 shows a boy being read to by his mother. The 
 mother sits, behind and to the side, so that the 
 interest is centered on the child, who sits gazing 
 dreamily out of the picture, completely absorbed 
 in the story. Such a picture as this might more 
 correctly be classified as a genre than as a por- 
 trait, and this seems to be the solution of most 
 problems of two-figure arrangement. 
 
 If both figures can be interested in something 
 in the picture, this will solve the problems of 
 principality and subordination, for then the thing 
 they are looking at, or their occupation, will 
 dominate the picture, and both figures will be 
 subordinate. In the group shown in Fig. 30 A, the 
 occupation of the boys is the dominating interest, 
 and the lack of principality is not strongly felt. 
 There is unity, due to the fact that neither figure 
 appears to be striving for prominence and prin- 
 cipality. 
 
 The background in a portrait or a figure study 
 must be carefully considered, for the background 
 not only serves as a support, but also helps to a 
 large extent in carrying out the motive of the 
 picture. It can very materially influence the im- 
 portance of the figure, and can make or mar the 
 composition and artistic unity of the picture. 
 The extent or area of the background in relation 
 
 [137] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 to the size of the figure is a point that is some- 
 times hard to decide. Just how much sur- 
 rounding space does a figure needP This can be 
 determined only by the good taste and cultivated 
 judgment of the artist, for it is quite impossible 
 to give any hard and fast rules. All that can 
 be said is that there should not be too much 
 space, or it will be apt to dwarf the figure, and 
 there should not be too little, for then the figure 
 will look cramped and crowded. Somewhere be- 
 tween these two extremes the background will 
 look right, and it looks right when it is least 
 noticeable, when it becomes subordinate to the 
 figure, and does not attract attention to itself. 
 In the illustrations to this chapter it will be 
 seen that in nearly all of them the background 
 is quite plain and quiet in tone, and that there is 
 nothing at all in it to attract the eye. In these 
 instances the background serves merely as a sup- 
 port for the figure, and plays no part in carrying 
 out the motive. In Fig. 23, the canvases on the 
 wall, like the palette and paintbrush, help to tell 
 the story, and to make it plain that the picture 
 is a portrait of a painter. Therefore they have a 
 definite meaning and are a necessary part of the 
 picture. There are times when a more extensive 
 background and one that is not quite plain will 
 help the picture. One of the interesting aspects 
 of home-portraiture is the opportunity it affords 
 
 [138] 
 

 Fig. 36. SWAPPING PICTURES 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 to introduce into the picture some of the home 
 interest. This can be done by including in the 
 portrait a part of the home, in the shape of inti- 
 mate surroundings that will be instantly recog- 
 nized by those who are familiar with the home in 
 question. If a setting can be found that is inter- 
 esting and attractive by reason of good lines or 
 decorative masses, it will add much to the value 
 of a home portrait if it can be used as a back- 
 ground for a single figure or a group. Examples 
 of the use of such backgrounds are seen in Figs. 
 31 and 32. Both are fairly extensive; that is to 
 say, there is a considerable area of background in 
 relation to the size of the figures, and this tends 
 perhaps to make the pictures look a little theatri- 
 cal, but in both cases they "belong" and are not 
 in the least out of keeping. In Fig. 31 the line 
 of the staircase is interesting, and the little figure, 
 in full light, has sufficient "pull" easily to domi- 
 nate the picture and not be overpowered by the 
 background. The little table in the corner gives 
 the necessary balance. In Fig. 32, the rectan- 
 gular shapes of the windows fill the space, but 
 are subordinate in interest to the group. 
 
 In selecting or arranging a background, the 
 photographer must always keep in mind the im- 
 portance of simplicity. This is one of the main 
 difficulties in home-portraiture, for, unless great 
 care is taken to keep the background simple, 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 there is danger of the sitter becoming merely 
 an item in an arrangement of bric-a-brac. Any- 
 thing that does not definitely help the picture 
 should be removed. If that is not possible, a 
 plain background of some kind should be 
 substituted. 
 
 Another example of a background that helps 
 to tell the story and explain the motive of the 
 picture is given in Fig. 33. This is a plain back- 
 ground, but there is a good deal of it; the idea 
 here was to show a characteristic pose of the 
 artist and a habit he had of putting his canvas 
 on the floor. As the building was about to be 
 demolished, he was anxious to have a memento 
 of the interesting crack in the plaster on the wall. 
 The background must always be appropriate, and 
 in keeping with the subject and with the char- 
 acter of the picture. Nothing should be intro- 
 duced into the picture that would not naturally 
 be there. The days of the marble pillar and the 
 velvet curtain have passed, and there are en- 
 couraging signs of the recognition of the impor- 
 tance of simplicity. 
 
 The tone of the background is an important 
 point, and it must be carefully considered, es- 
 pecially in pictures showing a fairly large head, 
 for the tone of the face is influenced very much 
 by the tone of the background. The flesh tones 
 appear light or dark according to whether the 
 
 [140] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 prevailing tone of the background is dark or light, 
 for tone is very largely a matter of contrast. A 
 small area of gray on a white ground will look 
 considerably darker than it would appear if sur- 
 rounded by dark tones, as was pointed out in 
 Chapter V, page 121. The tone of the background 
 influences the tone of the face in a portrait, and 
 a face seen against a white background will 
 appear darker than it would if a darker ground 
 were used. This of course is very largely a 
 matter of exposure, development and printing, 
 and depends also upon the lighting of the face 
 when making the exposure. The question of 
 tones in portraiture will be discussed more fully 
 and at greater length in the following chapter, 
 but the point to observe is that if your sitter is 
 naturally dark, or is unnaturally dark by reason 
 of exposure to the sun, and you desire to make 
 the face appear as light as possible in a picture 
 you should use a dark background, and then the 
 contrast will give an impression of light flesh- 
 tones. To get good tones against a white back- 
 ground, and to get sufficient modeling without 
 causing the face to appear too dark, is a task 
 that calls for the utmost nicety of adjustment 
 of exposure and development in making the 
 negative, and correct timing in printing. 
 
 C141] 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Tones in Portraiture Roundness and Solidity Brought out by 
 Lighting Ordinary Lighting Outdoor Portraits Home 
 Portraiture Unusual Lightings The Outfit for Home 
 Portraiture. 
 
 is as much difference in the meaning 
 JL of the words tone and tones as there is in 
 the words nerve and nerves. When for instance, 
 we speak of the tone of a private school being 
 good, we mean that the members of the faculty 
 are refined and cultured gentlemen and ladies, 
 and that they inculcate refinement and good man- 
 ners in the pupils. Refinement, then, is a char- 
 acteristic of good tone, and the tone of a photo- 
 graph may be considered satisfactory if it is quiet 
 and refined, not crude or startling, not vague, un- 
 certain or muddy. There should be no very vio- 
 lent contrasts and no spottiness of light and shade, 
 and, above all, the tones must be right. The tone 
 of a photograph depends very much on its tones, 
 that is to say, on the correct rendering of the 
 gradations of light and shade. In portraiture and 
 figure studies, just as in outdoor work, it is im- 
 portant that the rendering of the gradations 
 should be correct, or at least appear correct. 
 
 [142] 
 
Fig. 37. PORTRAIT, F. S. H. 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 The tones on the face in a portrait should suggest 
 the color for black and white can suggest 
 color and in order that this may be so, the 
 tones should correctly reproduce, not only the 
 general tint and gradations of color, but also the 
 gradations of light and shade necessary to give 
 modeling, roundness and solidity. 
 
 Let us deal first of all with gradations of light 
 and shade, ignoring for the present the general 
 color or tone of the face, for the latter is modified 
 to a large extent by the key of the picture and 
 by contrast with the background. In a portrait 
 with a predominance of dark tones, dark clothing 
 and dark background, the face and hands, being 
 the only light areas, will appear lighter by reason 
 of the contrast with the dark tones. On the 
 other hand, if the prevailing tones are light, for 
 instance, white clothing and white background, 
 the contrast will tend to make the flesh tones 
 appear dark. This is more a matter of exposure 
 and development, and of correct timing in print- 
 ing, than of lighting, but the modeling of the 
 face, the gradation of highlights, halftone and 
 shadow which indicates the shape of the fea- 
 tures, is purely a matter of lighting. 
 
 The head is round and solid, and the aim in 
 lighting should be to suggest its roundness and 
 solidity by means of highlights, halftones and 
 shadows, so that it will look round instead of flat. 
 
 [143] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 Sometimes in pictures taken outdoors, with light 
 falling on the face with equal intensity from all 
 sides, we get merely a map of the features; the 
 face looks like a flat disk, with eyes, nose and 
 mouth in then* proper positions, but entirely lack- 
 ing, in roundness and indications of shape. We 
 may get enough to give a recognizable picture 
 but, without the third dimension, the likeness is 
 not complete. An egg, equally illuminated from 
 all sides, would look flat, and there would be no 
 modeling to indicate its spherical shape. The 
 object of lighting is to bring out the roundness, 
 modeling and individuality of the features. The 
 draftsman can suggest relief by the skilful draw- 
 ing of lines, but the photographer depends upon 
 shading for the relief and modeling of the features. 
 
 The first and most important thing to do, then, 
 is to learn to see lighting. This sounds obvious, 
 but there are really very few people who can see 
 shadows and halftones on the face, unless they 
 have cultivated the ability to do so. When light- 
 ing, or perhaps, more correctly speaking, shading, 
 can be perceived and appreciated, the adjustment 
 of the light to get pleasing relief and roundness 
 is a very simple matter. 
 
 An egg or a round ball, lighted from one con- 
 centrated light-source, would have one highlight 
 just at the spot where the maximum light is re- 
 flected back to the eye, and around that high- 
 
 [1443 
 
Fig. 38. SUNLIGHT EFFECT 
 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 DIAGRAM SHOWING ORDINARY REMBRANDT AND LINE LIGHTING. 
 C1453 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 light would be halftones and gradations of tone, 
 merging gradually into shadow. If there were no 
 light reflected into the shadows, they would be 
 quite dark on the side away from the light. 
 
 Much the same thing is seen in lighting the 
 face, but it is complicated a little by the irregu- 
 larities of the features, and the individual fea- 
 tures, the forehead, the nose, the cheeks, the 
 mouth and chin, each have their own individual 
 lights and shades. There should be one principal 
 highlight on the face, and if only one source of 
 light is used, the side away from the light will be 
 in shadow. To get the maximum modeling and 
 the full range of tones, the face should be lighted 
 from one side and slightly from the front, so that 
 the light falls on the face at an angle of approxi- 
 mately forty-five degrees. With the sitter in the 
 position indicated in the diagram we shall get 
 what is known as "ordinary lighting." When we 
 have acquired the ability to see lighting, we shall 
 observe that under these conditions there is a 
 highlight reflected by the ridge of the nose, and 
 since the skin of the nose is close in texture and 
 somewhat tightly drawn, this highlight is usually 
 rather strong. 
 
 There is another light reflected from the dome 
 of the forehead; another from the curve of the 
 chin, and sometimes a fourth from the cheek- 
 bone. Brilliant little catchlights are also re- 
 
 [146] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 fleeted from the eyes. Around these highlights 
 are halftones, merging gradually into shadow on 
 the parts of the face that recede from the camera, 
 and on the side away from the light there will be 
 shadow, relieved more or less by light reflected 
 from the side of the room or from other adjacent 
 surfaces. If the window is small and the sitter is 
 placed close to it, the lighting will be very strong 
 and the shadow dark, but if the sitter is placed 
 at some distance from a large window, the light- 
 ing will be softer and the shadows relieved by 
 reflections from the opposite wall. 
 
 Of course we may place our camera where we 
 wish and can take the picture from any point of 
 view, as indicated in the diagram. The sitter is 
 supposed, in this diagram, to be facing towards 
 the camera marked Cl, so that a picture taken 
 from C3 would give a profile view of the face. 
 
 This is the method of arranging the lighting 
 to give the maximum of modeling, and a full 
 range of gradation from highlights to deep shadow. 
 The only problem is to photograph it with suffi- 
 cient technical skill, so that the gradations of 
 tone and the modeling will be correctly rendered 
 in the picture, and this is merely a matter of 
 correct exposure and proper development and 
 printing. The tones are correctly rendered in the 
 print only when the gradations of light, halftone 
 and shadow are reproduced in their proper rela- 
 
 [147] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 tion to each other. The technical problems of 
 reproducing gradations of light and shade in their 
 proper relation, and the influence of exposure on 
 the truth of the gradations will be taken up in 
 more detail later. I want now to point out what 
 the artist should look for in the subject. 
 
