Practicus In The Studio: A Talk About Lighting.

           Lighting the sitter is one of the most difficult subject to discourse upon that could well be chosen, for so narrow is the margin between success and failure that it u not possible to give definite rules which will ensure the same results under different conditions; in fact, so far m this true that there is a legend that one successful portraitist abstains from having his windows cleaned lest the lighting should thereby be rendered to hard.
            Hearty very competent writer on the subject has recommended the study of lighting to be begun with s plaster bust, and with this I heartily agree. The only thing better would be to follow the example of Adam Salomon and have life-sized wax figures with hair and clothes complete. A life-sized bust is not an expensive luxury even in war-time, for I recently purchased one near Hatton Garden for five shillings. It was the head and shoulders of Gibson's Venus, and has not special pretensions to classical beauty; it is just a moderately good-looking young woman with her head well balanced upon her shoulders. Busts having the head in unusual positions should be avoided, as the lighting which might suit them will not be useful for sitters.
            Having got our bust, the first thing to be done is to give it a coat of buff or very pale terra-cotta distemper, so that the light values will be about the same as those of the living model. This u very important, as white plaster reflects far too much light for our purpose. The reason why I advocate the use of a bust instead of a living sitter is that the latter cannot keep still for the time required for study, and the student will quickly see how a slight movement of the head upsets all his plans for obtaining a certain effect.
            The bust must be placed on a table so as to be about the height of an ordinary sitting figure, and in front of a plain medium-toned background. It should be in such a position that a high side light falls upon it, the light being rather to the front of the object. In an ordinary span-roof studio this would mean that the dark blinds or curtains would be drawn over one end of the studio, both top and side, for about five feet The bust should be about three and a half feet from the end wall the next blind should be half-down and the next quite open; the side light is obscured up to nearly five feet from the ground, and is open for about six feet run. If we now examine the lighting we shall find it fairly round, but rather contrasty. This is all for the best, for we can readily see the effect of altering the positions of the bust, the blinds and the camera respectively. One golden rule, by whom originally written I know not, is that "light from the sitter's end of the studio gives contrast, while light from the camera end gives softness." I cannot too strongly impress this fact upon the beginner.
            In ordinary circumstances, if the lighting is too harsh, open more blinds over the camera end; if too soft, close them over the camera and open them near the sitter. This one rule is the key to simple lighting, and its application will prevent much floundering in the early stages. If we do not want to alter the blinds we may move the sitter; if she goes further under the dark blinds we get softness; if she comes forward we get contrast.
            Excess of top-light is the commonest fault in portrait lighting; but there are times when top-light is needed. A flat face with insignificant features calls for it, as Mr. H. P. Robinson says: "I think I should use a good deal of vertical light in taking the portrait of a Chinaman." If the sitter had strong features and deep-set eyes such lighting would be disastrous. We may now try the effect first of turning the bust to and from the light, and you will quickly see how the modeling of the face is affected. As we turn the nose to the light the further check becomes illuminated, while as we turn it away it sinks into shadow. I would ask you to remember that neither the camera nor the sitter is screwed to the floor, so that you can obtain the same position of the head, but with very different lightings, by turning it till the desired effect is obtained, and then placing the camera in the position whence you observed it. Always keep your eyes open for accidental effects of lighting, and note the sitter's position in the studio for future use; some of these "observed" lightings are much better than those carefully arranged. I have nearly always found that the effects obtained with dark blinds and clear glass only are rather too vigorous for the ordinary run of work, hence it is very desirable to have in addition very thin white blinds or curtains so as to diffuse the light a little and tone down the glaring effect of the nigh-lights. If there are no white blinds an ordinary circular head-screen covered with thin nainsook or pale-blue nun's veiling is very useful. The nearer this is placed to the sitter the softer will be the lighting, and vice versa. In studios which are so placed that direct sunlight falls upon the glass during any period of the day white blinds should be used to cover all the glass. I have worked in this way in a studio facing due west, on which the sun shone from 11 a.m. until evening. In such a studio we must not have too large an expanse of white-covered window open at once, or we shall get flat negatives.
