Preparing biographies

One of our Indian readers...whose portrait appears on this page, called to see us recently at these offices, and showed us some of his portraits...Mr Devare has travelled extensively, and his home is in the Fort, Bombay...He says: ‘All my portraits are made in an ordinary sitting-room, having windows draped with the curtains required by modern civilization. By carefully adjusting the position of the sitter, I find that I can secure effects in lighting quite equal to those obtained in professional studios. I have travelled much on the Continent, and visited most of the principal studios. In my visits I was impressed by the fact that many of the most successful photographers were making their studios much more like sitting-rooms than the old-fashioned all-glass studios. Modern plates are so rapid that it is not necessary to have such a strong light as was required in the olden days. The wall paper in my room is of a light-grey colour, which helps to diffuse the light and prevents the shadows being heavy. I very rarely use a reflector or head screen. I find that the light is sufficiently diffused with passing through cream-coloured muslin curtains, and I secure fully-exposed negatives with an exposure of two or three seconds.