Chapter III: Home Interiors by Daylight

Apart from the details of illumination and exposure, the chief things to be considered in photographing home interiors are the lens, plate, height of camera and point of view, and the general arrangement of the room. As the making of a series of interiors will give us much profitable information applicable to all indoor work, we will deal with this branch of at-home work first. If we are reasonably successful, our negatives will afford material for desirable souvenirs for distant friends, and in any event, we will learn many things well worth knowing.

The amateur is generally obliged to make the best he can of the apparatus he has, so that little needs to be said about choice of apparatus and the like. Where choice is possible, however, a square-bellows field camera is preferable to a hand camera. A level or plumb indicator is indispensable if we want to make sure of vertical lines in dark interiors, where the ground glass image is almost invisible. The rising and falling front, now part of almost all folding cameras, will be found useful to increase or cut off foreground or ceiling as may be desirable. Sometimes, in using extreme wide-angle lenses for small interiors, a camera with a base-board folding down at the front, or with a device for bringing the camera body forward on its bed, is necessary to prevent the front of the base-board intruding upon the field of the lens. If we use a tapering or conical bellows, care must be taken to secure the first few folds well forward by fastening them to the front-board, so that they may not obstruct the image on its way to the ground glass or plate.

The lens is an important item in interior work, because on the relation of its focal length to the base measurement of the plate used depends the amount of view included in the negative. This is known as the angle of view, and may be determined by dividing the base measurement of the plate by the equivalent focus of the lens. If we use a lens whose focal length is greater than the base line of the plate, as a 7-inch lens on a 4 x 5 plate, the angle of view will be narrow, not more than 40°. This practically means that we cannot include in our view more than one side or a corner of the room. A lens of 5-inch focal length, used on a 4 x 5 plate, will include an angle of view of 53°. The same lens used on a 6½ x 8½ inch plate, and stopped down considerably, would include everything within an angle of 80°. Whether the negative would be well defined or equally lighted at the corners and centre of the plate is another story. With a lens of 3½-inch focus, used on a 4 x 5 plate, we can include everything within an angle of over 70°. Hand camera lenses for 4 x 5 plates generally have a focal length of 6¼ inches, which includes a medium angle of view for average work indoors and out. For interiors of small rooms, or wherever the space is confined, a special wide-angle lens is indicated, such as Gray’s _Extreme Angle Periscope_, which gives an angle of over 100° on the plate for which it is listed. The Velostigmat Wide Angle, _Series III_. and the anastigmat of Goerz, _Series IV._, _f_/11; Zeiss, _Series V._, _f_/18; Orthostigmat, _Series III._, _f_/6.8, all giving a full angle, largest aperture, of 90°, offer evident advantages in definition and illumination for this class of work.

As far as plates are concerned, we can use any plate we may have at hand, but certain plates are more suitable than others. Among the difficulties encountered in indoor photography that are known as halation is perhaps one of the most troublesome, and it may be largely obviated by our choice of the plate or film used in making the negative. So much has been written about halation that I propose to touch upon it very briefly here. As every amateur knows when we photograph against the light, as in an interior view where we are obliged to face the camera to a window, the intense light spreads beyond its proper boundaries, and a hazy blur or halo surrounds objects in close proximity to the light. This blur, known as halation, is seen around the window-frame, draperies, and encircling whatever is near the window and between the camera and the light. It is caused by the spreading of light in all directions among the particles of the sensitive film of our plate, and aggravated by the light being again thrown back into the film by reflection from the glass support, after it has once passed through the film and reached the plate. Of course, wherever there has been light action, there will be reduction on development, and the practical result is the light blur referred to above. The defect can be overcome, almost completely; first, by coating or “backing” the glass side of the plate with an easily removable non-actinic composition which effectually prevents the reflection of the light after it has completed its work in the film; second, the use of “non-halation” plates, such as the Defender, N.H. Ortho or Seed D.C., which are specially coated first with a “slow” and then again with a “fast” emulsion, so that the exposure is completed before the light reaches the glass support; and third, by the use of films instead of plates, especially roll films which have a strip of non-actinic paper behind them, by which the principal cause of halation is removed. The introduction of Kodak spools for 6 film exposures brings the use of films for at-home work before the amateur in a practical and economical way, obviating, as they do, the necessity of making twelve exposures before development.