 There is often a tendency to make the general 
 tone of the face in a portrait too light, so that 
 the highlights are not apparent. The lightest 
 tone we can get in a print is represented by the 
 white paper. The lightest tone in a portrait 
 subject, lighted as described, is the bright catch- 
 light in the eyes and possibly the highlight on a 
 starched white collar. These are only very minute 
 areas, therefore there can be only very minute 
 areas of white paper in a print, if the tones are 
 correctly rendered. Next we have the highlights 
 on the face and the whites of the eyes, slightly 
 lower in tone, and, therefore, not white paper, 
 and then, in turn, the lesser lights, the halftones 
 and shadows on the face, hair and clothing, the 
 darkest shadow being represented (if we are using 
 a full range of tones) by the blackest deposit of 
 platinum or silver on the printing paper. To 
 represent any part of the face as white paper, 
 except the catchlights in the eyes and highlights 
 on the teeth, is absolutely wrong, not only on 
 account of the light and shade gradations but 
 also on account of the color of the face. 
 
 [148] 
 
Fig. 39. THE COMPOSER 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 In this connection I would ask the reader to 
 turn back and carefully observe the lighting on 
 the face of the boy in Fig. 8. In this portrait 
 there is absolutely no white paper except the 
 very small catchlights in the eyes and the high- 
 lights on the teeth. The teeth are not even 
 dead white; there is in the original print a quiet 
 perceptible difference between the tone of the 
 teeth and the highlights on them, and in Fig. 34 
 there is very subtle and delicate gradation of 
 tone on the face. In both instances the faces 
 appear to be white, but truth of tone is preserved 
 by the sparing use of the lightest possible tones. 
 
 If the face or any part of the face, except the 
 highlights, were to be represented in a picture 
 as white paper, we should have nothing lighter 
 in tone to represent a white collar or anything 
 really white. So we would be forced to make the 
 face and the white collar exactly the same, which 
 would be far from truthful. We can make the 
 face look white, that is to say, white enough to 
 show that the subject is not negroid, and still 
 preserve truth of tone, by means of contrast with 
 dark tones in the rest of the picture, as in the 
 case of Fig. 15, or by means of very delicate and 
 subtle gradations, as in Fig. 34. In each case 
 we have modeling and gradations of light and 
 shade, and the suggestion of color and flesh tints. 
 
 When we have a full and comparatively long 
 
 [149] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 range of tones, such as we can get with the ordi- 
 nary 45-degree lighting, it is not difficult to get 
 the proper suggestion of color in the face, because 
 we can use plenty of halftone and shadow, but 
 when we shorten the scale of tones and use a 
 flatter lighting so that we lessen the effect of 
 contrast, we have to be even more careful to pre- 
 serve truth of tone and the suggestion of flesh 
 tint. If the background is light, as in Fig. 34 and 
 in Fig. 14, the color in the face can be suggested 
 by making the gradations very delicate and only 
 barely visible, for the contrast of the flesh tones 
 with the background will tend to make the face 
 look too dark if the halftones are too strong, but 
 if the background were dark, the modeling would 
 have to be a little stronger to avoid a suggestion 
 of flatness, because the contrast of light flesh 
 tones against dark would tend to make the face 
 appear too light and lacking in color. 
 
 When we have a softer and flatter lighting, with 
 the highlights less strongly accentuated, as in 
 Fig. 35, the tones suggest color rather than con- 
 trasts of light and shade, and the problem then 
 is somewhat analogous to the problem of ortho- 
 chromatism, so that we have to try and indicate 
 by the varying shades of gray the visual inten- 
 sities of the colors in the subject. The Day 
 after Christmas represents a rather dark-skinned 
 Italian child with black hair and dark eyes, wear- 
 
 [150] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 ing a light blue blouse with white stripes. The 
 background was light gray. In this picture the 
 lighting is very soft and flat, and there is only 
 just sufficient modeling to suggest roundness. 
 
 When the face is in shadow against a white 
 background, the flesh tones will look compara- 
 tively dark, and they must be so represented in 
 a picture to preserve truth of tone. In Fig. 36, 
 the faces of the boys, seen against the sky, are 
 quite dark in tone, but still are in correct rela- 
 tion to the other tones in the picture. 
 
 In portraits taken outdoors, in the shade, we 
 usually get softer modeling, and the highlights 
 are not accentuated as much as in indoor pictures. 
 This is because the light is more diffused and 
 illuminates the shadows. Of course, if portraits 
 are made in sunlight we get stronger contrasts, 
 but this is another story and will be taken up 
 later. 
 
 Portraits outdoors in the shade have usually 
 less contrast of light and shade, by reason of the 
 diffused lighting, but they should show color con- 
 trasts, and this will preclude the face being 
 rendered too light. The correct rendering of 
 tones in outdoor portraiture is very similar in 
 many ways to the correct rendering of tones in 
 landscape pictures, which was dealt with in a 
 preceding chapter. The use of an orthochro- 
 matic plate and a color-filter will help in ren- 
 
 [151] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 dering tones correctly. When the increased 
 exposure is not a serious obstacle, the ray-filter 
 should always be used, for the problem is one of 
 reproducing color values correctly and is not, as 
 in landscape work, the problem of reproducing 
 color values modified by atmosphere, which is 
 altogether different. When working indoors, a 
 color-screen is rarely practicable, but outdoors, 
 in good diffused light, it may often be used with 
 advantage. Figure 37 was made on a Cramer 
 Instantaneous Iso plate with a three-times filter, 
 and the tones suggest color very adequately. A 
 full exposure and careful development, as was 
 pointed out in Chapter IV, will give good tones 
 and color values, provided the highlights and 
 gradations are not blocked up by overdevelop- 
 ment. Underexposure must be guarded against 
 at all times, or the tones will be irremediably 
 ruined. 
 
 The main difference between indoor portraits 
 and those made outdoors in diffused light is that 
 in the former case the lighting, because the light- 
 source is comparatively concentrated, is apt to 
 be too cbntrasty and give too long a range of 
 tones from highlight to shadow. Therefore, we 
 have to do all we can to lessen the contrast 
 (diffusing the light with cheesecloth screens, 
 using a reflector, or placing the sitter back in 
 the room almost directly facing the window, are 
 
 [152] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 all methods of lessening contrasts) whereas, in 
 making portraits outdoors in the shade or on a 
 dull day, the lighting is apt to be too flat and 
 we have to try and increase contrasts. This we 
 can often do by placing the sitter in the shade of 
 a tree or a building, so that the light is a little 
 stronger on one side than on the other. 
 
 Having arranged the lighting so that the con- 
 trasts are about right in the subject, we have to 
 expose, develop and print so that we shall get 
 the contrasts about right in the picture. Thus 
 the correct rendering of tones becomes a matter 
 of exposure and development and also, to a great 
 extent, a question of orthochromatism. The 
 purely technical side of the problem will be taken 
 up later; we are concerned now only with truth 
 of tone as indicated in a picture. The artist 
 must always bear in mind the fact that flesh- 
 tones can only very rarely be as light as the tones 
 of white clothing, and that there can be only 
 very small areas of white on the face in a por- 
 trait, only, as we said before, the catchlights in 
 the eyes and the highlights on the teeth, for the 
 tones on the face must suggest color and we 
 should always be able to teU from the tones of 
 the picture whether the complexion is naturally 
 light or dark, for then and only then will the 
 tones be true. 
 
 When we come to deal with sunlight in outdoor 
 
 C153] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 portraits, we have to overcome the tendency to 
 get too much contrast of light and shade. We 
 must have a certain amount of contrast to pro- 
 duce the right effect, but we must get it rather 
 by leaving out some of the middle-tones than 
 by making the highlights too white and the shad- 
 ows too black. There will be a tendency to get 
 very dark shadows and it is quite right that 
 they should be dark,-but we must always try and 
 preserve detail in the shadows, and not make 
 them too black and solid. This also is purely a 
 matter of exposure and development. Full ex- 
 posure will give detail in the shadows, and proper 
 development will give gradation in the highlights. 
 By getting both the highlights and the shadows 
 about right, we can get the effect of sunlight, 
 even though we may have to compress the scale 
 of tones and leave out some of the middle tints. 
 Harsh, chalky highlights and dense, black shadows 
 do not suggest sunlight, but only suggest under- 
 exposure and overdevelopment. The suggestion 
 of sunlight is conveyed by the fact that the cast 
 shadows have a definite edge and outline, and 
 that there are patches and spots of light on the 
 face, rather than a gradual blending of light and 
 shadow, but the patches and spots of light must 
 be luminous rather than dense and chalky, and 
 we must still be able to see color and flesh tints 
 both in the light parts and in the shadows. In 
 
 [154] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 Fig. 38 there is gradation and tone in the high- 
 Lights; we can see the color and texture of the 
 skin and the suggestion of freckles. The only 
 really black shadows are the very small areas in 
 the mouth and under the chin. The whole secret 
 of success in sunlight effects is full exposure, 
 followed by not too much development. This 
 will usually give a satisfactory negative and one 
 that will give a good print. The tendency to cut 
 down the exposure because the light is very 
 bright must be avoided, because we have to 
 expose for the shadows, which are comparatively 
 dark, and must allow for the fact that the subject 
 is "close up," and that the shadows are, there- 
 fore not modified to any great extent by the 
 atmosphere. 
 
 The photographer who is anxious to put into 
 practice his artistic ideas and ideals would do 
 well to devote some attention to one of the most 
 fascinating branches of picture-making with the 
 camera, home portraiture. This is a field which 
 is as yet by no means exhausted, and in which 
 there are many possibilities for real picture- 
 making. Although home portraiture at the pres- 
 ent time has come to be recognized as a branch of 
 professional portraiture and is undertaken very 
 extensively purely as a means of making money, 
 the first home portraits were made by amateur 
 photographers, and even now the best work of 
 
 [155] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 this kind is produced by amateurs. Such workers 
 as Mathilde Weil and Eva Watson-Schiitze opened 
 the eyes of the professional to the money-making 
 as well as the pictorial possibilities in home por- 
 traiture, and now it is so widely exploited that 
 there is a tendency to make home portraits in a 
 conventional and stereotyped way. The home- 
 portrait photographers are getting into a rut in 
 much the same way as the studio workers, and 
 many of them are trying to make home portrai- 
 ture conform to the traditions of professional 
 studio work. The practice of hanging up a strip 
 of black cloth behind the sitter and then working 
 in on the negative a path, a gate and some highly 
 improbable foliage, or a lattice window, which- 
 ever happens to be in style at the moment, raises 
 such pictures only a very little above the level 
 of those made in front of a painted background, 
 which were necessarily all very much alike except 
 for the fact that a very elaborately carved chair 
 or settee was sometimes added to the rural land- 
 scape. There are certain recognized conventions, 
 and the professional home-portrait operator has 
 a set of poses on which he rings the changes until 
 he has used up all his plates. TheOise of artificial 
 light has added one or two more possibilities, and 
 now there is usually a negative or two made at 
 the fireplace, with an almost-convincing fire 
 worked in afterwards to hide the electric lamp. 
 
 [156] 
 
Fig. 40. JOHN 
 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 But although home portraiture has been taken 
 up so extensively by professional workers, its 
 possibilities in the way of really artistic results 
 are still practically untouched. Who is more 
 eminently fitted to investigate these possibilities 
 than the amateur who can begin in his own home 
 and branch out in the homes of his friends and 
 acquaintances? The very fact that there are 
 many difficulties to overcome makes the work all 
 the more interesting. Every picture offers fresh 
 problems, and each different subject, according 
 to the age, sex and temperament of the sitter, 
 has its own special difficulties, so that there is 
 practically no end to the opportunities for 
 experiment. 
 
