Books:

Discovered! 505
Odd Enterprises

Hidden Dollars

How to Make
Money at Home

Small Business
of Your Own

You Can Own
a Business

While the work requires a little patience from the learner, it is within the scope of the average person even if that learner be a handicapped individual. This fact is brought fully home when one learns the background of Lucy Ann Wood.

Until two years ago Miss Wood had very little, if any, use of her hands. Stricken with polio at the age of six, she was confined to a wheel chair with no control of hands or limbs.

Despite this, and the fact that she only attended school six days in her life, Miss Wood graduated from high school in 1949. This was the same year she would have graduated had her schooling been normal and she had not missed a day. This was accomplished by turning in her lessons to the school and taking examinations that were sent to her. She was aided in her high school work by a private tutor. This enabled her to keep up with the school work and to graduate with her class.

IT WAS then, when she suddenly ceased to be busy with her school work, that the need of a hobby was felt by Miss Wood.

"After graduation life seemed to come to a stop and without something to occupy my time the days seemed endless and idle," Miss Wood recalls. "In my visits to the crippled children's clinic I had heard about occupational therapy and the work that the State Board for Vocational Education was doing for handicapped people. I contacted them and presented my case. I was given an interview with Dorsey Richardson, the state director for the board, who suggested that something be chosen that would necessitate the use of the hands.

"After a period of orientation I chose photographic retouching and tinting. Much of my success I owe to the kindly patience of my instructor, Frank D. Muramoto, a photographer and studio owner. Mr. Muramoto is the instructor in the photographic field for the State Board of Vocational Education."

That was two years ago. Now Lucy Ann Wood is on her own as a free lance. To date her work has met the specifications of and been sold to nineteen professional studios, one traveling photographer, who sends her work through the mail, and a great many individual customers.

MISS WOOD considers her work a part time hobby but feels that the opportunities in the field are unlimited for the person desiring to put in full time.

Miss Wood explains that few negatives can pass muster for a perfect print without retouching. This is especially true of the portrait type of work. The amateur photographer in a desire for better prints is turning more and more to the professional, retoucher and the professional photographer could not risk his reputation by being without the services of a retoucher.

"While the professional photographer, sometimes does his own retouching, there are always those rush seasons where the services of the free lance are eagerly sought," says Miss Wood. "At these times I have more work than I can handle."

She recalls that it was only a short time after she started her training that she was selling her work.

"At first," Miss Wood relates, "I took samples of my work around to various studios. Soon, after showing my work and leaving my address and telephone number, I began getting assignments from some of them. Some of them began to rely on me for all of their tinting work and some of their retouching and I soon had a regular run of work."

QUITE A bit of Miss Wood's work is sent to her through the mail from photographers in near-by towns and cities. This work was obtained by writing to the Chambers of Commerce in these towns and cities for a list of photographers' names and addresses. To these Miss Wood would submit samples of her work, enclosing a stamped and addressed envelope for their return. Accompanying these would be a business letter stating that if they liked the work and would care to give her a trial that the work would be handled carefully.

"I always enclosed a list of prices," says Miss Wood, "and through this I gained several regular customers. Soon I had a steady flow of work coming in.

"After that I started in to go after the individual work. For this I knew that I could get retail prices for my work while having the wholesale work to depend on.

"I inserted small advertisements in the local papers about my tinting and retouching service. Along with this I would call some of my friends on the telephone. They in turn would tell others and in this way the hobby has gradually built up to a nice income every month."

Other business was obtained by inserting advertisements in the classified section of photographic magazines, contacting the leaders of camera clubs and then making telephone calls to the members. There is a growing demand from the amateur photographer for a retouching and tinting service. The demand is ever for a better finished print.

THE MATERIALS needed for retouching are few and inexpensive. Most of them last a long time before being used up. A principal equipment item is a "light box" or similar arrangement for viewing the negative entirely by transmitted light.

A light box may be purchased or be constructed by the average home workman at a very little cost. It consists of a top made in the form of a frame large enough to take an 8-by-10 piece of ground or opal glass. If ground or opal glass is unobtainable a piece of frosted glass will serve. Or a piece of plain glass with Traceoline or draftsman's tracing paper fastened to the underneath side of the glass with Scotch tape. The purpose of this is for a diffusion of light so there will not be a direct glare in the operator's eyes.