            A point which should never be lost sight of is that the actual design or pattern of the studio is of no moment. So long as the light can be made to fall upon the sitter at the desired angle, ridge roof, single slant, top-light, high side-light will all give the same result if properly handled. Much more depends upon outside influences; trees, walls, other buildings all serve to modify the lighting and an arrangement of blinds which will suit the sitter in one studio may fail to do so in another which is differently placed.
            A lofty studio is not to be desired. I remember one clever photographer who said that he would work under a cucumber frame if he could. In a high-roofed studio the light is very difficult to control, as it is too far away from the sitter. Even, soft effects are easily obtained, but when any decided lighting is needed it becomes necessary to close all the blinds and to use the side-light only, and that only in a limited area.
            A few words on unusual forms of studio may not come amiss. When working in a studio which has top-light only, the sitter must be placed well back under the dark blinds, and plenty of light admitted from the "camera end." It is also often advantageous to turn the sitter slightly to one side of the studio and to work the camera close to that side of the studio, towards which he is looking, the background being, of course, placed diagonally across the corner. In a studio with a high side window only it is often necessary to place the sitter as close to the window side as possible, so as to get the effect of top-light. If too low a side-light be used the eyes are filled with light and look flat. What is sometimes called a "miniature-painter's light" is a high front light. This gives a very even, illumination of the face, but if properly managed there should be sufficient shadow and one side to avoid flatness. If it be desired to copy the lighting in an existing photograph or even a painting, if by a good artist, the spark of light in the eye forms a reliable guide as to the position of the dominant light. If this be high or nearly in the centre of the top of the iris, in the position say of 11 o'clock on a watch dial, it denotes a high front light, if in the position of 9 o'clock a low side light, and so on In some fancy lightings it may even be at 6 o'clock, which shows that the light comes from below.
            I will now deal briefly with screens and reflectors. The head-screen I have already dealt with as far as lighting the features is concerned, but it has other uses, such as subduing the light on white drapery. Nothing is more objectionable than to have a white dress brilliantly illuminated, making the face appear too dark and receding into the background. By use of the small head-screen this may be avoided, the shadow being cast where required. In some cases a screen covered with a thin open black material is useful, as it will cast a shadow without diffusing white light in other directions. Reflectors are usually relied upon too much; only when the lighting is nearly satisfactory but the shadows are too dark should they be introduced, and then not placed close up to the sitter. In this position they destroy all the modelling on the shadow side and give an unnatural appearance. It is unfortunately too common for the operator to make a hard lighting and then to use the reflector to even up the face. This is wrong, as it does nothing to subdue the over lighting on the other side. There is no need to be afraid of using a screen or white blind to soften the high-lights, as it does not cut off any light from the shadows which are still receiving front light and reflected light from the studio. If the same exposure be given with the high-lights screened the negative can be developed for the shadows without the high-lights blocking up.
            In conclusion, I would caution the tyro against judging lighting by the eye alone, the negative being the only test. The plate does not always see the sitter in the same way as the operator does. Some plates have a tendency to intensify the light, while others soften it. The lens also has a say in the matter, a short-focus lens usually giving a more brilliant negative than a long focus one does. This is partly due to scattered light in the studio, but it also seems to be caused by the distance between lens and plate. Naturally the operator will see that his lens is clean, his camera well blacked inside, and his dark-room light beyond suspicion before he starts work, or he is simply inviting failure in any attempt to secure good lighting.

PRACTICUS.

Practicus In the Studio: Artificial Lighting.

           It seems only a few years ago that a photograph taken by artificial light was somewhat of a curiosity and, with one or two brilliant exceptions, photographers were apt to regard it as a poor substitute for daylight, and, to tell the truth, the work generally produced quite justified their opinion. That I need hardly say was a time when electric mains were unknown, and the photographer who wanted to use the electric light had to install an engine and dynamo in his cellar or else to burn “white fire” in a specially built lantern, the precursor of the modern flashlight. The platen were then much dower than modern ones and the candle-power of the light much less, so that there was a tendency to reduce diffusion to a minimum, and chalky faces and black shadows were the usual thing. I mention these old times because there are still many people who imagine that there must be something inherently different between daylight negative and an artificially lighted one, and that the latter needs some sort of apology. This is quite a mistaken idea, and anyone who holds it should make tip his mind so to improve his work that even an expert should not be able to tell the difference.
