112 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT. 



necessarily be a likeness. He stated that this was not the case, and for 

 the following reasons : " The photograph portrait lens is not a per- 

 fect instrument, and of necessity magnifies the objects that are nearest 

 to it, and makes them out of proportion with those situated in a plane 

 somewhat further from the instrument. To prove this, you have only 

 to look over any collection of photographic portraits, and you will at 

 once see that the hands or feet, or any object prominently brought for- 

 ward, are larger than they should be, to be in due proportion. This 

 defect, of course more visible in the case, of a hand, foot, or other large 

 object, alters the proportion, and indeed the expression, of a sitter's head 

 and face. If, then, in posing a sitter, you allow the chin to be elevated, 

 or brought forward, it is of course appreciably magnified ; and the fore- 

 head and eyes, being thrown back at the same time, are diminished, 

 and a coarse, foolish expression given to a face that may be full of in- 

 telligence and refinement of feature. This defect is of course much 

 greater in a cheap, bad lens than in one by any of the best makers ; 

 though it is one that can easily be guarded against." 



Entering on a wider field, the lecturer then alluded to the true diffi- 

 culty in photographic portraiture, that of being able to give a pleas- 

 ing and natural pone to a sitter. " You have," said he, " probably the 

 pictures of many ladies in your respective albums. Now, how many 

 of those photographs do the ladies justice ? Do any ? Are not the 

 majority atrocious libels ? In how many of the positions selected by 

 the photographer would a portrait-painter have placed his sitter ? It 

 appears singular that such an utter want of artistic feeling and taste 

 should be shown in the majority of photographic portraits ; but such is 

 undeniably the case. It is not the want of color in a photograph that 

 makes it so unsatisfactory. You must all of you have come across, oc- 

 casionally, most charming portraits in monochrome, chalk, and crayon 

 drawings, in sepia, and even with pencil and pen and ink, and occasional- 

 ly a photograph." The lecturer then inquires why the good photograph 

 is the exception and not the rule ? " In many cases, the professional 

 photographer has taken up photography as a profession, and so long as 

 he makes it pay he is content. He does it by machinery. He has no 

 knowledge of art, no feeling for the beautiful, and in many cases, as 

 anyone can see, is entirely ignorant of the optical properties of his len- 

 ses. And the amateur, he takes to photography because it is so nice to 

 be able to get pictures of all one's friends ! He gets photographs of 

 them certainly, but between photographs and pictures there is a wide 

 chasm, bridged by a narrow plank, across which not many of our ama- 

 teur portraitists have yet walked, and as few of our professionals." 



The following counsel was then given as to portrait photography : 

 It was recommended to adopt the style of taking the head and should- 

 ers only, making the head about the size of a shilling, and carefully 

 vignetting it, using always a plain background, varying the color of the- 

 latter according to the color of the sitter's hair, dress, etc. Then, di- 

 recting attention to landscape photography, a branch of the art more 

 practised by amateurs, but requiring on their part more knowledge of 

 high art, more feeling for all that is beautiful and glorious in nature, 

 and more perseverance and hard work before they can attain to emi- 

 nence, Col. AVortley said : "I maintain that the highest art, the 

 purest taste, is shown in the most scrupulously faithful transcript from 