 And home portraiture is so entirely rational 
 and appropriate, for most people, more especially 
 the interesting people, can only be thoroughly 
 at home when they are literally at home. Many 
 people leave a large part of their personality 
 behind when they pose for a picture amid the 
 elaborate furnishings and the barbarous and 
 complicated accessories usually associated with a 
 professional studio. The massive and imposing 
 studio camera and stand are alone almost suffi- 
 cient to inspire awe in all but the most sophisti- 
 cated, and, in any case, even a simple studio will 
 inevitably deprive the picture of much that is 
 natural, interesting and artistic. A musician or 
 
 [157] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 a painter would naturally feel more at ease in his 
 own music room or studio, and what could be 
 more fitting than to photograph a musician at 
 his own piano, or a painter surrounded by his 
 own pictures (Fig. 39)? This applies even more 
 strongly to children, who are very sensitive, as 
 a rule, to environment. It will be obvious, I am 
 sure, that John, curled up in the window seat at 
 home, reading his own Book of Knowledge, ex- 
 plaining and pointing out that the sixth star in 
 the top row on the American flag is the star of 
 Massachusetts, is more likely to be the John that 
 luV family and friends know, than if he were pos- 
 ing in a strange and interesting looking room 
 that he has never seen before, and having to sit 
 still instead of being allowed to wander around 
 and ask questions about everything he sees 
 (Fig. 40). 
 
 Unconventional but entirely natural lighting 
 can often be used in making home portraits, 
 though, if it is thought to be more desirable it 
 is quite possible to use a plain, straightforward 
 "ordinary lighting," such as is illustrated and 
 explained by the diagram on page 145. All kinds 
 of fancy lightings are possible, and not at all 
 hard to get, in almost any ordinary room, includ- 
 ing the so-called "Rembrandt" lighting, and the 
 rather hackneyed "line" lighting of the studio. 
 The artist will probably try to avoid these things, 
 
 [158] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 and will photograph his subjects lighted in the 
 way their friends are accustomed to seeing them. 
 He will use the light to emphasize the character- 
 istics that he wants to bring out clearly, and if 
 the lighting is unusual and unconventional and 
 totally opposed to the canons of professional 
 practice, that need not matter, as long as it is 
 what he considers suitable and proper for that 
 particular picture. 
 
 A picture is not necessarily artistic just because 
 it is unusual, unconventional or startling in light- 
 ing or arrangement, and there is ample scope for 
 the display of artistic perception and feeling even 
 in a simple picture such as, for instance, Fig. 8. 
 Simple, straightforward lighting, such as the 
 "ordinary lighting" of the diagram, will often 
 bring out the character and personality of the 
 sitter far more truthfully and more convincingly 
 than a freakish and startling scheme of lighting. 
 But, in order to be able to use any lighting effec- 
 tively, the artist must have a sound knowledge 
 of the elementary principles. 
 
 At the beginning of this chapter I have given 
 a diagram and have explained a method of getting 
 what is known as "ordinary lighting." This is 
 so called because it is the method of lighting fre- 
 quently used in the professional studio, and it is 
 the basis of good, normal, everyday lighting. 
 This method of lighting is the result of many 
 
 [159] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 years of study and experiment, and it has been 
 found to bring out likeness and the shape and 
 modeling of the features very simply and easily, 
 so it will be well for the artist to study and master 
 it before he experiments with the unusual and 
 unconventional. With ordinary lighting, the 
 maximum of modeling and gradation of light and 
 shade can be secured, and the artist must learn 
 to see modeling and gradations before he can 
 use lighting to the best advantage. I am urging 
 the reader to master this conventional scheme 
 of lighting, not because I consider it to be always 
 the best or the most suitable method, but because 
 I think it is necessary for him to know what it 
 is and how such a lighting can be obtained. It 
 may be regarded as a foundation on which to 
 base experiments and departures from the 
 usual. 
 
 The lighting in home portraiture need not and 
 should not be copied from the methods of the 
 studio, for the principal characteristic of such 
 work should be originality and the interpretation 
 of individuality, but experiments and originality 
 must be based on knowledge of general principles 
 and on an appreciation of the important part 
 played by lighting in suggesting the third dimen- 
 sion, the roundness and modeling that convey 
 likeness. Just blind groping in the dark will not 
 accomplish very much. With the sitter in the 
 
 [160] 
 
Fig. 41. ANNISQUAM BRIDGE, SUNLIGHT 
 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 position indicated in the diagram, facing towards 
 the camera at Cl, we can get a full-face picture 
 with very effective lighting. There will be a full 
 range of gradations on the face, highlights on the 
 forehead, nose, cheek and chin, halftones on 
 those parts of the face that recede from the 
 camera, and shadow on the side away from the 
 light. There will be more light than shadow on 
 the face, roughly about three parts light to one 
 part shadow. This is ordinary lighting. By 
 taking the camera around to C2, without chang- 
 ing the position of the sitter, we can get a three- 
 quarter view of the face on which we shall see 
 more shadow than light. This is the arrange- 
 ment sometimes described as "Rembrandt" light- 
 ing. Then, still leaving the sitter in the same 
 position, we can take the camera further around 
 to C3 and can get a profile with a very effective 
 "line" lighting. If we are careful, when photo- 
 graphing from these last two positions, to give 
 sufficient exposure to get proper detail in the 
 shadows, such pictures should be very interesting. 
 In The Artistic Side of Photography, A. J. Ander- 
 son writes: "As soon as the photographer has 
 learned to see modeling by means of its high- 
 lights, shadings and shadows and not by his 
 stereoscopic vision, he will find that all the 
 world's a studio and all the men and women 
 merely sitters. As soon as he has learned to see 
 
 [161] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 in this manner, he may be certain that when a 
 person looks well, he will photograph well." 
 
 The very nature of home portraiture precludes 
 hard and fast rules. Every worker must carry 
 out his own ideas in his own way. He should 
 understand lighting thoroughly, so that he can 
 use it to get any effect he wants. 
 
 The outfit for home portraiture need not be 
 at all elaborate or extensive. Good work can be 
 done with practically any kind of outfit, though 
 there are certain features in the apparatus that 
 are desirable and helpful. If large heads are 
 wanted, a long-focus lens must be used, and often 
 the rear combination of a rapid rectilinear lens 
 will do very well. Personally I have found a 
 lens of the semi-achromatic type better adapted 
 for this kind of work than an anastigmat, though 
 sometimes the crisp definition of the anastigmat 
 is more suitable. This is a matter for each to 
 decide for himself. Possibly it will be helpful to 
 some of my readers if I describe briefly my own 
 outfit, not that it is necessarily any better or 
 more satisfactory than others, but because it has 
 been found to be entirely adequate for my pur- 
 poses. I use an ordinary 6| x 8| view camera 
 and a rather solidly built tripod. A specially 
 designed "home portrait" tripod is convenient 
 but not an absolute necessity. I have an extra 
 back that can be used on this camera to accommo- 
 
 [162] 
 
Fig. 42. SURF AT BASS ROCKS 
 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 date 5x7 plate holders. The lens I use most 
 frequently is a 14J-inch Verito, which is fitted 
 with a Studio shutter. I also possess and occa- 
 sionally use an old fashioned Voigtlaender Eury- 
 scope Portrait lens of about 10 inches focal 
 length. This has Waterhouse stops that slide 
 into a groove in the lens barrel. As it has no 
 shutter, I use a lens cap. I have a piece of stout 
 wire bent in such a way that it fits into screw- 
 eyes on the camera front and projects over the 
 lens, and over this I hang a dark cloth for a lens 
 shade. I never use any kind of artificial back- 
 ground for home portraits and only very rarely 
 a reflector. By so placing the sitter in relation to 
 the light that there are no very heavy shadows 
 on the face, the need for a reflector is done away 
 with. I use either glass plates or Eastman Por- 
 trait Films, as is most convenient. The films 
 save weight when it is necessary to carry the 
 camera any considerable distance. I have never 
 used any kind of artificial light for portraits, 
 except for occasional experiments in my own 
 home. 
 
 163:1 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 The Definition of Art The Need for Cultivated Good Taste 
 Picture-making Largely Instinctive Landscape Photog- 
 raphy Imagination The Selection of Suitable Condi- 
 tionsThe Illusion of Relief The Illusion of Distance 
 The Illusion of Movement Underexposure Fatal to Suc- 
 cessNight Photography Still-life and Flower Studies. 
 
 IN preceding chapters I have endeavored to 
 point out some of the principles of art which 
 are observed by painters, sculptors, photographers 
 and all whose aim is to produce a work of art. 
 Art has been variously defined by different 
 writers. The most satisfactory definition, per- 
 haps is this: "The production of beauty for the 
 purpose of giving pleasure." When applied to 
 picture-making by photography or otherwise, a 
 better definition would be: "The beautiful repre- 
 sentation of nature for the purpose of giving dis- 
 interested pleasure." Either definition is applic- 
 able to photography, for we must keep in mind 
 H. Snowden Ward's definition of a photographic 
 picture: "A thing beautifully photographed, 
 rather than a beautiful thing photographed." 
 So the aim in picture-making is to represent 
 nature beautifully, in such a way that the repre- 
 sentation will give some pleasure to those who 
 
 C164] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 are capable of appreciating beauty. Nature, in 
 this respect, must be held to include human 
 nature, for in picture-making we can use both 
 animate and inanimate objects. Portraiture, 
 genre studies and all pictures including human 
 beings are in one class, and landscape or marine 
 pictures, with still-life studies, comprise the 
 second. There are, thus, broadly speaking, two 
 classes in picture-making; those that include the 
 human figure and those that do not, and there 
 is a distinct difference in the possibilities of beauty 
 in these two classes. In the representation of 
 inanimate objects, as in a landscape, we are 
 limited to the arrangement of things that are 
 expressionless in themselves. The beauty of a 
 landscape picture depends only to a small extent 
 upon the beauty of the actual objects photo- 
 graphed. It has been said: "The nobler human 
 attributes and passions, as wisdom, courage, 
 spiritual exaltation, patriotism, cannot be con- 
 nected with a landscape and so it is unable to 
 produce in the mind the elevation of thought and 
 grandeur of sentiment which are the sweetest 
 blossoms of the tree of art" (Govett, Art 
 Principles). 
 
 A landscape picture is distinguished from a 
 topographical record in that it affords a sugges- 
 tion of some emotion, and the beauty of the 
 picture depends upon the truthfulness with which 
 
 [165] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 an interesting aspect of nature is represented. 
 Truthfulness of representation does not neces- 
 sarily mean microscopically sharp definition and 
 a profusion of fine detail, but, rather, the exact 
 interpretation of a mood of nature. Grace of 
 line, interesting spacing, truthful tones and the 
 attributes of beauty that are understood to be 
 experienced in the contemplation of a pleasing 
 pattern or design, are the qualities that are essen- 
 tial in a work of art. The production of a land- 
 scape picture, considered as a separate branch 
 of art, is regarded by some as being on a lower 
 plane than the making of pictures which include 
 the human figure, because in a landscape picture 
 the artist can produce only sensorial and not 
 intellectual beauty and, furthermore, because 
 some of the highest qualities of beauty in nature 
 grandeur and sublimity can be suggested 
 only to a very limited extent in a picture on ac- 
 count of the necessity for representing the scene 
 on a very much reduced scale. Actual magni- 
 tude is required to produce either of these 
 qualities in any considerable degree; the actual 
 element of space can be suggested only very 
 slightly. 
 
 Suggestion is a most important element in 
 picture-making. In landscape pictures, in which 
 we will include also marine and still-life studies, 
 the success of the picture depends entirely upon 
 
 [166] 
 
Fig. 43. ROCKY NECK, EAST GLOUCESTER 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 the effectiveness with which certain emotions and 
 sensations of beauty are suggested. Composi- 
 tion, the mechanics of suggestion, is the means 
 by which we achieve beauty in a landscape pic- 
 ture. We cannot improve upon nature, but we 
 must curb the prolixity of nature. We must 
 condense and simplify, must select just what will 
 give a suggestion of the emotions which led us 
 to think that the material before us would make 
 a satisfying picture. 
 
 Emphasis of one particular feature is usually 
 necessary; it may be a graceful line, or it may 
 be an interesting mass, but for the proper enjoy- 
 ment of a picture, this one predominant feature 
 should be given full sway, and should not be 
 weakened in force by the introduction of other 
 interests. 
 
 In landscape work the need for broad and 
 impressionistic treatment is strongly indicated. 
 The softening of obtrusive detail, the massing of 
 light and shade, are often necessary for the pur- 
 pose of simplification. There is a sense of free- 
 dom and satisfaction to be derived from long, 
 flowing lines and broad, simple masses. Such 
 pictures wear well and are easy to live with. So 
 we cannot too strongly emphasize the importance 
 of simplicity. 
 
