Early Work In Photography
A Text-book For Beginners

70 Ëarly Work in Photography. sire the student to work under the least harrassing con- ditions, we shall try to reduce these considerations to a minimum. First of all, therefore, we advise the use of an “ordinary " plate, a small stop (about //i6), an outdoor sub- ject, a good light and a full exposure. We do this because an “ordinary” plate (being much slower than one of the “ instantaneous " class) allows more latitude in exposure; a small stop (admitting less light than a large one) allows a certain amount of latitude also; while an outdoor subject and a good light is far easier for a be- ginner than anything else. We recommend a liberal ex- posure, simply because we do not believe it right to urge a beginner to attempt instantaneous work. We might just as well try to teach a child to run or ride a bicycle be- fore he can crawl on all fours. The frequency with which beginners attempt to do rapid work is a most fruitful cause of failure and disgust, and we regret that so many dealers urge beginners to buy “shutter outfits.” A beginner, with no knowledge of photography, is naturally tempted with the apparent simplicity of such an outfit; he need only “ push the button ” or “press the bulb,” and the thing is done. Let us here offer a stern protest against such a mistaken idea; a beginner should not touch a shutter, or have anything to do with one, until he has thoroughly mastered this text-book. When he has accom- plished that, he may turn his attention to shutter work with some probability of success. To return from this digression, let us suppose that all is ready for exposure. We will presume that the subject is a landscape view, lighted from the side with bright sunlight, the stop in the lens is f./16, the plate an “ordinary” one. Let the exposure be two seconds. In taking the cap from the lens, it is well to gently and gradually move it forward until it is almost free, then (without jerking, or shaking the camera) lift the cap upwards, free towards the top of the camera. In this way we avoid the chance of the lens cap coming within the field of the lens and obstructing the view. Directly the cap is free from the lens it must be moved completely out of the way, otherwise diffused light will