           Before dealing with any of the types of installation which are now on the market, I should like to impress upon my readers that there is no essential difference between day and stifled lighting as far as effect is concerned – that is to say, that a top-light will give sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, a low side light will give the contrary effect, that an unscreened light gives the effect of direct sunshine, and that a well-diffused electric light gives much the same effect an ordinary daylight. This gives the key to successful lighting, for if the operator will carefully note the position of his dominant light when using daylight he can produce practically the tame effects with any other illuminant if he places it in the same position with relation to the sitter.
           The most important problem is that of diffusion, or one might say distribution, of the light, and the difficulty is greater or less as the original source of light is small or large; a single pair arc is the most difficult to manage and a battery of half-watts or small enclosed arcs is the easiest. Still the single large enclosed arc is not to be despised: I never feel unhappy with one at my command, therefore I will start my detailed instructions with this instrument.
           The enclosed arc is an ordinary single pair of carbons enclosed in a glass cylinder so as to be practically airtight. The effect of this is that a much longer arc can be maintained. A long arc emits more violet rays than a short one, consequently shorter exposures can be given. Incidentally there is leas consumption of the carbons, so that the lamp does not require much attention. An ordinary street lighting arc enclosed in a ventilated globe n classed as an open arc and must not be confuted with the enclosed arc properly o called. The difference between the various types of enclosed arc lamps is in the feed mechanism only and not in the light: with a given diameter of carbons and quantity of current you will obtain the came amount of light if your cylinders are kept clean. I hare worked continuously with the Westminster, Jandus, and Aristo lamps, and have found them all satisfactory. I think I have tried every reflecting and diffusing device on the market, and have come to the conclusion that the simpler the arrangement the better. My shade or diffuser - call it what you will - is made of two wooden hoops about 36 ins. across connected by four laths about 46 ins. long. Round these are bent thin cardboards so as to make a cylinder open at top and bottom with one-third left open. The inside of the card is covered with dead white paper (if white cards are used this is not necessary) and the outside with dark paper or cloth. The open third is now covered with tracing cloth, and the whole attached by cords to the chain or shackle from which the lamp hangs. It is a good plan to fasten the tracing cloth with push-pins so that it can be easily removed when the carbons have to be renewed or the glass cylinder cleaned. If possible the lamp and shade should be adjustable for height, so that it may be lowered for sitting figures and for children, it being always remembered that a foot or 18 ins. difference in position may mean 20 to 40 per cent difference in exposure. With this shade I have found no other accessories necessary, beyond an ordinary round screen, which I nearly always interpose about halfway between light and sitter, leaving the lower part of the figure unshaded, and the usual white reflector. I have sometimes hung a dark curtain or vallance to the edge of the lamp-shade to avoid a glare into the lens, but this is not always necessary.
           Open arc lamps are usually so fitted that only reflected light is used, the best known type, Marions Northlight, bane very similar to the original Van der Weyde model, but fitted with several pain of carbons to reduce exposure. The arcs are screened by a metal reflector on the sitter's side and the light reflected from the [whitened inside of an umbrella about 4*(1/2) ft. in diameter. The surface of this may be regarded as a brightly lighted window, and any necessary diffusion provided for with the head screen already mentioned; the reflector is, of course employed as needed. The highest type of work has been done with this system of lighting, the only drawbacks being a larger consumption of carbons and current than is necessary with the enclosed arc, while the large umbrella reflector takes up a good deal of apace in a small studio.
           Although there have been several other systems of arc lighting before the photographic public, the foregoing are practically the only survivors, and they will have a hard struggle for existence against the nitrogen-filled or "half-watt" lamps which are making rapid headway as the simplest and least expensive of any system which has yet presented itself.