 Both the accompanying pictures are simple, 
 and in both there is some evidence of the at- 
 C167] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 tempt to interpret a mood of nature. In Fig. 41 
 the theme is "sunlight," the hot, blazing sun- 
 light of an August afternoon. The picture was 
 simplified by trimming off the sky in making 
 the enlargement. In Fig. 42 the never-ceasing 
 surge and swell of the ocean is the motive of the 
 picture, and everything has been subordinated 
 to this. 
 
 In a broad sense all artists are impressionists; 
 they do not picture the objects themselves, but 
 only what they are conscious of seeing. There 
 is no virtue in elaboration. The artist, and more 
 especially he who uses a camera, must endeavor 
 to be, not a mere recorder of external facts, but 
 one who forms a vivid mental impression and 
 tries to make us realize his impression. The 
 interpretation of a mood is more to be desired 
 than a bald statement of fact. 
 
 The simplification of a picture begins with the 
 selection of the subject. We feel by instinct, or 
 we have learned by experience, that a certain 
 arrangement of line will induce certain emotions. 
 In a portrait or still-life study, we can actually 
 arrange such lines as we feel are needed in the 
 picture, but we cannot thus arrange the lines 
 of a landscape we can only select. The same 
 impulse that suggests arrangement will also 
 suggest selection. 
 
 A certain amount of mechanical construction 
 
 [168] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 and ingenuity is needed in composing a landscape 
 picture. The artist must try to see lines and 
 masses as forming part of a pattern, not as actual 
 objects. The line arrangement, the pattern or 
 design of the picture, can be modified very con- 
 siderably by changing the point of view from 
 which the picture is taken. We aim to produce 
 certain illusions capable of stimulating the in- 
 voluntary sensation which we name pleasure, and 
 these illusions, as we have pointed out in pre- 
 vious chapters, are produced very largely by the 
 arrangement or selection of certain lines, tones, 
 and distributions of light and dark. 
 
 There are certain mechanical principles under- 
 lying the production of such illusions. These 
 principles are what we strive to understand when 
 we study perspective, both linear and aerial, and 
 when we consider the advisability or otherwise 
 of using orthochromatic plates and ray-filters. 
 
 There are laws and rules governing the pro- 
 duction of a picture, as of all works of art. The 
 musician must understand and obey the rules of 
 harmony and counterpoint, the writer must study 
 the correct use of words and the proper construc- 
 tion of sentences, and the picture-maker, whether 
 he be a painter or a photographer, must keep in 
 mind the principles governing the mechanics of 
 suggestion, on which his pictures depend for their 
 effectiveness. 
 
 [169] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 It must not be understood, however, that 
 picture-making of any kind, whether it be paint- 
 ing, drawing or photography, is a matter of exact 
 compliance with hard and fast rules; this is not 
 the case at all. There are certain recognized 
 methods in making pictures that have been uni- 
 versally adopted by artists of all times, and thus 
 have become crystallized into principles of com- 
 position, but it will be found that picture-making 
 is almost entirely a matter of good taste, and 
 that it is largely instinctive when the taste has 
 been trained and cultivated. If a photographer 
 can compose at all; if he can make pictures that 
 are pleasing to himself, and that are regarded by 
 competent judges as being interesting; if he can 
 make pictures that suggest to others the impres- 
 sions that he himself felt when he arranged or 
 selected the material, he will do so even if he has 
 never heard of any rules. When he has made the 
 picture, he will find that, on analysis, a reason 
 can almost invariably be given to explain why a 
 certain impression is conveyed, and why the 
 picture makes the appeal it does. It may be 
 because there are graceful or forceful lines in the 
 picture; it may be on account of decorative 
 masses or a delicate nuance of tone; it may be 
 that the picture starts a train of thought and 
 appeals to the imagination; but it can appeal 
 only to those whose tastes and instincts are 
 
Fig. 44. SUNRISE ON LAKE WINNEPESAUKEE 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 similar to those of the artist. If some people can 
 see nothing in a picture, if it means nothing to 
 them and makes no appeal, it does not necessarily 
 follow that the picture is at fault. They may 
 not have the requisite imagination or taste to 
 understand the picture. It is just the same in 
 music. Some can enjoy a Tschaikowsky sym- 
 phony, while others can appreciate only a jazz- 
 time quartette. 
 
 I have selected as illustrations of the various 
 principles referred to, pictures that I have made 
 myself and, in nearly every instance, have been 
 able to pin to the picture a rule or principle that 
 has been discussed in these chapters. It might 
 be imagined that I had this rule in mind at the 
 time, and made the picture to fit the rule. As 
 a matter of fact, I do not remember being con- 
 scious at all of any rules or text-book instruc- 
 tions. In making the picture Plum Island, for 
 instance, I did not stop to think at all about the 
 dark accent made by the child against the deli- 
 cate light tones, or the direction of the line of 
 the surf. When making the portrait, The Fair 
 Haired Boy, I did not consciously consider the 
 fact that a curve running through the picture, 
 from the head to the hands, would be a pleasing 
 line arrangement, and when photographing The 
 Painter, I do not think that the idea of the steel- 
 yard balance occurred to me at all. I felt that 
 
 [171] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 these selections were right and, on the strength 
 of that instinctive feeling, I just went right ahead 
 and made the exposures. Then, after the pictures 
 were finished, I discovered that they conformed 
 with certain recognized formulae, that the child 
 in Plum Island formed a necessary and agreeable 
 accent, that the distant vessel balanced the group 
 in The Painter, and so on. 
 
 I think most pictures are made in this way, 
 entirely by instinct, and that the rules and prin- 
 ciples can be tacked on afterwards. This probably 
 will explain why there are pictures that we like, 
 but that seem to conform to no rules. To "study 
 up" on composition and then go out with the 
 camera and a set of rules, with the idea of making 
 pictures, does not seem to me to be at all the 
 way to do it. It is, of course, very necessary to 
 read and assimilate the rules and principles of 
 picture-making, but when you are actually mak- 
 ing pictures, forget all about the rules and prin- 
 ciples, and rely on your own good taste and 
 judgment. 
 
 I do not believe that the ability to compose 
 successfully can be learned entirely from books; 
 it is a matter of good taste and judgment, cul- 
 tivated and improved by the study of good 
 pictures, and by the habit of looking for and ex- 
 pecting to see beauty in every phase of nature. 
 The natural and inherent good taste of an artist 
 
 [172] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 is possibly an unconscious knowledge of the prin- 
 ciples of composition. As soon as we become 
 conscious of this knowledge, the good taste and 
 instinctive feeling become judgment and selec- 
 tion. But the good taste must come first, for, 
 unless an artist can compose by instinct, I do not 
 believe he will ever learn to do it by rule. Learn 
 all you can from the study of a large variety of 
 good pictures. If a picture appeals to you par- 
 ticularly, try to analyze it and find out the 
 reason why it impresses you as being beautiful 
 or interesting. 
 
 To learn to see pictorially is the first essential 
 duty of the would-be picture-maker. It would be 
 no use to learn from a book that the S-shaped 
 curve, for instance, is a desirable line, if one 
 cannot see and appreciate such a line in nature. 
 
 Good taste and judgment can be cultivated, 
 as are other faculties, and the foundations of 
 success as an artist are good taste and an appre- 
 ciation of beauty. These must come first, and 
 the ability to record impressions of beauty will 
 follow later. 
 
 In landscape photography, the photographer 
 must learn to see his subject as a pattern; he 
 must look for lines and masses, and must learn 
 to see them as parts of his design. The suggestion 
 that is often given, to study the subject through 
 a rectangular frame of blackened cardboard, is 
 
 [173] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 a very good one, especially for the beginner. 
 The amount of subject included in the frame can 
 be varied by changing the distance between the 
 cardboard and the eye. In order to eliminate 
 color, and to get an idea as to how a subject will 
 appear in monochrome, it should be studied 
 through blue glass. Another way to study the 
 subject with a view to ascertaining the decora- 
 tive quality of the masses is to throw the image 
 out of focus on the focusing screen, so that all 
 detail is lost and only the important masses can 
 be seen. A tree is useful to the artist only when 
 the direction of its lines is good, and the shape of 
 the mass is satisfactory. The line of surf along 
 a sandy beach may be a good line or a bad one, 
 and the judgment and good taste of the artist 
 will enable him to decide whether it is good or 
 bad, just as his taste and judgment enable him 
 to decide as to the shapes of the masses. The 
 good taste must be cultivated until it becomes 
 instinctive and reliable. The only way to do 
 this is by studying and analyzing good pictures. 
 Rules and laws of composition will not develop 
 taste and judgment, they will only explain why 
 certain shapes and certain directions of line are 
 preferable to others, and give some assistance in 
 establishing a criterion. If a study of composi- 
 tion were all that is necessary, every photographer 
 and every painter could be an artist. 
 
 [174] 
 
Fig. 45. THE WASHINGTON STATUE AT NIGHT 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 The quality of imagination is another very es- 
 sential attribute of the artist. He conceives an 
 idea and puts it into such form that it can be 
 recognized by others. This is true of painting 
 or photography, music or poetry. He does noth- 
 ing more. The greatness of the picture, the 
 music, or the poem is governed by the quality of 
 the imagination shown in its conception. Imagi- 
 nation is a natural gift that can be strengthened 
 by study, and a photographer, gifted with a vivid 
 imagination, who, by diligence and application, 
 has acquired skill in the manipulation of his 
 tools, can make pictures that will express to 
 others just what he intends them to express. 
 Imagination alone will not suffice to produce 
 great pictures; there must be sufficient facility 
 of execution to carry out the ideas in the artist's 
 mind. Technical facility can be acquired by 
 careful and intelligent practice. Imagination can 
 be cultivated by the study of good pictures, and 
 by the cultivation of the mind. Hard work is 
 the secret of success in art as in everything else. 
 The great painters acquired their excellence by 
 study and application. According to his biog- 
 raphers, the triumphs of Claude were due to his 
 untiring industry, while Reynolds held that noth- 
 ing is denied to well-directed labor. And so with 
 many others down to Turner, whose secret, 
 according to Ruskin, was sincerity and toil. 
 
 [175] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 Knowledge and experience are the foundations 
 upon which imagination can build. Years of hard 
 work are necessary, but it is unfortunately hard 
 to convince some students of the necessity for 
 long and hard study. Many seem to be under 
 the impression that inspiration will come to their 
 assistance, and that genius will enable them to 
 dispense with much of the labor which others, 
 less fortunate, must undertake. Some mistake 
 eccentricity for artistic merit, and think that a 
 picture that is weird and unusual in subject or 
 treatment is a worthy achievement. The uncon- 
 ventional, or, as Mr. W. H. Downes calls it, the 
 "unexpected pattern," often makes a picture 
 interesting, but eccentricity carried too far is 
 annoying. 
 
 Probably landscape work is more often the 
 first choice of the budding pictorialist than any 
 other branch of photographic picture-making, and 
 it offers a wide field for the exercise of imagina- 
 tion. Nature's moods are many and varied, and 
 there is ample scope for individual treatment. 
 The chief point to bear in mind is that a simple 
 subject is usually more permanently pleasing than 
 one that is too complex. The selection of suitable 
 atmospheric conditions is of great importance, for 
 the "interpretation of a mood" can only be 
 effected when there is obvious evidence of the 
 existence of the particular mood. There can be 
 
 [176] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 no definite rules given as to what these condi- 
 tions are to be. Nature is interesting at all times, 
 but, as a general rule, very harsh and glaring 
 sunlight, when the sun is high in the heavens, 
 should be avoided, because at such times there 
 is often an utter lack of relief, roundness and 
 modeling in the trees and other objects. 
 
 The reason why we can see things stereo- 
 scopically is because we have two eyes, just like 
 a stereoscopic camera. The two slightly different 
 images are merged into one, and we get the sug- 
 gestion of solidity, roundness and relief. This 
 stereoscopic vision also enables us to gauge dis- 
 tances, to judge the flight of a tennis ball, and 
 to place things in their proper relative positions, 
 one behind the other. The ordinary camera has 
 only one lens, and sees everything as if it were 
 flat. Therefore the relief and roundness of the 
 objects represented by it must be suggested by 
 shading and by perspective. Thus shading is of 
 great importance, and good shadows can best 
 be secured when the sun is low, and when one 
 side of all objects is more strongly lighted than 
 the other. Sunlight coming from one side gives 
 the maximum of relief, and the long shadows of 
 the early morning or late afternoon are often very 
 beautiful and decidedly interesting. 
 
