HOME PORTRAITS BY FLASHLIGHT
In taking up flashlight portrait work at home, the first essential is
to get acquainted with the various forms of flashlight material and
the apparatus needed for its use. What we want is sufficient light to
enable us to get a portrait or a small group at night in an ordinary
room. Either powdered magnesium or a compound of magnesium with
other chemicals will give us this light, and the apparatus for their
use fairly puzzles one by its almost infinite variety. Magnesium is
perfectly safe in its handling and combustion, but slow in combustion
unless we use what is known as a “blow through” lamp, by which the
metal is projected through a flame. It also has the disadvantage of
giving a great amount of smoke and dust after exposure. For these
reasons it is little employed for portraiture in the home, although
still much used in commercial work. Perhaps the simplest lamps for the
combustion of magnesium powder are the _Proschlites_, in which an even,
solid flame of light is obtained.
_Compound_ flashlight powders are obtainable in the form of
_flash-sheets_, _cartridges_, and the powder in bulk, usually packed in
bottles. These are usually composed of powdered magnesium or aluminum
with chlorate of potash or other chemicals which supply oxygen and
therefore give a “quicker” and more intense light. This shortens the
exposure, and _compound_ powders also yield less smoke and dust than
magnesium alone. In handling or using _compound_ powders two things
should always be remembered: _First_, that they are explosive, and
therefore must not be submitted to friction of any kind, and _second_,
that they should never be used in a magazine or storage lamp, or in
any lamp except one constructed for compound powder. The instructions
and warnings sent out with the variety of powder used should also be
carefully read and followed. With these precautions any make of flash
powder may be used with safety and confidence.
For single portraits in a room with light furnishings Eastman’s
_Flash-sheets_ are at once simple and efficient. Two or three small
sheets, pinned together on a piece of white cardboard, so that the
corners slightly overlap, will be found sufficient if properly placed.
When ready open the lens, and touch a match to the sheets.
Among _Compound_ flash powders in bulk I have used _Agfa Blitzlite_
with complete satisfaction, but almost every other powder tried has
more than met all my requirements. The new _Nichols_ powder is an
excellent mixture, as is the Eastman flash powder. It is a good plan
to choose one and use it only, until its qualities and shortcomings
are known, by which time we will be in a better position to appreciate
others. What we need is a powder which will ignite easily and quickly,
rapid in combustion and giving a powerful volume of light with as
little smoke as possible afterward.
For the combustion of compound powders a lamp is not necessary,
although preferable, as offering greater efficiency and economy in the
use of material. When used without a lamp the powder should be spread
out in a train on a sheet of tin or other metal tray. At one end of the
train insert a piece of loose, fluffy cotton batting about the length
and thickness of a finger, and sprinkle a few grains of the powder at
the end of the cotton where it enters the train. Let the other end
of the cotton project an inch or so beyond the metal tray. When all
is ready for the exposure, the tray being placed at the right point,
light the end of the cotton with a taper, the lens having been opened
previously. The cotton will burn at the rate of about an inch per
second, so that there will be ample time to withdraw the hand. Among
the lamps available for use with _Compound_ powders the _Nichols_,
_Spreadlite_ and _Agfa_ lamps offer abundant room for choice, both as
to quality and price. The Agfa lamp is my choice.
A few hints from experience in the handling of _compound_ powders _and_
lamps may possibly save some reader from accident, hence I make room
for the following notes: The conditions under which a compound flash
powder will explode are not known. Generally speaking, ordinary care
is sufficient, but beware of friction. In opening bottles or boxes
of powder, cut the paper binding carefully, then, holding the bottle
at arm’s length, gently ease the lid off with a knife or envelope
opener. Before replacing the lid or closing the bottle, blow off or
remove any particles of powder which may have adhered to the bottle.
When filling the lamp employed never pour the powder into the pan
direct from the bottle. Use a small measure, cup, or spoon, holding
only the proper charge. Never fill the pan or powder-receiver while
the burner, taper, or wick is lighted; always turn the latter away,
or remove from the lamp when the pan is being filled. Never light the
burner, taper, or igniting torch while it is over the powder. Never
hold the exposure bulb in the hand when fixing the burner or taper
over the powder. Always make sure that there are no curtains or other
combustible materials near the point from which the flash is made.
Always see that the lamp is securely placed when it is not held in the
hand, lest the pressure of the bulb or a sudden jerk upset it at the
moment of flashing. Always turn the subject’s head away from the flash,
and do not look at the light yourself at the time of the flash. Open
the windows at top and bottom, and close the lens and plate-holder,
as quickly as is possible after the flash has taken place. Beware of
attempting flashlight portraits of people subject to hysterical fits or
epilepsy. Keep the usual lights burning during the flash exposure.
Before attempting actual work with the flash, however, it will be
needful to have a clear idea of the character of the lighting, in order
to know where to place the lamp, and at what angle the light will fall.
This may be gained by preliminary practice with gas or lamplight. As
far as possible, the light should be above the level of the subject’s
head, and to one side, so as to fall upon the face at an angle of 45
degrees. If we place our model about six feet away from the source of
light, where we ourselves stand, and study the changes in lighting as
the model turns this way or that, the best lighting will be observed
and may be noted for future use. By placing the camera where we stood
during our observations, and making the flash from the same point as
the source of light used in our experiments, the desired lighting
will be easily secured. With the subject six feet distant from the
flash, and a lens working at _f_/16, about 45 grains of powder will be
necessary for a single flash. If we use a screen between the flash and
subject to diffuse the lighting, the charge should not be less than 60
or 70 grains. Children require less powder than adults.
Before leaving the subject of negative making by flashlight, the use
of the light in the production of Christmas or other cards may be
mentioned. Flashlight silhouettes come under this heading and are made
as follows: Across an open doorway, or at the opening between two
connecting rooms, stretch a white sheet without creases or folds. In
one room (behind the sheet, and at a distance of six or eight feet from
it) arrange everything for a flash exposure. A single flash-sheet, or
small cartridge, or ten grains of powder will suffice. In the other
room pose the subject or subjects as near to the sheet as possible,
and give them occupation. Thus two ladies may be sitting, busied with
their embroidery, or a girl may be posed, standing, with her violin in
characteristic attitude, or a baby may be seated at table in a high
chair. In this same room focus the camera on the subject, lower the gas
a little, uncover the lens and plate, and quickly go into the other
room (behind the sheet) and make the flash. The result, on development,
will be an attractive silhouette which, printed on _Velox_, _Cyko_,
_Argo_, or any other paper, will form a very desirable greeting card
for a friend of the subject. The theme of the silhouette picture may be
varied infinitely according to personal taste. Two men playing chess, a
child with toys, or a woman trimming a hat are subjects which suggest
themselves. In a similar way silhouettes may be made of the Christmas
tree, or of decorative forms made by arranging branches, twigs, or
flower-sprays upon the screen formed by the sheet.
Firelight effects have of late become very popular. They are produced
in a simple manner. The subject having been posed and focused, a long
and steady flash without smoke must be given. Proceed by taking flash
paper (the Eastman flash-sheets answer the purpose) in half-inch
strips, and attach them to a board about 10 x 18 inches, an inch or so
separating the strips. Arrange the strips in zigzag rows, so that they
overlap at each end. The board being placed diagonally in one corner
of the fireplace, the lower corner, when ignited, will make a steady
white sheet of flame lasting several seconds, the smoke passing up the
chimney. The paper should be ignited by means of a light attached to
a long strip; this operation being performed so that your active hand
does not appear in the picture.