YOUR MIND MAKES PICTURES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18329, 12 November 1921, Page 6

YOUR MIND MAKES PICTURES

By A PHOTOGRAPHER. Why is it that really good-looking people often make such bad photos, and yet the plain ones appear as such pleasing studies? This is a question that has been puzzling us for many years, but has now been solved. The mind has a great influence on the making of a good photographic portrait. It has been often said that the eyes are windows of the soul, and it is a fact that the whole face reflects one’s thoughts to an extraordinary degree, especially from the point of view of the camera. Our minds are never really idle, and v/heui poising for a photograph you should bear in mind that to obtain a true likeness of yourself, as you would wish others to see you, you must think aright, think real energetic and cheerful thoughts. As a case in point, I recently had a young girl at my studio of whom I found it extremely difficult to ger. a good portrait. She wanted it very particularly- for her fiance abroad, and it was only by careful coaching and many sittings that 1 jjersuaded her to adopt an expression which would do justice to her good looks. The man who is inclined to be reticent rarely makes an imposing photo, so I tell him to convince himself as well as he can that he is very successful, capable of leading, and a great man among his fellows. In fact, I try to make him conceited for a few moments by the power of auto-suggestion. Then I photograph his thoughts. One reason why people often “take” badly is because they look on “ sittinjJL' as an ordeal, and it puts them in a Wd temper. Although told lightly enough by the operator to look cheerful, really they are disconsolate, and their minds telegraph to the face that “bored” expression which the ahnost-human camera seizes glcefuly and appears to magnify. So the next time you have your photo taken try this method of posing, and you will be surprised at its success.