 In picture-making the eye has to be considered 
 before the mind, and it is of immense importance 
 
 [177] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 that the brain should have the least possible work 
 to do in assisting the eye to interpret a picture. 
 The aim of the artist is to produce an illusion, 
 and the more nearly a picture corresponds to 
 nature, the more complete the illusion. Exact 
 imitation of every detail will not produce as 
 striking an illusion as will a picture in which such 
 things as relief, distance and movement are 
 vividly suggested, and in which the artist has 
 generalized these essential qualities. The illu- 
 sion of relief, as we have seen, can best be pro- 
 duced when the lighting is such that one side of 
 an object is more strongly illuminated than the 
 other, as when the sun is low and towards one 
 side. The illusion of opening distance is sug- 
 gested when the atmospheric conditions are such 
 that the distant planes are less clearly seen than 
 those near at hand. 
 
 In Fig. 43 the distance looks distant, not only 
 because the houses are small compared with the 
 fence in the immediate foreground, but because 
 they are less distinct and are grayer and lighter 
 in tone than the objects close at hand. The 
 veil of atmosphere between the eye and distant 
 objects tends to make them uniform in tone, as 
 explained in Chapter IV, and it is this atmos- 
 phere that makes distant objects less clearly seen 
 than those close at hand, like the distant houses 
 in Fig. 43. 
 
 [1783 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 In a landscape picture there should usually be 
 at least two distinct planes represented; often 
 there are three, the foreground, the middle-dis- 
 tance and the distance. Sometimes there is no 
 extreme distance in a picture, but only foreground 
 and middle-distance, while occasionally the fore- 
 ground may be merely a silhouette of a portion 
 of a tree or a branch projected into the upper 
 part of the picture, or rushes by a river bank at 
 the bottom edge of the picture. 
 
 The illusion of distance is a matter of selection 
 of suitable conditions of lighting and atmos- 
 phere. Early morning or late afternoon in the 
 summer is usually a more suitable time for pic- 
 ture-making than those times of the day when 
 everything, near and far, is equally distinct and 
 clear-cut. The slight haze or mist that is often 
 present early or late in the day is very helpful in 
 differentiating the different planes in the scene. 
 Full exposure and careful development, not 
 carried too far, will preserve truth of tone in 
 distant planes. Sometimes a suggestion of depth 
 and space is given by the introduction of an open 
 doorway or the arch of a bridge in the foreground, 
 with a distant view seen through it. Distance 
 may also be suggested by a river, a stream or a 
 road winding away into the background, and 
 thus linear perspective will help in creating the 
 illusion. Occasionally such an effect is produced 
 
 [179] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 in a snow scene by a track of footprints going off 
 into the distance. Linear perspective, the di- 
 minution in the size of objects as they recede into 
 the background, will give a suggestion of distance, 
 but this, in itself, is not sufficient, and the effect 
 must be increased by the illusion of flattened 
 tones and less decided contrasts. 
 
 Another illusion that can only b suggested in 
 a picture is the movement and sound of nature. 
 "In nature there is always movement and sound. 
 Even on those rare days when the wind has 
 ceased and the air seems still and dead, there is 
 motion with noise of some kind. A brook trick- 
 les by, insects buzz their zigzag way, and shad- 
 ows vary as the sun mounts or descends. But 
 most commonly there is a breeze to rustle the 
 trees and shrubs, to ripple the surface of the 
 water, and to throw over the scene evidence of 
 life in its ever charming variety. The painter 
 cannot reproduce these movements and sounds. 
 All he represents is silent and still as if nature 
 had suddenly suspended her work stayed the 
 tree as it bent to the breeze, stopped the bird in 
 the act of flight, fixed the water, and fastened the 
 shadows to the ground. What is there then to 
 compensate the artist for this limitation? Why, 
 surely he can represent nature as she is at a par- 
 ticular moment, over the hills and valleys, or 
 across great plains, with sunlight and atmosphere 
 
 [180] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 to make the breadth and distance and so produce 
 an illusion of movement to delight the eyes of the 
 observer with bewitching surprise" (Govett, Art 
 Principles). 
 
 Occasionally it is possible to suggest violent 
 movement by having some parts of the picture a 
 little blurred, thus showing evidence of motion 
 during the exposure, but this rather drastic 
 method should be used only to suggest an un- 
 usually impetuous agitation, such as would be 
 occasioned by a wind storm. A more subtle and 
 more pleasing means of suggesting movement is 
 by the general sweep of line in the representa- 
 tion of trees. A decided inclination of the branches 
 and twigs in one direction will suggest the idea 
 of their being blown by wind. It is possible to 
 give an impression of a landscape before rain, by 
 catching the moment when the eddying wind 
 turns up the silver lining of the black poplar 
 leaves. Movement in water, such as falls and 
 breaking waves, can be suggested by avoiding 
 too short an exposure, which is always apt to 
 give what is termed a "frozen" appearance to the 
 water. A breaking wave photographed so that 
 there is just a little blurring in the parts that 
 are moving very rapidly will give a more realistic 
 impression of motion than if every part of the 
 picture were absolutely sharp and clearly defined 
 (Fig. 42). Waterfalls and rapids can sometimes 
 
 [181] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 be just a little blurred, but not so much as to 
 lose form and character. 
 
 As was pointed out in Chapter II, oblique lines 
 and acute angles have a tendency to suggest 
 motion, while long horizontal lines convey an 
 impression of restfulness. There is another point 
 that might be noted in the representation of 
 moving objects, such as ships, animals or people 
 walking, and so on, and that is their position in 
 the picture-space. There should always be plenty 
 of space in front of a moving object to suggest 
 that there is room to move without running out 
 of the picture. Motion of animals, such as sheep 
 on a dusty road, can be suggested by a cloud of 
 dust behind them. Motion of ships sailing 
 rapidly will be indicated by the swirl or wake 
 behind them. The pictorialist will do well to 
 study all such things as these, so that he will be 
 able to analyze impressions quickly and make 
 his pictures convincing. 
 
 For the past two years I have had the privilege 
 of examining each month many hundred photo- 
 graphs sent to one of the leading photographic 
 magazines for competition and criticism, and the 
 conclusion has been forced upon me that by far 
 the most common failing in photographic picture- 
 making is underexposure of the negative. The 
 manufacture of ultra-rapid plates and "speed" 
 film has tended to foster the idea that the shutter 
 
 [182] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 can be speeded up more and more until less than 
 the minimum of exposure is often given. Plates 
 and films possess great latitude, it is true, but too 
 short an exposure always has a tendency to cause 
 a loss of atmosphere. 
 
 Of all photographic failings underexposure is 
 the most serious, for it cannot be remedied in 
 the darkroom, and an underexposed negative will 
 never give the delicate tonal gradations that are 
 so necessary from the artistic standpoint. The 
 differentiation of the planes in the picture always 
 suffers when the negative is underexposed, in 
 spite of the utmost skill that may be exercised 
 m printing. So the pictorialist must always 
 watch the shadows, and must be sure to expose 
 for the effect he wants. The success of the 
 picture depends entirely upon the exposure; very 
 little can be done in development to correct errors 
 in timing, and it is the shadows that must be 
 considered in judging the exposure. 
 
 There are very few shadows in nature that are 
 absolutely black, except, possibly, in India or 
 Egypt or other places where the air is very clear 
 and the sunlight is very bright and glaring. 
 Possibly the entrance to a dark cavern might 
 truthfully be represented as black in a picture, 
 but, as a general rule, there is detail and grada- 
 tion throughout the shadows. In a subject 
 lighted by electric arc-lamps, the shadows would 
 
 [183] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 be hard, black and solid, and should be so repre- 
 sented in a picture. This would be quite correct. 
 But the same subject in daylight would have 
 entirely different shadows. 
 
 Moonlight scenes, so called, that are made by 
 underexposing in daylight show their unreality 
 by the hardness and blackness of the shadows. 
 The shadows in moonlight are empty and lack- 
 ing in detail, but they are never very dark. The 
 contrast between the shadows and the lighted 
 parts is much less in moonlight than under any 
 other conditions. 
 
 The reason why there is this difference is that 
 in daylight the shadows are illuminated by dif- 
 fused light, in moonlight or electric light they are 
 not. The contrasts in moonlight are very soft, 
 whereas the contrasts given by electric light are 
 very harsh indeed. This is why a much under- 
 exposed picture taken with the sun behind clouds 
 can never be passed off successfully as a moonlight 
 scene. The shadows are wrong. The under- 
 exposure has made them empty and lacking in 
 detail, but it has also made them too dark, and 
 the contrasts are too great for a real moonlight 
 effect. 
 
 Pictures taken at sunrise or sunset, facing the 
 sun, should be sufficiently well exposed to give 
 some shadow detail and should be printed so that 
 the detail is preserved in the print (Fig. 44). 
 
 [184] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 The tendency usually is to give a short exposure 
 with the idea of preserving detail in the sky, but 
 the highlights must be left to take care of them- 
 selves, and the exposure should be sufficient to 
 give as much detail in the scene as can be per- 
 ceived by the eye. 
 
 A sunrise or sunset picture is very rarely true 
 to nature in values and contrasts. Almost in- 
 variably there are signs of underexposure, and 
 they are often overprinted so that parts of the 
 sky are rendered as black. Sometimes parts of 
 the sky at sunrise or sunset are dark in color, 
 dark purple, perhaps, or dark gray, but never 
 black. Black clouds in a photograph never can 
 be correct. Such subjects need full color-correc- 
 tion and full exposure. From a practical stand- 
 point as well as an artistic one, it will be found 
 that a sunset and water combination is better 
 than sunset over land. Exposure is difficult at 
 that time of day on land, but the increased reflec- 
 tion of the water shortens the necessary time, 
 and the reflection may add pictorially to the 
 result. 
 
 With regard to night photography, the secret 
 of success lies in giving just as long an exposure 
 as will render as much detail as can be seen. Too 
 long an exposure will register detail in the shad- 
 ows that is not ordinarily visible, and the true 
 night effect will be lost. In such pictures, any 
 
 [185] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 lights that may be included in the view will be 
 very much overexposed, and they are liable to 
 cause halation in the negative. This is one of the 
 technical difficulties that must be overcome. 
 Films are much less subject to halation than 
 glass plates, but if plates are used they should 
 be backed or double-coated or both. Soaking 
 in water after a preliminary application of 
 developer will often bring out shadow detail 
 without blocking up the highlights, but with 
 double-coated plates quick development with a 
 fairly strong developer will often develop the 
 surface image before the developer has time to 
 penetrate through to the bottom coating. Night 
 photography is an interesting branch of work 
 and the possibilities for artistic results are great. 
 
 Figures 45 and 46 were both made after dark 
 in a city park, the only light being that derived 
 from electric arc-lamps. In both, the effect of 
 the light rather than the light itself is seen, and 
 thus technical difficulties of halation and over- 
 exposure of the lights are avoided. 
 
 There are many interesting effects to be obtained 
 at dusk, when the lamps are lighted and before 
 it is quite dark. This is an interesting phase of 
 night photography that has not yet been fully 
 investigated. It seems to offer great possibilities 
 and might do away with some of the difficulties 
 that are experienced after dark. 
 
 [1863 
 
* IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 In making still-life and flower studies the artis- 
 tic worker has plenty of scope for the display of 
 good taste, judgment and artistic feeling. The 
 entire credit for the success of such pictures is 
 due to the artist, for the arrangement of the 
 picture from start to finish is absolutely under his 
 control. In pictures of this kind the composi- 
 tion is wholly constructive. The photographer 
 can build up the picture as he goes along, very 
 much in the same way as a painter. He can 
 select the material for the picture and can ar- 
 range it as he likes; he can study the effect on 
 the focusing screen, and can make any changes 
 he thinks are desirable until he gets it right. 
 When he has everything as he wants it, he can 
 photograph it and can use all the technical knowl- 
 edge and skill at his disposal. 
 
 In Fig. 47 simplicity was the keynote. There 
 is nothing in the picture except the principal ob- 
 ject, placed towards the top and on the left hand 
 side, and the secondary balancing object, placed 
 a little lower and towards the right. The re- 
 flections in the shiny surface of the table top 
 give interest by means of repetition with variety. 
 
 In arranging flower studies the artist will do 
 well to keep in mind some of the principles of 
 pictorial composition referred to in the preceding 
 chapters. He should strive to secure unity, 
 harmony, balance and completeness. He should 
 
 [187] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 make his picture simple. He should endeavor to 
 obtain good lines, decorative masses and a pleas- 
 ing pattern or design. The rendering of tones 
 and color-contrasts must be carefully considered, 
 and the technical work should be without blemish. 
 The simplicity of treatment shown by Japanese 
 artists might be studied with advantage. In 
 their pictures we usually find all the above men- 
 tioned qualities, especially simplicity and grace 
 of line. 
 