The legs or sides of the box are two 90-degree triangles of wood with the slope of the triangles being long enough to reach from end to end of the frame—lengthwise. These are cut with a slope of approximately a 45-degree angle so as to give a comfortable slope to the working surface of the glass.

The triangles are cut out of solid wood. When these are fastened to the lengthwise sides of the frame, the whole makes a boxlike affair with the opening at the back and the top or glass side sloped like a roof. A small desk lamp is placed underneath the glass with reflector turned so the light will shine through the glass.

Do not use too large a light bulb or place this light too close to the glass as excessive heat will warp or curl negatives.

The most suitable light for this purpose is a small fluorescent bed lamp. Fluorescent lights emit no heat.

Several masks of black paper or dark cardboard are needed. Holes are cut in these the size of the various negatives. These masks are large enough to cover the 8-by-10 glass so that the only light comes through the negative being worked upon. In addition, another mask is made somewhat smaller with a two-inch circle cut on its center. This mask is moved about to the area being worked upon and protects the rest of the negative.

"By using this mask with a small circular opening," explains Miss Wood, "the amount of light coming through is cut down to a minimum and lessens eye strain. This system not only reduces glare and eye strain but enables us to concentrate better on the area in question. The work is best accomplished in a rather dark room so that all the light used comes through the negative and one is not annoyed or misled by reflections from the surface."

OTHER TOOLS and materials used by Miss Wood are an etching knife and a stone to sharpen it, two or three spotting brushes, a Japanese stick for spotting, retouching medium, retouching pencils, cotton for applying retouching medium and some fine emery cloth or sandpaper for sharpening the retouching pencils. If preferred, a magnifying glass of the eye shade type or one that can be swung over the work can be used for working on small detail. Most of these tools and supplies can be purchased at photographers' supply stores. The rest are available at any variety store.

The pencils are retouchers lead holders and retouchers leads. The leads needed are the H, 2 H, B and H B. The H is the softest and the H B the hardest. Miss Wood asserts that at first the beginner should use the B or the H B as he is likely to put on too much lead with the softer pencils and obtain a grainy texture in his work. The experienced worker uses all four for his purposes.

"Practice work should be done on old or worthless negatives," explains Miss Wood. "These may be obtained from friends or from photographers. In asking the photographer for his worthless negatives you will become acquainted with the people you will be doing work for later."

A photographer makes several poses of a subject in order to sell his work. The unused negatives he does not need for his files. These are the negatives referred to by Miss Wood.

From these negatives the photographer makes proof prints and the ones that the customer likes are chosen. A proof print of the negatives is furnished the retoucher, with instructions as to what is needed on the negatives. In this case the test print is an actual print of Lucy Ann Wood.

"As we look at the print," explains Miss Wood, "several things become apparent. We decide that the 'V' cleft in the hair above the right temple would look better if rounded out. This requires etching to shave away the emulsion to match the rest of the hair. The scraggly hair below the ear does not enhance the portrait. Penciling in or 'adding lead' will take care of this. The forehead is too highlighted and needs toning in. Etching is required for this as well as for the catch lights in the eyes. The catch lights are out of balance and too far to the right. The one in the right eye—left to the viewer—is too large. Penciled dots in the proper places later will replace these in proper proportion and balance. Shadow under the nose is too deep. This requires adding lead as does the character line at the left side of mouth which is too dark and too long. Skin blemishes need eliminating and the deep shadow under chin that looks like a sudden attack of double chin needs softening and modeling in. Adding lead is called for here."

WHILE MISS WOOD explains this she deftly demonstrates the different steps in photographic retouching.

First the etching knife is used to etch away the emulsion on the negative. This is done with a gentle sweeping motion that shaves away a minute portion of the emulsion. This allows more light to come through that portion of the negative. This lightens the emulsion but has the reverse effect on the print. Since the emulsion on a negative is only a few thousandths of an inch thick, care must be taken not to remove too much at one time. It is never done with a picking motion except where a tiny speck is to be removed—such as the catch lights in the eyes; even then the pencil must be used later to smooth the work.

