The likenesses produced by photograph have, in many cases, a harshness which is extremely disagreeable. The camera will tell the truth, but its effects may be toned down so as to give the features something of that softness which is generally imparted by the portrait painter. For this purpose use a lace curtain stretched between the sitter and the camera - the nearer it is to the latter, the more softness it imparts. The grain of a chalk drawing is produced by the threads, and characteristics of the model which would not bear prominence are pleasingly softened down.