FIGURE STUDIES.
Figure studies are the most difficult as well as the most interesting pictures made with a camera, and therefore the prizes are always higher which are offered in this class. To make a good figure study, which shall be a real picture, requires special skill and tact, for though one is constantly seeing charming and original subjects, it is quite another thing to fix them on gelatine plates.
To make a success of figure studies one should begin by selecting a subject, the simpler the better, and make a photograph of it twenty times if necessary, till one is obtained which is satisfactory. The habit of giving up after one or two unsuccessful trials is what makes the work of the average amateur of so little pictorial value. One figure study repeated till it is right makes the taking of all others of the same class easier.
Choose some simple subject—something which you are familiar with in every detail, and know when the picture is correct. Do not try to arrange the folds of the dress or of any drapery which you may use. Lift the drapery and drop it again, and have the subject rise and sit till the folds of both gown and drapery are graceful. If one tries to arrange the lines they are almost sure to look stiff, while if the folds are allowed to fall of themselves they are usually artistic. Only in rare cases should the subject look toward the camera or show the full face. A half or three-quarters view of the features is more artistic, and sometimes if the face is turned almost away from the camera the pose is more effective. This is the case if a picture is being made of a person reading, writing, or drawing.
The amateur living in the country has perhaps the advantage over his co-worker in the city in the choice of subjects for figure studies. Several excellent subjects, appropriate to the season, are just now within the reach of the country amateur. One which would be sure to please is that of a girl coming across the field laden with wood treasures, such as autumn leaves, ferns, mosses, etc. In making such a study care should be taken that the branches and ferns are not massed too heavily.
Another subject becoming more and more rare as steam takes the place of hand labor, is the interior of an old-fashioned cider-mill, with a curly-headed boy sucking cider through a straw thrust into the bung-hole of a cider barrel. Still another country figure study could be made of two or three boys cracking butternuts or hickory nuts under the tree that bore them. In taking such a picture be sure that at least one of the boys has his back to the camera, for unless such is the case the group looks too stiff. Choosing the Christmas turkey is an excellent subject just now, and one easily made.
Homely occupations make good subjects for figure studies. Grandmother darning stockings, Katherine trimming a hat, Ellen mixing bread or baking pies, George chopping or sawing wood, Benny building a bonfire, and like subjects, which will suggest themselves, are easy to make, and are always attractive pictures.
In making figure studies where the objects have to be arranged do not crowd too many into the picture. Try for the best, and do not send anything to the contest of which you can say, "This would have been better if I had—" Make it the very best of its kind.
Sir Knight W. H. Tobey wishes to know when the results of the competition will be published. The successful contestants will be announced in the January number of the Round Table.
Sir Knight Austin O. Olmstead, of Wisconsin, wishes to know how to make enlargements on bromide paper, or, if the directions have been published, to know in what number to find it. Sir Austin will find directions in No. 801, March 5th, 1895.
Sir Knight Ralph E. Cotter asks how to take pictures of sunsets, and also if the negative does not affect the tone of the picture, for, he says, some negatives he can tone a good color and others he cannot. To take pictures of sunsets use a slow non-halation plate, a very small diaphragm, and an instantaneous exposure. Make the exposure when the sun is hidden behind a cloud, but shows light through the breaks in them. There is nothing much prettier in the way of out-door photographs than sunset views. Pictures made from different negatives take different tones, according to the density of the negative. A thin plate will take a tone a sort of slaty gray, while with a good negative showing sharp contrasts almost any color or tone wished may be obtained.
Sir Knight Emile Low sends blue prints of two pictures showing a dark circle in the centre, and asks what is the trouble with his camera. It evidently leaks light, and to find out if such is the case a plate should be put in the holder, the slide drawn, and with the shutter closed expose the camera to strong sunlight. Develop the plate, and if it is fogged examine the bellows for a pin-hole, and look to see if the lens board fits tightly.