 In order to secure graceful lines, only such 
 specimens should be selected as possess this 
 qualification, and only a few specimens should be 
 used in the picture, otherwise the grace and 
 beauty of each one will be lost. Grace and beauty 
 of line are what the photographer must chiefly 
 rely upon to make his picture beautiful, for he 
 will lose the beauty of color. It will be found 
 that hi nature grace of line and sumptuous color- 
 ing are seldom found together. The photog- 
 rapher should utilize the quality he can best 
 render in his picture. 
 
 [188] 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Technique of Pictorial Photography Developer for Nega- 
 tives Intensification Reduction Printing on Plati- 
 num and Other Processes Bromide Enlarging Mounting 
 and Framing Retouching Trimming. 
 
 IN the preceding chapters, I have considered 
 abstract pictorial principles, and the impor- 
 tant part played by the imagination in the en- 
 joyment of pictures. I have given, so far, very 
 little information that is distinctly practical, and 
 have taken for granted that the necessary tech- 
 nical skill and experience are already possessed 
 by my readers. There are, however, many to 
 whom a few practical hints may be helpful, and 
 so, in this chapter, the abstract will give way to 
 the practical. 
 
 As to the best developer for negatives, any 
 reliable developer properly used may be con- 
 sidered to be the best, and any worker who has 
 experimented at all with developers will have 
 found one that he likes and is satisfied to use. 
 Jumping around from one formula to another is 
 unnecessary and futile, for there really is no dif- 
 ference to speak of. Edinol, metol, duratol, 
 amidol, are all good. I have used them all, and 
 
 [189] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 others besides, and have not been able to dis- 
 cover that any one of them is better than another. 
 Here is one formula that I have used for a long 
 time and have found to be very satisfactory, con- 
 venient and reliable: 
 
 Amidol 180 grains 
 
 Sodium sulphite crystals 3 ounces 
 
 Water 80 ounces 
 
 I have never found it necessary to be absolutely 
 exact in photographic weighing and measuring, 
 and in compounding this formula I usually take 
 a wide-mouthed bottle that holds twenty-five 
 ounces of water. I add to this one ounce of 
 sulphite with a spoon that I know holds just 
 about one-quarter ounce. This, when stirred up, 
 will dissolve very quickly, and, when dissolved, 
 I add to the solution a spoonful, which is just 
 sixty grains, of amidol. This developer has to 
 be mixed just before using as it does not keep 
 very well in solution. Amidol gives soft results 
 and good halftones, and it is particularly good for 
 bromide enlargements, giving prints of good color 
 and fine gradation. 
 
 The development of negatives for pictorial 
 work should not be carried too far. What we 
 need is a soft, rather thin, negative with good 
 gradation and no extreme density. There should 
 
 [190] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 be very few or no parts that are bare glass. Even 
 the deep shadows should show some slight light- 
 action, and the dense parts should not be so 
 dense that the gradations in the highlights can- 
 not be printed. The negative must be adjusted 
 to the printing process that is to be used, and 
 only experience will enable the worker to judge 
 this correctly. For platinum printing, a little 
 more density is needed than for bromide enlarg- 
 ing. Overdevelopment must always be avoided. 
 It is easier to intensify a negative that is too 
 thin than to reduce one that is too dense. In 
 case intensification is needed, the following form- 
 ula will be found to be very satisfactory. 
 
 The negative is first bleached in the following 
 saturated solution: 
 
 Mercuric chloride (corrosive sublimate) 1 
 
 ounce 
 Hot water 16 ounces 
 
 After cooling this solution and pouring off from 
 the feathery white crystals thrown down, add: 
 
 Hydrochloric acid 30 minims 
 
 This gives the bleaching solution, which will 
 keep well, and which can be used repeatedly until 
 it is exhausted. It should, therefore, be returned 
 to the bottle after use. 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 After washing well the bleached negative is 
 blackened in any one of the following three 
 solutions: 
 
 A. Ammonia (0.880) 20 drops 
 
 Water 1 ounce 
 
 (This gives great intensification and good 
 black color.) 
 
 B. Sodium sulphite, 10% solution, made 
 
 slightly acid with citric acid. 
 
 C. An alkaline developer, such as hydro- 
 
 chinon. (This gives about double the 
 intensification of B.) 
 
 For reduction of negatives, either ammonium 
 persulphate or Howard Farmer's reducer can be 
 used, according to the result that is desired. The 
 former will tend to lessen contrasts by reducing 
 the highlights more than the shadows, and the 
 latter will have the opposite effect and will reduce 
 the shadows without affecting the highlights very 
 much. 
 
 Development is very largely an automatic proc- 
 ess; the quality of the negative is determined 
 by the exposure, and very little can be done to 
 remedy errors in exposure. If the negative is 
 known to be overexposed, the addition of a little 
 extra bromide to the developer before beginning 
 development will help a little, while an under- 
 
 19211 
 
Fig. 46. THE LITTLE BOY IN THE PARK 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 exposed negative should be developed in a very 
 dilute solution, so that the shadows will have a 
 chance to develop up a little before the highlights 
 become too dense. For a subject in which there 
 is likely to be halation, such as portraits made 
 against the light, or outdoor pictures, contre-jour, 
 quick development with a fairly strong developer 
 will be found to be best, for the halation is on 
 the under side of the sensitive coating, next to 
 the glass, and if the surface of the emulsion is 
 developed quickly and the action stopped before 
 the developer can penetrate through to the glass, 
 the halation will not be very apparent. Films 
 are much less liable to give halation than glass 
 plates, but if plates are used for such subjects, 
 they should be double-coated or backed. 
 
 With regard to printing, there are many good 
 processes, each possessing its own possibilities 
 and limitations. Platinum is undoubtedly the 
 process for the pictorialist, for it will reproduce 
 gradations and halftones more delicately and with 
 a longer range than any other similar printing 
 process, but it demands a good negative to do it 
 justice. It will reproduce all the defects as well 
 as all the beauties in the negative. A limitation 
 of platinum is the fact that it is a contact method 
 and, therefore, if large pictures are wanted, an 
 enlarged negative must be made if the original 
 one is too small. This is not a very difficult 
 
 C193] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 matter, and good working instructions will be 
 found in technical hand books. Carbon, gum, 
 oil and bromoil all have individual and distinc- 
 tive qualities, and are all very interesting proc- 
 esses for artistic work. There are several good 
 textbooks dealing with each of these, such as the 
 Photo Miniature series, and these should be studied 
 for complete working instructions. 
 
 Another process used by many prominent pic- 
 torialists is bromide enlarging. There are great 
 possibilities for personal control in this method 
 of printing, and the control can be and should 
 be purely photographic. Handwork on negatives 
 or prints should seldom be tolerated, for it is 
 very apt to falsify tones and gradations and thus 
 destroy the very quality that makes photography 
 worthy of being considered a fine art. I have 
 seen gum prints in which highlights have been 
 put in and halftones brushed away. The results 
 were rather striking and effective, but not really 
 satisfying as pictures. Bromide will give good 
 halftones and gradations, and will preserve pho- 
 tographic quality very much in the same manner 
 as a good platinum print. There is, too, a wide 
 choice of surfaces and textures, and many inter- 
 esting effects may be obtained by enlarging 
 through bolting-cloth or bond paper. The quality 
 of this medium, and the worker's absolute con- 
 trol over the size of the picture, make bromide 
 
 [194] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 an adequate process for the pictorialist, and it 
 should not be lightly discarded for the more 
 showy but less worthy attractiveness of the pig- 
 ment processes. Very few can attain the fault- 
 less technical skill and the unerring artistic judg- 
 ment required to make really worth-while gum 
 prints, and a good bromide enlargement is better 
 than a poor gum print and has more real merit. 
 
 A picture is made by the selection of the sub- 
 ject and by the disposition of the lines, masses 
 and tones rather than by manipulation in print- 
 ing, and the qualities that make a photograph 
 pictorial can be secured by purely photographic 
 means without manual manipulation of the nega- 
 tive or print. The artist in photography must 
 be a sound technician, and should rely upon 
 purely photographic means. If he wants to use 
 pigments and brushes, there is no reason why 
 he should not do so, but he would do better to 
 use them on a blank canvas than on a photo- 
 graphic print. 
 
 My purpose here is not to teach technical crafts- 
 manship, but rather the application of technique 
 and the principles of art. I am taking for granted 
 that the photographer can so control his medium 
 that the picture will, in the finished result, tell 
 the character and purpose of the photographer 
 himself. It should express his thought and 
 meaning, and be so individualized that it could 
 
 [195] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 not be mistaken for the work of any one else. 
 A photographer must have as sound a knowl- 
 edge of picture-making as a painter, and he must 
 have such control over his chosen medium that 
 he can put personal expression and his own 
 individuality into his pictures. In picture-mak- 
 ing, as distinguished from photographic record- 
 making, the artist aims to clothe the bare facts 
 in such a manner that their force will be aug- 
 mented but still truthful. The making of a 
 picture is "a human activity consisting in this, 
 that one man consciously, by means of certain 
 external signs, hands on to others feelings he 
 has lived through, and that other people are 
 affected by these feelings, and also experience 
 them." 
 
 The artist who uses a camera should rely upon 
 means purely photographic, upon those which 
 grow out of and belong to the technical processes, 
 but, at the same time, he should practise the 
 fullest control. The point of importance is that 
 the picture, whether it reflects the feeling of the 
 artist or whether it embodies the impersonal 
 poetry of nature, shall still be able to affect us 
 with some recognizable emotion, that it shall not 
 be a bare inventory of facts, but that it shall 
 express something of the relation between those 
 facts and our own lives. It will be found in 
 practice that straightforward photographic tech- 
 
 [196] 
 
Fig. 47. ALMOST HUMAN 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 nique is ample to take care of individuality, and 
 that freakishness is neither necessary nor desir- 
 able. Just because a picture is unusually low in 
 tone, it is not necessarily pictorial. Too often 
 the attempt to secure low tones results in muddi- 
 ness and a vagueness that is very displeasing. 
 Gradations must at all times be preserved, what- 
 ever the key of the picture, and purity of tone 
 and good gradations are to be secured only 
 through faultless technique. 
 
 When the picture is printed, there still remains 
 a very important matter to be considered before 
 it can be regarded as being quite finished. It 
 must be mounted and perhaps framed. 
 
 In the matter of mounting a picture there are 
 two important points to decide; the color of 
 the mount and the size. The color or tint should, 
 as a rule, harmonize with the general tone of the 
 picture, that is to say, a delicate, light-toned 
 print usually looks best on a light mount, while 
 a dark print with a predominance of low tones is 
 best mounted on a dark mount. The color should 
 correspond with the color of the picture; a warm- 
 toned print, sepia or red, should be placed upon 
 a mount of a corresponding color, and a gray print 
 on a gray or white mount. Grays and browns 
 should never be combined on the same mount. 
 
 Multiple mounting, a style that was much 
 used some years ago, has now fortunately become 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 obsolete, and less elaborate and distracting 
 mounts are generally used. Many of the promi- 
 nent and well-known exhibitors use almost ex- 
 clusively a large white or very light cream-colored 
 mount with no decoration or embellishments of 
 any kind except, in some instances, a title and a 
 signature. 
 
 The function of a mount is to separate the 
 print from its surroundings, to isolate it from 
 other pictures, so that its beauties may be easily 
 appreciated. The mount must, therefore, be 
 quite unobtrusive and must not force itself upon 
 the attention, or it will defeat its own end. Sim- 
 plicity is the keynote in mounting, as it is in 
 making the picture, and instead of the half- 
 dozen or more various tints that were often used 
 in the early days of multiple mounting, one 
 single tint of a corresponding tone, a little lighter 
 or a little darker than the mount, is all that need 
 ever be used between the print and the mount. 
 Even this is often unnecessary, unless the con- 
 trast between the print and the mount seems to 
 need softening. Sometimes, if the print is on a 
 light mount, the mount may be decorated with a 
 pencil line drawn around the print, but such a 
 line, with perhaps a title and a signature, is all 
 that should ever be placed on the mount besides 
 the picture. Often the signature can be placed 
 on the print itself. 
 