Very little etching is done that does not need a little penciling later to tone it in with the rest of the negative. It is best, however, to be particular in this process to save work later on.

"After the etching comes the penciling, or 'adding lead' so called," Miss Wood explains. "Since the emulsion is slick it will not take the lead very readily. The emulsion side of the negative must be given an added 'tooth,' and this is done by preparing the negative with retouching medium."

The retouching medium is rubbed on the negative with clean cotton. Place a drop or two of the medium in the center of the area to be worked on. Then quickly rub it on with a circular outward motion. The medium need not cover the entire negative, but rub the outer edges briskly to remove any marks. The negative is ready for the penciling and is placed back in the scope or viewer.

MISS WOOD makes use of an oscillating machine. This is a comparatively recent innovation in the field of retouching as it has only been on the market for a few years. Its sole purpose is the adding of lead to the negative. This is done by rapid oscillating motion of the machine. In the case of Miss Wood who has not, as yet, regained the normal use of her hands this machine is a great help. The operator has merely to move the lead back and forth over the area to be covered, using light or heavy pressure as called for. The vibration of the machine adds the lead in an even texture.

In the etching process or the spotting process this machine does not serve any purpose. A great many photographers still use and prefer the hand method. All of the work can be done on the light box or viewing box described earlier. Similar boxes can be purchased, for a nominal sum, at photo supply shops.

The beginning retoucher would do well to learn the hand method first. The oscillating machine can be purchased later, if desired. Since the lead is added in an even manner, it cannot be done with straight or long lines. The oscillator does this by a sort of circular vibration. The lead is moved back and forth over the area. In the hand method the lead is added by movement of the hand to simulate this vibration. This is not a long smeary effect but one of innumerable tiny half circles, fish hooks or small S's.

Some retouchers have their own individual style of marks that gradually and almost imperceptibly fills in an area and blends it with the surrounding tones.

"FIRST OF the penciling," says Miss Wood, "is the skin cleaning. Skin cleaning is the penciling of skin blemishes such as freckles, moles and the like. Prominent scars come under this category. Since skin blemishes almost invariably show up as dark spots on the finished print, they appear as lighter Spots on the negative. These are penciled in until they match the density of the emulsion surrounding them. The light behind the negative is your guide in this. When the light shows through evenly, the negative will print with the same density and the blemishes will have vanished."

In the skin cleaning Miss Wood starts in the upper left hand side of the forehead and works around the face in a clockwise direction until arriving back at the starting point. The 2 H lead is the one most used by Miss Wood, unless the negative has a lot of tooth; then she uses the harder leads.

The long lead of the retouching pencil must be kept at a needle like sharpness for best results and needs frequent re-sharpenings to keep it in workable condition. This is done by inserting the lead in a fold of fine emery cloth or sandpaper. Keep a gentle but firm pressure on the lead and move it back and forth in the paper with a twirling motion. Steadiness is attained by pressing the elbows against one's sides, or resting elbows solidly on a table top.

"It is best," says Miss Wood, not to attempt to add all of the lead to a particular spot at one time. Add a little lead to each place as you go around the picture and go around several times. In this way the lead is gradually built up and the results as a whole can be seen. Thus a blended tone is reached on the picture as a whole at approximately the same time."

Miss Wood adds that retouching should not take on the proportions of a major operation. It is a light treatment to overcome minor negative ailments. Miss Wood uses the light touch in all her work.

AFTER THE skin cleaning, the attention is next placed on the character marks or lines. These, in the unretouched print, show up about one hundred percent too dark and one-third too long. In the negative these are, again, the light portions and are smoothed in with the lead, not to change them, but to blend them in with the surrounding tones.

Starting at the top of forehead, work downward. Wrinkles on forehead, lines around the eyes, the shadow under nose, lines around the mouth, chin clefts and other marks are taken in turn. Again all of the work is not attempted at once. Go over lightly several times until proper print density is attained.

If too much lead is added it can very readily be shaved off a little at a time with the etching knife. Or all of the penciling can be removed with cotton and rubbing alcohol, or carbon tetrachloride.

"Up to now," summarizes Miss Wood, "I have demonstrated the etching, skin cleaning and the character lines and shadows. Now look over the whole negative and with light pencil touches here and there model in as a whole to get an overall effect."