To “back” an ordinary or orthochromatic plate is easier than to describe how it is done. A dozen or two should be “backed” at one time and put away (after the “backing” is thoroughly dry) until required for use. Here is the method generally advised. First we need a composition that is effective, which will not injure the plate-holders, and which may be easily removed during or before the development of the plate. We may employ a home-made mixture as follows: thoroughly mix, caramel, 1 ounce; strong solution of gum arabic, 1 ounce; burnt sienna, 2 ounces; and alcohol, 2 ounces. See that the mixture is free from grit or lumps, and bottle in a wide-mouthed bottle. To “back” the plates quickly and without messy handling, procure a piece of stout board three inches larger each way than the plates to be “backed.” At the centre of the board glue a piece of canton flannel or velvet of the same size as the plate. Now cut a piece of cardboard the same size as this wooden base, choosing card of the average thickness of a plate, and hinge it to the base-board so that it will fold over it. At the centre of this card cut out a rectangular space exactly the same size as the plate. When it is folded over the base-board this open space will be exactly over the velvet square. The plate to be coated or “backed” is placed, face down, upon the velvet, and fits it closely in this square recess. The backing may now be applied with a small sponge or wad of cotton. See that it is evenly covered, then lift the cardboard and remove the plate, handling it by its edges. Store in a rack and dry in a room free from dust. Of course, this “backing” and drying must be done in a room where no white light can reach the plates. The “backing” device may be used repeatedly, the velvet and cardboard being renewed when needed. Where plates may be bought ready backed for use, we may dispense with this trouble.

The point of view from which the negative is made, the height of the camera, and the general arrangement of the room also need attention. If a characteristic picture of the room can be had without including windows in the view, this should be chosen. Sometimes an open door revealing another room will help the general effect in an interior; or we may be able to work from this adjoining room to better advantage. Doors, out of the field of view, opening into other rooms well lighted, should be opened during an exposure where a little extra illumination may thus be secured for the interior with which we are engaged. Where only a part of a room can be included in the view care must be taken to see that no prominent piece of furniture is cut in half by the edge of the plate so as to appear inadequately supported. We must avoid placing large or dark pieces of furniture too near the camera, and as far as possible dark objects should be placed so as to be well lighted, light objects being placed in the darkest spaces. In small views the appearance of an ordinary room is generally that it is overcrowded with furniture. Superfluous pieces may, therefore, be removed with advantage, as an amount of space will make the apartment look more roomy. No stiff or formal arrangement of an interior should be attempted; let us have the room as it is in everyday life. But a little observation before exposure will often reveal possible improvements. Some sign of life or occupancy is desirable; a piece of music at the open piano, a violin with its bow, or a guitar laid carelessly in a not too prominent place, or, in a bedroom, a pair of my lady’s slippers will give the effect desired.

The height of the camera should not be overlooked. If it is placed too high the lines of the floor will convey the impression of a slope. In a room of ordinary size the lens should not be more than forty inches from the floor.

The inequality of illumination which is inevitable in home interiors may be largely overcome by care in the arrangement of the room, or by choosing such a time, day or year as gives a favorable lighting. Broad sunlight is rarely advantageous, as giving too forcible contrasts. Sometimes the quiet light of early morning will give the best results. Where there is an abundance of light the window or windows not included in the view may be covered with white sheeting and the light diffused in this way. The broad light upon the floor may be softened by drawing the blinds down from the top. Where we have to deal with strong lighting much may be done by screening the windows during part of the exposure, and giving a brief exposure with the windows in their normal condition toward the end of the total exposure.

When it is desired to include a figure in an interior view, we must use a lens which will permit of a short exposure without sacrificing definition, such as an anastigmat working at _f_/7.7, or even faster, and the figure must be placed so as to receive abundant lighting from the window.

The prevalent color of a room’s furnishings also has considerable to do with the question of exposure. Where we have to deal with dark or red or yellow draperies, floor covering, or furniture, the exposure must be lengthened accordingly. A test will tell us more about this than much writing, and where color is concerned, the use of well-backed orthochromatic plates is indicated.