 [198] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 The choice between a light or a dark mount 
 depends upon whether the print is light or dark. 
 It is possible to modify the appearance of a print 
 to a slight extent by varying the tone of the 
 mount. If the print is just a trifle too light, it- 
 may be strengthened a little and made to appear 
 darker by mounting on a very light mount, and 
 if it is too dark, it will appear a little lighter if 
 placed on a dark mount. This effect is the same 
 as was referred to in Chapter VI, where we 
 noted the effect of the surrounding tone on a tint 
 of gray. Surrounded by light tones, the same 
 tint would appear to be appreciably darker than 
 if it were surrounded by a tone darker than 
 itself. 
 
 The size of the mount and its shape must also 
 be considered. The size must be governed to 
 some extent by the purpose for which it is in-* 
 tended. If for exhibition purposes, a larger 
 mount may well be used than would be necessary 
 if the picture were kept in a portfolio or shown 
 apart from other pictures. On the walls of an ex- 
 hibition room, the need for isolating and separating 
 the print from others is more urgent than if the 
 print is seen only at home, and, therefore, a 
 larger mount is called for. The shape of the 
 mount depends entirely upon the shape of the 
 print, and the position of the print on the mount 
 is a question that is often puzzling. Here is a 
 
 [199] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 good rule that may safely be followed. Make 
 the top and side margins equal in width and the 
 bottom considerably wider. Eccentric placing on 
 the mount is very seldom advisable; it only 
 serves to draw attention to the mount, which is 
 just what should be avoided as much as possible. 
 
 In the matter of framing their prints, photog- 
 raphers have shown themselves to be more 
 artistic than painters, who are only gradually 
 realizing the inappropriateness of the gilded 
 abominations in which they frame their pictures. 
 As a general rule the frames that painters use 
 are not specially designed for the pictures. Only 
 a very few painters consider this to be necessary, 
 but photographers usually take some pains to 
 select a frame that is appropriate in tone and 
 design. In some respects it is easier for a photog- 
 rapher to decide on a suitable frame, because his 
 prints are limited to one color and, in choosing a 
 frame, he can obtain variety and harmony by 
 playing upon gradations of that color. Here, as 
 before, simplicity must be the chief considera- 
 tion, and the frame should never be obtrusive 
 either in color or design. 
 
 Careful, skilful craftsmanship is essential in 
 picture-making, and strict attention must be 
 paid to every detail. A picture can be spoiled 
 by careless workmanship, just as a great composi- 
 tion in music can be spoiled by faulty execution. 
 
 [200] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 Technical details must be thoroughly mastered 
 before the soul of art can be discovered. 
 
 Those who are attracted by figure work and 
 portraiture sometimes feel that they cannot take 
 up this branch of picture-making without master- 
 ing thoroughly what is commonly supposed to be 
 a very difficult accomplishment the art of re- 
 touching. Retouching really is not difficult at 
 all for the pictorial worker, because it never is 
 necessary or desirable for him to "finish" the 
 picture as is commonly done by the professional, 
 and the mysteries of "stipple" and "cross- 
 hatching" and other such conventionalities do 
 not concern him at all. In fact, such things 
 should be strenuously avoided. 
 
 It is absolutely essential that the artist should 
 do any necessary retouching himself, for it would 
 probably ruin the picture to send it to a pro- 
 fessional retoucher to be "finished." He must 
 carry out his own ideas, and do everything in 
 his own way from beginning to end. 
 
 The aim of the artist should be to bring out 
 as much as possible the character of the face by 
 the lighting and by the proper selection of the 
 point of view. These having been considered, 
 the next essential is to select the most pleasing 
 and the most characteristic expression. Re- 
 touching should never be relied upon to correct 
 faulty lighting or to change the expression. 
 [201: 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 We have seen that a picture is largely a matter 
 of suggestion rather than the representation of 
 actual facts, and that the suggestion is conveyed 
 largely by means of emphasis and elimination. 
 Retouching is one of the most useful methods of 
 emphasis and elimination, and as such it is of 
 tremendous use to the artist who can use it intel- 
 ligently. It is sometimes necessary to strengthen 
 highlights on the negative, in order to emphasize 
 the modeling, and it is occasionally desirable to 
 soften wrinkles or blemishes in the skin, which 
 are apt to be far more noticeable in a picture 
 than they are in real life. A fully-corrected lens, 
 as we have seen, renders everything with abso- 
 lute impartiality, and a line or a wrinkle per- 
 manently recorded on the photographic negative 
 appears to be more prominent than we think it is. 
 The camera does not create these lines and 
 wrinkles: they are really there, but, owing to 
 the constantly changing lighting and the vary- 
 ing expressions on the face in nature, we scarcely 
 notice them until they are ruthlessly and merci- 
 lessly depicted with unimaginative and mechani- 
 cal accuracy by the lens and dry plate. Some 
 lines and wrinkles are part of the character of 
 the face; some of them are only the temporary 
 accompaniment of a fleeting expression, but, 
 whatever they are, a fully corrected lens, focused 
 sharply, will render everything with startling 
 
 [202] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 vividness and without discrimination. From 
 motives of charity, as well as for the sake of 
 artistic truthfulness, it is sometimes necessary to 
 smooth out a wrinkle or two, or to remove a few 
 disfiguring freckles. 
 
 A soft-focus lens will aid very materially in 
 rendering the essentials in portraiture. A lens 
 of this kind seems to do away with the irritating 
 mechanical quality of photography; it seems to 
 possess an almost human power of selection, and 
 discriminates in a wonderful way between the 
 essential and the unessential. The fact that the 
 lens gives soft focus because of incomplete chroma- 
 tic correction helps very much in the case of 
 freckles. Chromatic aberration in a lens means 
 that the different colors of the spectrum are 
 brought to a focus in different planes, at differ- 
 ent distances from the lens. Thus, when the 
 blues and violets are clearly focused, the yellows 
 and reds are out of focus. So, in the case of a 
 sitter with blue eyes, yellow or red hair, and 
 freckles, if the eyes are focused clearly, the hair 
 is massed and the freckles softened, so that they 
 are not any more noticeable than in real life. 
 The red in the lips is also out of focus, and little 
 cracks and wrinkles on the lips are obliterated. 
 
 The boy shown in Fig. 48 has blue eyes and 
 yellow hair, and the chromatic aberration in the 
 lens has caused the eyes to appear sharper and 
 
 C203] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 clearer than anything else in the picture. This 
 portrait, made with a 16-inch Smith lens, Series 
 I, the original single lens, was made as an experi- 
 ment with a very large aperture, and the effect 
 of chromatic aberration, as described, is quite 
 apparent. 
 
 Much can be done to minimize the need for 
 retouching by the proper use of the right kind of 
 lens, and by care in focusing. All such methods 
 as this should be employed to the fullest extent, 
 and the lighting and posing should also be con- 
 sidered as a means of avoiding the necessity for 
 actual handwork on the negative, but when such 
 handwork is found to be requisite, it should by 
 all means be used to aid the artist in his repre- 
 sentation. 
 
 A retouching desk can be easily made at home. 
 A few pencils that have very long, fine points 
 and a small bottle of retouching medium are 
 all that are needed for the work. The pencils 
 may be sharpened on a piece of fine sandpaper. 
 The points must be very long and very fine, 
 rather like a darning needle. The artist should 
 avoid copying the methods of the professional 
 retoucher, who usually does far more than is 
 necessary. The fact that the picture has been 
 retouched should never be apparent. The fine 
 "stipple" and finish all over the face that is so 
 often seen in professional portraits is entirely 
 
 [204] 
 
Fig. 48. GORDON 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 unnecessary, in fact, it simply destroys the 
 modeling of the face and the texture of the skin. 
 If the pictorialist will confine himself to a little 
 softening of wrinkles or freckles, and perhaps 
 slight strengthening of some highlights, if that 
 seems to be really needed, he will have done all 
 that should be done. The modeling, texture and 
 character of the face must be shown by the light- 
 ing, the pose and intelligent focusing, rather than 
 by the crude method of retouching, which never 
 can approach the delicacy of pure photographic 
 technique. 
 
 In actual practice, such retouching as the 
 artist needs will be found to be comparatively 
 easy. A little medium should be rubbed on the 
 negative, over the place to be retouched. Only 
 a very little is needed, and it should be rubbed 
 over smoothly, so that there is no hard line 
 where the medium stops. The wrinkles, if there 
 are any, should be softened with very light, 
 gentle strokes of the pencil. These strokes 
 should never be made so that they show as actual 
 pencil marks. Only the effect of the pencil 
 strokes should be seen, just as when a delicate 
 drawing is being finished. It is almost impossible 
 to work too lightly, but any one with a delicate 
 touch should have no trouble in making the 
 strokes so that they blend into the surrounding 
 tones. 
 
 [205] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 There are certain lines and wrinkles that may 
 be softened more than others. The vertical fur- 
 row often found between the eyebrows may 
 be softened considerably without destroying the 
 likeness, and this will greatly improve the expres- 
 sion. The drooping shadows at the corners of 
 the mouth, and the lines from the corner of the 
 mouth to the nostril, known as the labial furrow, 
 often need working over. Wrinkles at the cor- 
 ners of the eyes should rarely be tampered with; 
 they are part of the character of the face, and 
 their removal would spoil the likeness. Freckles, 
 if they show very plainly in the picture, may be 
 softened a little, but they should not be removed 
 altogether. 
 
 Only a very little work should ever be done 
 in the way of strengthening highlights. They 
 should be looked after in the lighting and posing, 
 but sometimes a little fine and careful work on 
 them may be a means of emphasizing character. 
 
 Very often it will be found that no retouching 
 at all is needed. This is usually the case when a 
 soft-focus lens is used, and especially when the 
 sitter is young and has a smooth skin. 
 
 The art in retouching lies in knowing when to 
 stop. Contrary to the ideas held by the average 
 commercial professional, retouching is not an 
 added beauty or a method of making pictures 
 more attractive. It is merely a rather clumsy 
 
 [206] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 method of eliminating some otherwise unavoid- 
 able defects, which are the inevitable consequence 
 of using an undiscriminating lens. Retouching is 
 not to be commended for its own sake; it should 
 be regarded merely as a means of correcting the 
 inherent tendency of the lens to record both the 
 essential and the unessential. It is not a photo- 
 graphic process, but an after-treatment of the 
 negative. It is a method of drawing on the nega- 
 tive with a lead pencil in order to obtain certain 
 effects in the print. 
 
 In the matter of trimming a print, the prin- 
 ciples of composition must often be observed. The 
 size and shape of the picture are entirely matters 
 of artistic judgment, and the artist should feel 
 perfectly justified in cutting down a picture if it 
 can thereby be improved in any way. As an 
 exercise in space-filling, it is interesting to see 
 how near one can come to making a satisfactory 
 composition that will just fill the plate or film 
 that is being used, without any trimming. This 
 is often hard to do, especially if the picture-maker 
 has a keen appreciation of spacing. Even if the 
 makers of plates and films are obliged to make 
 their sensitive material in certain sizes, so that 
 they will fit certain cameras, the artist is bound 
 down by no such regulations, and can make his 
 pictures any size he pleases, being guided only 
 by considerations of artistic arrangement. Often 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 we find that the subject we select will occupy 
 only a portion of the plate, and then it is better 
 to make the picture small and take it from the 
 right point of view, rather than make it bigger 
 by getting too close. 
 
 In trimming a print, the artist must be guided 
 to some extent by the position of the main object 
 of interest. This, as we have seen, should usually 
 be placed about one-third of the width of the 
 picture-space away from one side and the top or 
 bottom of the picture. Often it improves a pic- 
 ture to trim off part or all of the sky. Some- 
 times the foreground is bare and uninteresting, 
 and may well be dispensed with. Such things as 
 these should always be considered to be of greater 
 importance than trying to make the picture a 
 certain shape so that it will fit a certain-sized 
 mount. The mount must be made to fit the 
 picture rather than the picture to fit the mount, 
 and, therefore, the use of stock mounts with 
 borders is rarely practicable. 
 
 In trimming portraits, the position of the head 
 in the picture-space must be carefully considered, 
 for the apparent height of the sitter can be varied 
 by trimming close or by leaving space above the 
 head. When the head is near the top of the 
 picture, we get the impression that the sitter is 
 tall, and a certain dignity and importance is sug- 
 gested. When the head is low in the picture- 
 
 [208] 
 
IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 space, it conveys a suggestion that the sitter is 
 small. Another way in which dignity and height 
 can be added in a portrait of a full-length stand- 
 ing figure is by cutting off the feet. This gives 
 the impression of added height by the fact that 
 it is difficult to tell just how much has been cut 
 off and we can imagine it is more than it really 
 is. This is a matter of placing in the picture- 
 space, rather than trimming, but the same effect 
 can be obtained by trimming, if necessary. 
 
