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Show v v J PHOTOGRAPHY? P ' Despite the fact that so many p are engaged In it and that ama- j ! teurs have taken It up with . such enthusiasm, here is an oc- j jjl cupatlon which still offers your J boy an excellent opportunity to J obtain a livelihood and even to $ jJ accumulate a fortune. The pop- ) Ji ular competition has not in- ! Jured the business. ' I By C. W. JENNINGS. TiHiTii7il) HE fact that photography Is a Profession of itself, and JfJwL that thousands of men all S'JlJi' over the world are getting jSa rich by means of it in spite of the popular amateur competition, com-petition, has been almost lost sight of except by those still engaged in the business. The more scientific and artistic ar-tistic Improvements that have come up have enabled those following photography pho-tography for their life work to keep ahead, as they have always done, and there is now a better field than ever for the exercise of their talents. It Is quite likely that your boy, enthused en-thused by the fair quality of the pictures pic-tures he has been able to make with his cheap little camera, aspires to the bigger attainments shown by the man who has made photography his business. busi-ness. It is the purpose of this article to show him some of the steps he will have to take to reach the success he craves. First he should apply to the proprietor propri-etor of the nearest large gallery for a Job, telling him that he wishes to become be-come a first-class photographer. If the proprietor has no vacancy, apply to another. The boy need not have had more than a rudimentary education, for academic training is not at all necessary. Getting the job, he will discover that he is little' more than a porter or a roustabout, sweeping out the gallery, washing bottles and doing other kinds of ordinary labor about the studio. Naturally of an observant nature, your boy will begin soon to acquire a vague understanding of; how various things are done. His first glimpse of this new knowledge will come in the dark room, where plates are removed from the holders after "pictures are taken" in the studio proper, and other manipulating is done. His first work of really professional character will be to change plates in these holders, learning that the least bit of light will spoil them, and to distinguish dis-tinguish between the smooth glass side and the velvety feeling of the other. This must be done entirely by sense of touch, In an absolutely dark room, or where there Is only a small red lirht. Then, as he has been watching watch-ing the shifting and substitution of various va-rious backgrounds as different exposures expos-ures are made, he will learn that for a bust picture of a woman wearing her hat the background will be of a certain kind, another if her hat is off. still another if the picture is to be full length, etc.. and he will attend to this under direction of the operator. Then he will take the negatives, which have been made by an experienced experi-enced man, to the roof or light window win-dow and make proofs, which are to be submitted to the customer for approval; ap-proval; will be shown how to put prints into the water for washing and, when they have been cleansed of all i chemicals, how tc put them into the drying rack, how to take prints that have properly dried and mount them on the heavy backs, and, finally, will do printing and toning without hav- i ing to be watched constantly by his j boss. j Pretty soon, say within a couple of I years after he has started, your boy 1 will be a full-fledged printer and earn-j earn-j ing anywhere from $12 to $20 a week, according to the ability he manifests. This means that he will take the negatives nega-tives and make prints in proper exposure expos-ure and develop them without having to be shown how. His next and last stage, which Is most Important, will be that of operator. opera-tor. This is the man who poses the subject in the gallery, knows Just the proper background and the necessary lighting and shading to use, the correct cor-rect lens and plate, and the exact exposure ex-posure to be made, whether of a tenth of a second or of a minute. The placing plac-ing of the subject, the lighting and the exposure are the things that determine deter-mine the grade of the pictures, for almost al-most anybody can make good prints from a good negative, but nobody can make a fine print from a poor one. The minimum pay . for an operator Is about $25 a week, according to the standing and Importance of the gallery, gal-lery, and experts In high-class work get as much as $75, or nearly $4,000 a year. It requires years of experience, and probably the development of a specialty, for an operator to command $75 a week. It will require much attention and practise to become a successful operator. oper-ator. Suppose your boy is employed in a scientific Institution, such as a museum. He may be asked to make a large picture of a skeleton, showing even the finest of lines In the individual individ-ual bones, with all their perfection of detail, and yet he has to make the exposure In a poorly lighted room, with Bhadows and background all askew. It Is up to him to know Just what background to use, how to place various reflectors so as to give the right shadows, and the exact exposure required In the uncertain light to make his negative exactly right the first time. If he failed, it might mean a waste of as much as $20 or more in material. He must know this Instinctively In-stinctively and through his experience. Or he might be sent to a cathedral to make a picture of an altar. Obviously the altar cannot be moved into a better bet-ter light. He must know Just the lens, the proper paper and the exposure to bring the perfect result required. After attaining high skill as an operator, op-erator, your boy will either get a position po-sition as head of a large corps of photographers pho-tographers employed by the government govern-ment or some public Institution or a firm that makes a specialty of some particular phase of photography or a museum or other scientific institution, where he may earn a large salary; or else he will go Into business for him-Belf. him-Belf. In the latter case there is no end of opportunities; for photographs of every conceivable thing under the sun, from portraits to X-ray pictures in hospitals, are In universal demand; also there is Independent work to be done In photo-engraving, electroplating, electroplat-ing, lithographing and other lines of mechanical photo-reproduction. Photographers Pho-tographers have grown rich In conducting con-ducting gallenvs for portrait work alone (Copyright, 1910. by the Associated Literary Lit-erary Press.) |