BEFORE THE CAMERA

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 35, 4 November 1933, Page 18

BEFORE THE CAMERA

How Men and

Women Behave

Portrait-photographers arc an interesting class. For they see people not as they really are—which, after all, is no uncommon experience for ordinary folk—’but as they would really like to be, writes a Reuter correspondent to “The Dominion.” This reflection is inspired by a visit to the Exhibition of Professional Photography now being held at the Princes Gallery, Piccadilly, where I met Miss Pearl Freeman, one of the best-known women photographers. I asked her whether she liked photographing men or women best. This was her reply: “I prefer photographing men. They have no definite ideas about themselves. They don’t want to look like gods. Most women want to look like goddesses. As long as men look their best they are satisfied. “They always want the character to remain in their faces. They don’t want

to look like Ramon Novarro, Clark Gable or Leslie Howard. Women like to see themselves as Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo. “Men don't mind looking like fathers, uncles and grandfathers, while some women hate to look like mothers. Men never mind their lines. It. gives them character. Lines spell tragedy to a woman.

“I have had men ask me to straighten their hair if it is wavy. They are as shy about a natural wave as a schoolgirl. The average man wauts to look like a man—a real he-man. The average woman wants to look like a doll, or a languid, drooping lily. “Bernard Shaw was the best critic of photography I have ever known. He hates blurred photography, which is the out-of-focus type, and admires the clear-cut kind of work. lie wants every hair in his beard to show distinctly.”