This may sound like a lot of work but the face on the average negative is less than two inches in diameter, and can be retouched in twenty minutes or so.

"THE FINAL step in retouching," says Miss Wood, "is to spot out the pin holes, it any, in the negative. For this I use a Japanese stick and a No. 2 red sable spotting brush. I first moisten a thumb nail with saliva, then rub the stick on the moistened spot. This deposits a little of the material on the thumb nail. The brush is worked into this, then all the excess is worked out by rubbing the brush on a piece of paper."

When the brush is hardly leaving a distinguishable mark on the paper, then Miss Wood is ready to spot out the pinholes. First work the brush hair into as fine a point as possible. The point of the brush is then touched or stippled over the pinhole until it becomes as dark as the surrounding emulsion. A retouched negative retains all the elements of realness that an unretouched one has while eliminating the unattractive elements.

Miss Wood finds it best to keep retouched negatives in protective envelopes as they smudge easily.

"While prices may vary in different localities, it is well to have a schedule to go by," advises Miss Wood. "My schedule is—a 3-by-5 negative or similar size, 50 cents per head. A 5-by-7, $1 per head. Group pictures, generally considered four or more persons, 25 cents per head."

MISS WOOD finds that retouching and tinting go well together. In this way her prospects for work are just double what they would be were she only doing the retouching. Her tinting equipment is simple. A good set of transparent oil colors, wooden skewers like the butcher uses in meat cuts to hold them together and cotton just about comprise the list.

"I use lots of cotton," says Miss Wood. "It is said that the better the tinter the more cotton he uses, so I use lots of it."

The type of print preferred for tinting is what is called a sepia toned print on soft paper. Other types color well but most studios are using the sepia toned prints as they give the more natural appearance.

The background first receives the attention of Miss Wood. This is generally in the blue or darker tones. The dark or colder colors, so called, have a tendency to recede, throwing the photographic likeness forward. This gives a more rounded effect, while the reds and yellows, or warm colors, come forward tending to create a flattened effect.

The background is applied with cotton wrapped tightly on the point of the skewer. The color is applied with a circular motion until enough color has been applied to cover the background. The excess paint is then removed and rubbed down to a smoothness with clean cotton on the skewer. Change the cotton frequently to keep it clean.

Coloring the hair comes next. Appropriate colors are furnished with the color sets and good general instructions are also included with all sets. The main thing about the hair is to add the proper amount and right color to give the highlights a natural appearance. Instructions for this are given in the mixing directions of the sets.

"THE MAIN thing in the tinting of photos," says Miss Wood, "is to use the light touch. The detail of the face and clothes must show through the oils as if there had never been anything added. Properly done the tinted photo has all the naturalness of the untinted one. No line or character mark is blotted out by the use of too much color. This is particularly true of the cheek tones."

Miss Wood knows that too much color in the cheeks can spoil an otherwise good tinting job. For this reason she applies the cheek tones separately, then blends the flesh tone of the face in. This does away with the painted on look.

"Miss Wood applies the flesh color without paying any attention to eyes, lips or teeth. All the borders of the other colors are respected and the eyes, lips and teeth are cleaned later.

"For this cleaning there are several good products," says Miss Wood. "Energine, Vaseline, turpentine or saliva.

"With the cotton wrapped tightly on the point of the skewer, the eyes and teeth are carefully cleaned. The eyes are then tinted in the color desired, then the lips. For the lips, do not use too bright colors. Stay away from the crimson look."

The highlights of the eyes are brought out by touching a tiny bit of flake white to them, using a sharp pointed brush. The eyebrows and eyelashes are touched with the brush in their natural colors.

"To finish our picture," says Miss Wood, "any other flesh in the picture, such as arms or hands, is done next. Then the clothing is tinted last—in the natural colors as worn by the subject if a list of these colors is obtainable."

For the tinting of portraits Miss Wood also has a schedule of prices. To studios the charge is 60 cents for a 5-by-7 print. To retail customers, $1. For larger prints up to 8-by-10 the charge to studios is $1. Retail, $1.50.

"I generally average about $1 or more an hour, says Miss Wood, but then I work slower than the average retoucher and tinter.