           Before proceeding to these I should like to touch upon another form of electric lighting which has many good points: the mercury-vapour lamp. This is easy to manage, requiring no attention, and is economical of current, while owing to the large area over which the light is spread the lighting is fairly soft. Its one defect w it colour, which is greenish, and this gives anyone exposed to its rays a somewhat ghastly appearance. This can be overcome and the lighting improved by hanging a thin pink curtain in front of the tubes; this not only tones down the green but acts as a diffuser. As the tubes are somewhat long the lower part of the light tends to flatten the features somewhat, and I have found it advantageous to have the upright support lengthened, so that the bottom of the tubes are 4*(1/2) to 5 ft. from the floor. The tubes are rather fragile, so that care must be exercised in moving the apparatus about. Especial note must be taken of the connections so that the polarity is never reversed, or disaster will follow. It is easy to make such a mistake if a wall-plug is used, and some means should be taken to make it impossible to put the plug in the wrong way.
           The half-watt lamp as made for photographic work closely resembles the ordinary metallic filament lamps used for domestic lighting, but is much larger than these usually are. Its distinctive feature is that instead of the interior being as nearly a vacuum as it is possible to get, it is filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen, which, greatly retards the volatilization of the filament when the lamp is run at a high voltage. Most people know that if a lamp be run at an appreciably higher voltage than lit is made for the light is rendered much more brilliant, but that the life of .the lamp is shortened to a few hours or even a few minutes. Owing to their construction the half-watt lamps have practically the same life as the ordinary type, while the light is rendered white enough to enable short exposures to be made in the studio. The General Electric Company has devoted considerable attention to the photographic aspect of half-watt lighting, and send out not only suitable bulbs, but reflectors and stands ready for studio use. I have worked with several installations of half-watt lamps, and can recommend them to any photographer requiring a new installation. The lamps are made in various candle-powers from 500 to 3,000. I prefer the 1,000 c.p. as the best unit. If six 1,000 c.p. lamps be taken as the maximum power needed for ordinary work, these can be so spread out as to cover a considerable area and to give sufficient softness with very little loss of light by diffusion. If two 3,000 c.p. lamps were installed they would be as powerful as two arcs, and would have to toe placed farther from the sitter and a thicker diffuser would be needed. The metal reflectors supplied by the company are convenient and a great protection to the lamp, but I have found the light rather too concentrated, and have always fixed a thin white nainsook curtain in front of them. They can be fitted with a counterbalance weight like a grocer's scales, so that they may be raised or lowered to any desired height. A cheap method of fitting is to make large D-shaped reflectors of white card with a front of nainsook. The most useful size is about two feet wide by thirty inches high for the nainsook front, and eighteen inches deep from the centre of front to the back. One must be careful to place the lamp well in the centre, as there is a considerable amount of heat from the lamp, and if too near either lamp or calico one or the other will be burned. Light weight tinplate can, of course, be substituted for -the card for a permanent installation. I used the card lanterns for six months, and got one slight scorch only.
           With regard to the arrangement of the lamps it is difficult to give precise instructions, and in accordance with my previous remark I recommend them to be placed so as to allow the light to fall upon the sitter at the same angle that daylight usually does. As it is undesirable to place them between the daylight and the sitter they should be placed on the dark side of the roof in the same position as the open portion of the light. If it be desired to light the same side of the face as with daylight the lamps should be placed towards the other end of the studio and the camera turned round. For average lighting the lamps should be fixed so as to rise to eight feet from the floor for standing figures .and groups, and lower to about five feet six inches for sitting figures and children. The general arrangement may be in the form of a curve or L shape, one lamp being apposite the centre of the background and about seven feet away, another apposite the edge of the background and a little nearer to it, while two of the others are placed between these and two to serve as a side-light or for Rembrandt effects. Each lamp should be on a separate switch, so that only as many as may be necessary are burning at one time. It is very necessary that the exact voltage, not a nominal one, should be given when ordering lamps. Inquiry should be made at the local power station, for a very slight drop in voltage means but little loes of light visually, bat a gnat deal as regards the actinic value. In meet cases where length of exposure has been complained of I have found this to be die cause. In districts where variations of current are common it would be well to use slightly lower voltage lamps than the nominal local voltage calls for, and to have the adjustable resistance supplied for these lamps and regulate the current as needed.

PRACTICUS.