Vot.. LXX, No. 4126. 
THE CAMERA AS A BUSINESS PROPOSITION. 
How to Take Pictures. 
On some farms the camera should be regarded as 
a needed tool, like other farm implements, as a 
means of advertising purebred live stock, fancy fruits, 
and other farm produce, also in selling real estate. 
For many years I have used the camera for making 
photographs on my own place, and have made them 
for the owners of some of the largest live stock 
farms, who used the pictures for advertising pur¬ 
poses. Many breeders of purebred stock now have 
their animals photographed, when they are in the 
right condition for selling, and either have the nega¬ 
tives printed on post cards, or use unmounted prints, 
the right size for ordinary envelopes, and mail them 
to prospective customers. The photograph being a 
true representation of the animals, it is the best 
possible guide for the purchaser, and can save him the 
time and expense of going to see the animal before 
buying it. A good photograph exactly portrays the 
subject pictured, therefore its value. The buyer 
knows he cannot be deceived by it; in fact some of the 
proprietors of large cattle, horse and poultry estab¬ 
lishments, make most of their sales with photos placed 
in letters, replying to inquiries, or soliciting customers. 
Most of them hire the photos made by expert pho¬ 
tographers at considerable expense. These are not 
always satisfactory, because the photographer is not 
present when the animal is in just the right condi¬ 
tion, or when the light is best. 
Usually there is some member of the farmer’s fam¬ 
ily who can easily learn to make good photographs, 
and in this article I wish to tell them just how to 
start right, for I have had sufficient experience, and 
made enough mistakes,' to speak with some authority 
on the subject. For 
general purposes, if I 
could own only one 
camera, costing a mod¬ 
erate price, it would be a 
5x7 folding box camera. 
I would want a swing 
back, or bed, rising and 
sliding front, a revolving 
back, rack and pinion for 
focusing, and a bellows 
of sufficient length to use 
a lens of more than one 
focus. Such a camera 
can be purchased for 
from $20 to $100, or 
more, according to the 
fineness of the finish of 
the camera, and the kind 
of lens and shutter with 
which it is equipped. 
The former price is for 
the plainest camera with 
the ordinary double two- 
focus lens, automatic 
shutter, and the latter for 
a camera with an anas- 
tigmat lens, with one of 
the best high speed shut¬ 
ters. Such a high-priced 
camera is very desirable, especially for photographing 
animals, but is not necessary. The best grade of rec¬ 
tilinear lens costing much less, and an automatic shut¬ 
ter working at one-hundredth' of one second, will do 
nearly as well. Buy such a lens for one size larger 
photos than you wish to make of animals. For a 4x5, 
or 3^x5^ pictures, which are good sizes for mailing, 
buy a 5x7 camera with regular lens for it. The lens 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 25, 1911. 
will cut a 4x5 plate very sharp, used in the camera with 
a kit, but it may not the full size of a 5x7 'plate, but 
will do so with 16 stop or aperture when taking a pic¬ 
ture of subjects that do not move. You then have a 
camera that will take good 5x7 pictures of all sub¬ 
jects that are stationary and good 4x5 pictures of sub- 
COW POSED JUST RIGHT. Fig. 455. 
jects like animals that may move, and so require a 
speed of 1-25 to 1-100 part of a second. 
I advise buying a plate camera that will take either 
plate holders or a film pack, and always to use plates 
when working near home, and the film pack when 
traveling. The plates cost about one-half as much as 
films, and are much easier for the amateur to develop 
and print from, and one should always develop his 
own exposures. A few plate holders will be needed, 
a tripod, focusing cloth, and a developing and printing 
outfit. The whole outfit can be purchased at wholesale 
prices for $25 to $30, or one can pay much more. Go 
to your local photographer for information on all 
points, if you know nothing about photography. 
Now I will tell just how I photograph cattle. First 
select the background. I prefer in Summer a some¬ 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
what broken foliage, and sometimes when near a 
stream of water the scene is more picturesque. The 
open field is better than a building or a fence for a 
background. Ftave some one lead out the animal, and 
if a cow, place the rear slightly higher than front of 
body, so as to make hips and udder the most promi¬ 
nent, for by these a cow is judged more than by other 
parts. Place the hind feet in a natural position so both 
the front and back of the udder is shown, as this best 
reveals its size and shape. Before posing an animal it 
is well first to lead it on the ground and mark where 
the front and back feet stand by small sticks or stones, 
and keep her in place just long enough to focus the 
camera sharp upon it. If you have a 5x7 camera, mark 
with a pencil around a 4x5 plate laid on the center 
of the ground glass, and focus so the picture is inside 
these lines.. In this way you will allow some margin 
for the animal’s moving. Of course always set the 
camera very substantially on a tripod. With the ground 
thus marked, if the animal moves you can put it back 
in the same place, and need not move the camera or 
change the focus. If it is ordinary bright sunshine 
in Summer, between 8 a. m. and 5 p. m., I open the 
stop of the shutter full aperture and set the time 1-100 
of a second, put in the plate holder and draw the slide. 
The most difficult part of the work is to pose the ani¬ 
mal rightly, and keep it in, position long enough for 
the exposure. A frightened animal will not give a 
good picture; take your time, and do not become 
flurried or nervous. 
I should have said the camera should be set for pic¬ 
tures in sunshine so the sunshine is at the back, and at 
an angle toward the rear of the animal instead of in 
front, then there will be no shadow of the head on the 
body if it is turned toward the camera. Try to attract 
the attention of the animal by shaking a coat or some¬ 
thing so it will put the 
ears forward and turn 
the head slightly toward 
the camera. When 
every part of the body 
is posed and quiet for an 
instant, then press the 
bulb. It is well to make 
two or more exposures 
of the same animal, as 
one may be more pleas¬ 
ing than the other. 
Other animals of about 
the same size can be 
photographed in the same 
marked place, without 
changing the camera or 
focus. 
Photographing fowls is 
somewhat more difficult 
than cattle and horses. 
One very good way is to 
use a box about two feet 
square, and 18 inches 
high. Set the box on 
the side and focus the 
camera sharply on the 
box, then place the fowl 
in the box. It has to re¬ 
main still, in sunshine, 
only 1-100 part of a second, and one is quite sure of 
the picture. 
I have indicated methods in amateur photography 
so one can easily study out ways for photographing 
all farm animals, pet stock, etc., but each one must 
study the subject until he understands the correct 
posing of animals, then the execution of the photo¬ 
graph is quite easy. I have not mentioned the 
A GOOD BACKGROUND FOR A PFIOTOGRAPH. Fig. 456. 
