The subject must have pictorial qualities, it must be typical, and must give aesthetic pleasure. The student must look for elegance and a distingue air in his subject. You will find that the best pictures will be of those subjects which hit you hardest in nature, those which strike you so much that you feel an irresistible desire to secure them.

Art of feeling nature.

You must then train your feelings, for, as John Constable said, "the art of feeling nature is a thing almost as much to be cultivated as the art of reading the Egyptian hieroglyphics." You must then, when you have felt your subject, be resolute and only take in what is necessary to express your subject; this is the text of the artist. Everything must be harmonious and comfortable, but that alone will not suffice any more than will the subject alone. Everything must be in keeping in the picture. The artist must be in sympathy with his subject, "entrer dans la meme peau," as the French say. He must have no preconceived notion of how he is going to do a subject, but take all his suggestions from nature and humbly follow them and lovingly portray them. Pure imitation of nature (even if it were possible) won't do, the artist must add his intellect, hence his work is an interpretation. To photograph a "flying express" so that it looks as if standing still is imitation, to render it with the suggestion of motion by its smoke and steam is an interpretation. The great question which the student should ask himself is: My aim, what is it? If that be serious and honest, and not feeble and vainglorious, he is all right. Remember that the aim of art is to give aesthetic pleasure, and that artists are the best judges of this matter, and you will find that so good is their training that they often elevate the meanest things they touch.

Poetry In Works Of Art

The highest expression is that of poetry, and therefore the best works of art all contain poetry. What poetry is and how it is to be got is not to be discussed in our present state of knowledge, suffice it to say that the poet is born and not made, though the poet's speech may be improved by training.

Qualities Of A Picture

Thus it will be seen how difficult a matter it is to produce a picture, even when we have thoroughly mastered our technique and practice, for, to recapitulate, in a picture the arrangement of lines must be appropriate, the aerial perspective must be truly and subtily yet broadly rendered, the tonality must be relatively true, the composition must be perfect, the impression true, the subject distinguished, and if the picture is to be a masterpiece, the motif must be poetically rendered, for there is a poetry of photography as there is of painting and literature.

Never rest satisfied then until these requirements are all fulfilled, and destroy all works in which they are not to be found.

That it will be possible for comparatively few to succeed is evident, but the prize is worth striving for, for even if we do not all attain to the production of perfect works, we shall have gained a knowledge of art and an insight into nature, that will be a never-failing source of pleasure to us in our daily walks.

Figure And Landscape

By far the most difficult branch of photography is that in which figures occur in landscapes. All previous remarks apply to this branch of the art, only here it is more necessary than ever that every detail be perfect. This is a branch which we have perhaps studied and developed more than any other, and yet even now we feel but a beginner in it. One thing you must never forget, that is the type; you must choose your models most carefully, and they must without fail be picturesque and typical. The student should feel that there never was such a fisherman, or such a ploughman, or such a poacher, or such an old man, or such a beautiful girl, as he is picturing. It is a great mistake for photographers to attempt rural subjects unless they have lived in the country for a long time and are thoroughly imbued with the sentiment of country life. The truth of this axiom is proved by the falseness of sentiment seen in most country pictures done by painters even. The student who lives in town will find good figure-subjects in the town, and if he has no sympathy with such life, he should try such subjects as shooting parties, coursing meets, riding subjects, and beautiful women. It is fallacious to try and cultivate an unsympathetic field and is sure to end in mediocrity or failure.