 In picture-making a good deal of practical 
 common sense is needed, and the rules and prin- 
 ciples should be regarded as guides, to be observed 
 or disregarded as seems best. When a rule is 
 broken, there should be a good reason for doing 
 so, and the artist should know what he is doing. 
 
 It must be understood that in picture-making 
 the methods used by one photographer may be 
 entirely unsuited to another. This must be so, 
 or there would be little or no individuality in 
 pictures by different artists. The principles re- 
 ferred to in this book are merely some of the 
 fundamentals, and each artist must develop his 
 own individuality, while still adhering more or 
 less closely to these basic principles. I have en- 
 deavored to make clear to those interested in 
 the artistic side of photography how the me- 
 chanics of suggestion can be applied in picture- 
 making. Such things as line, spacing, mass, 
 
 [209] 
 
PICTORIAL COMPOSITION 
 
 balance, perspective, and so on, are just so many 
 cogs in the machinery. How they are put to- 
 gether depends upon the ingenuity and skill 
 of the individual. The old-fashioned hand-brake 
 on a trolley car is an arrangement of cogs and 
 wheels, and so is a lady's watch. Both use the 
 same mechanical principles, yet how different are 
 the results! There is much to learn in making 
 pictures. Only a little can be gathered from 
 books. The greater part of the knowledge must 
 consist of actual experience. 
 
 I am only too well aware that much has been 
 omitted and that many important points have 
 been but lightly touched upon, yet I hope that 
 there may be enough in this book to stimulate the 
 desire for further investigation along the lines of 
 pictorial composition. 
 
 [210] 
 
INDEX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Accent 75, 107, 124 
 
 Anderson, A. J 25, 60, 161 
 
 Angle of view, that can be seen by the eye 88, 118 
 
 included by a 5-inch lens 88 
 
 included by a 14-inch lens 89 
 
 Appreciation of beauty, the 4 
 
 Art, not always creative 7 
 
 definition of ;, 164 
 
 At the Close of a Stormy Day 108 
 
 Atmosphere 91 
 
 lack of , 92 
 
 Background 137 
 
 Balance 128 
 
 of the steelyard 46 
 
 Beauty, the attributes of 23 
 
 depends upon truth 23 
 
 Blake, A. H 22 
 
 Breadth 67 
 
 Bromide enlarging 194 
 
 Cadby, Will 10, 50, 57, 108, 109 
 
 Center, main object of interest should not be in the 47 
 
 Characteristics, of different mediums 49 
 
 of photography 51 
 
 Claude 175 
 
 Coburn, Alvin Langdon 10, 22, 135 
 
 Color, lack of, a source of disappointment 20 
 
 Composition, can become a habit 6 
 
 what is 8 
 
 exercise of the power of selection in 13 
 
 the mechanics of suggestion 9, 13, 20, 27, 32 
 
 appropriate action following a careful analysis of 
 
 impressions 15 
 
 C 211 3 
 
INDEX 
 
 ~ . A . PAOE 
 
 Composition, 
 
 very largely common sense 16, 27 
 
 an impulse 27 
 
 a matter of instinct 27, 170, 172 
 
 definition of 30 
 
 constructive and selective 31, 124 
 
 the function of 124 
 
 Concentration of interest 22 
 
 Copying machine, the camera a 9, 101 
 
 Crescent Beach 80 
 
 Curve, simple 126 
 
 S-shaped 128 
 
 figure 8 129 
 
 Day after Christmas, The 150 
 
 Day, F. Holland 109 
 
 Detail, not detrimental to the success of a picture 114 
 
 Developer for negatives 189 
 
 Development of negatives 190 
 
 largely automatic 192 
 
 Diagonal of plates 88 
 
 Difference between painting and photography 36 
 
 Dow, Arthur 64 
 
 Duhrkoop, Rudolph 135 
 
 Echo Bridge 15 
 
 Eickemeyer, Rudolph 18 
 
 Emotions are what concern the picture maker 16 
 
 Emphasis 117 
 
 by isolation 119 
 
 by elimination 119 
 
 by radiation of lines 119 
 
 by contrast in tone 119 
 
 of one particular feature necessary 167 
 
 Explorers, The 80 
 
 Exposure, full, will preserve truth of tone 179 
 
 under, a common failing 182 
 
 Fair-haired Boy, The 78, 171 
 
 Fenway, Boston. Museum of Fine Arts 23 
 
 Figure-8 curve 129 
 
 C 212 ] 
 
INDEX 
 
 FAOB 
 
 Figures in landscape pictures 78 
 
 Flower studies 187 
 
 Focal length, determines size of objects 85 
 
 characterization of 88 
 
 estimation of 88 
 
 Framing 200 
 
 Full-face portraits 132 
 
 Full-length standing figure 125 
 
 Fuzziness 68, 115 
 
 Genre 81 
 
 Good taste, needed in picture making 170 
 
 can be cultivated 173 
 
 Govett, "Art Principles" 165, 180 
 
 Groups 136 
 
 Gum prints 50 
 
 Hands in portraits, the 129 
 
 Hand work carried too far will destroy photographic 
 
 quality 73 
 
 Hard work the secret of success 175 
 
 Harlem River, The 75, 120 
 
 Home portraiture 155 
 
 outfit for 162 
 
 Illusion, aim of the artist to create 178 
 
 of relief 178 
 
 of opening distance 178 
 
 of movement and sound 180 
 
 Imagination, an important factor 19 
 
 an attribute of the artist 175 
 
 Impressionists, artists are 168 
 
 Individuality of the artist 10 
 
 Instinct, pictures made by 172 
 
 Intensification 191 
 
 Japanese Art 30, 65 
 
 Kasebier, Mrs., human documents 19, 109 
 
 Key 57 
 
 [ 213 ] 
 
INDEX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Landscape pictures, the need for broad and impressionistic 
 
 treatment in 167 
 
 often first choice 176 
 
 Large-sized heads 131, 135 
 
 Lens, draws shading 52 
 
 soft-focus, for pictorial work 67 
 
 Spencer Port-Land 69 
 
 Verito 69 
 
 Smith 69 
 
 Smith Synthetic 70 
 
 Struss Pictorial 70 
 
 soft-focus, needs to be studied 73 
 
 long-focus, should be selected for pictorial work 85 
 
 rapid rectilinear 89 
 
 does not discriminate Ill 
 
 semi-achromatic 112 
 
 Libby, Francis t 65 
 
 Lighting, the ability to see 144 
 
 diagram of 145 
 
 Limitations, hi representation 19 
 
 lack of color 20 
 
 representation of depth and space 20 
 
 reduction to a small area 21 
 
 Lines, the expression of 37 
 
 of great importance 37 
 
 language of 37 
 
 horizontal 37 
 
 vertical 38 
 
 oblique 38 
 
 possibly of suggesting emotions by means of 39 
 
 triangular formation of 41, 127 
 
 curved 43 
 
 S-shaped, of beauty 43 
 
 Z-shaped 44 
 
 the unseen 44 
 
 repetition of, with variety 126 
 
 rectangular arrangement of 128 
 
 Lost edge, the 126 
 
 Mass 62 
 
 strength of 63 
 
 [ 214 ] 
 
INDEX 
 
 Mass, 
 
 may be light or dark in tone 65 
 
 appreciation of 66 
 
 massing of detail imparts breadth 67 
 
 how to study 74 
 
 McKnight, Dodge 22 
 
 Mechanics of suggestion, the 9, 13, 20, 21, 27, 32 
 
 Meyer, Baron de 19 
 
 Monet 11 
 
 Moods, in individuals 13 
 
 in nature . . 14 
 
 Moonlight scenes 184 
 
 Mortimer, F. J 109, 110 
 
 Mounting 197 
 
 Night photography 185 
 
 Notan 64 
 
 Ordinary lighting 145, 159 
 
 Orthochromatic plates, use of, does not exaggerate at- 
 mosphere 93 
 
 will enable a photographer to exercise some control 
 
 over his results 97 
 
 without a screen 98 
 
 not always indispensable 96, 99 
 
 desirable for snow scenes 103 
 
 for portraiture 151 
 
 Outfit for home portraiture 162 
 
 Panchromatic plate, use of, desirable in many branches of 
 
 photographic work 94 
 
 seldom necessary for pictorial work 99 
 
 Personal control 73 
 
 Perspective, linear 84 
 
 truth of, governed by point of view 84 
 
 agreeable, given by long-focus lens 89 
 
 viewpoint rather than focal length of lens determines . 90 
 
 aerial 91 
 
 Photograph, nothing but an arrangement of varying shades 
 
 of monotone 19 
 
 pictorial 8 
 
 C 215 ] 
 
INDEX 
 
 Photographer, pictorial 26 
 
 Photography, a fine art 53 
 
 Picture, what is a 22 
 
 should be regarded as a pattern 28, 34, 173 
 
 Picture making, the aim in 164 
 
 two classes in 165 
 
 Placing of the head in picture space 133 
 
 Planes 179 
 
 Platinum printing 56, 193 
 
 Plum Island 76, 78, 120, 171 
 
 Poore, Henry R 46 
 
 Porterfield, Wilbur H 10, 65 
 
 Portraits, composition in, constructive rather than selective 124 
 
 the hands in 129 
 
 the eyes in 133 
 
 the background in 137 
 
 the tones in 143 
 
 the tendency to make the face too light in 148 
 
 outdoor 151 
 
 in sunlight 153 
 
 in the home 155 
 
 Principality 117 
 
 Profile 102, 147 
 
 Reduction 192 
 
 Refinement 142 
 
 Rembrandt, 113 
 
 lighting 145, 158 
 
 Repetition with variety 24 
 
 Representation, what we can do in the way of actual, is 
 
 limited 12 
 
 Restraint 116 
 
 Retouching 201 
 
 Rey, Guido, of Turin 82 
 
 Reynolds 175 
 
 Schutze, Eva Watson- 156 
 
 Selective focusing Ill 
 
 Semi-achromatic lens 72, 112, 114 
 
 Shadows 183 
 
 [ 216 ] 
 
INDEX 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Simplicity 104 
 
 of line 105 
 
 of tone 105 
 
 of subject 108 
 
 the importance of 110 
 
 in portraiture 113 
 
 importance of, in landscape pictures 167 
 
 Smith lens 69 
 
 Synthetic lens 70 
 
 Snow scenes 103 
 
 Soft-focus lens, for pictorial work 66 
 
 for portraiture 71 
 
 needs to be studied 73 
 
 Spacing 33, 35, 62 
 
 Spencer Port-Land lens 69 
 
 S-shaped curve 128 
 
 Starting Out 75, 120, 122 
 
 Steelyard 46 
 
 Steichen 10 
 
 Stevenson, R. L., "Ordered South" 7 
 
 Stieglitz 22 
 
 Still Life 187 
 
 Strong positions in picture space 76 
 
 Struss Pictorial lens 70 
 
 Subject, choice of 109 
 
 Suggestion, in representation 12, 21 
 
 an important element in picture making 166 
 
 Summer Landscape, A 15 
 
 Sum of breadth and length of plates 88 
 
 Sunrise and sunset pictures 184 
 
 Sympathy 109 
 
 Theme of a picture 26 
 
 Tones, the most important consideration in dealing with 
 
 pictures made with a camera 49 
 
 what are 54 
 
 the characteristic virtue of photography 51 
 
 depend upon exposure 60 
 
 may be simplified 102 
 
 apparent strength of tone may be modified by sur- 
 rounding tones 121, 141 
 
 [ 217 ] 
 
INDEX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Tones, 
 
 in portraiture 142 
 
 truth of, in portraiture 148 
 
 Trimming 207 
 
 Truthfulness of representation 166 
 
 Turner 175 
 
 Underexposure a very common failing 182 
 
 Unity 22 
 
 Variety of line 40 
 
 Velasquez : 113 
 
 Verito lens 69 
 
 Vinci, Leonardo da, note-book 91 
 
 Ward, H. Snowden 72, 164 
 
 Weil, Mathilde 156 
 
 Whistler 100, 113 
 
 Wingaersheek Beach 107, 108 
 
 C 218 
 
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