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Early
Photographic Processes
One of the steps in producing an image
Retouching |
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Mid-19th century |
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Paper Negatives
Retouching of negatives was one of the
steps involved in producing an image from the earliest days of
photography.
Early negatives were on paper, so the
negative could be changed before the final print was made. |
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Adding Clouds
It was difficult in the early days of
photography to record detail in the sky, which tended to be much brighter
than the rest of a landscape, so clouds were often added in pencil on the
negative.
There were mixed views about this in
photographic circles, some exhibitions, including some in Edinburgh,
banning all forms of retouching, and some photographers challenging others
with disputes as to whether or not particular negatives had been
retouched. |
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Late 19th century |
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Professional Photography
Retouching was accepted, and expected,
amongst professional photographers, many employing teams of retouchers to
achieve results that would satisfy their clients.
Retouching was also the subject of a
poem The Retoucher, by
the Fife professional photographer, A Diston Jun, published in
Photography in 1892 |
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Working Conditions
Working conditions were not always
ideal, as this letter published in the British Journal of Photography on 9
November 1894 explains:
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Sir -
... I should like to inform you that there is a photographic
establishment wherein the employés
labour under difficulties quite as great as those described by the
'depressed and low-spirited assistant, who so frequently requires
the stimulus of 'a cup of tea'.
In a
room measuring about 11 ft long by 6 ft wide, and varying from 8 to
10 ft in height, seven retouchers and spotters have to work.
Three walls and the roof are of glass, rendering it necessary for
the retouchers to keep their heads entirely covered with black
cloth, besides making it very difficult to spot, as the light comes
from so many different directions.
In the
winter, the room (which would otherwise be intensely cold) is heated
by a gas stove, which renders the atmosphere unbearable.
Another
interesting fact from the
employé's
point of view is that the proprietor of the concern sits at a
another desk in an adjoining room, having full view of the seven
assistants, so that, though they may faint in the fumes of the gas
or shiver in the cold, they have not a moment's respite from their
arduous employment.
...
[Signed:
HYGIENE, Bristol] |
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The name and address of the establishment referred to was
supplied. |
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Early-20th century |
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Retouching Classes
Meetings of the Edinburgh Society of
Professional Photographers, reported that Edinburgh's professional
photographers encouraged their assistants to attend the drawing and
retouching classes at Edinburgh College of Art..
Some of the
retouching work was quite ambitious. In
1923,
J Campbell Harper,
speaking of the work of one of his young assistants, said:
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"A
photograph of a deceased gentleman was brought in for enlarging with
alterations. The original photograph showed the gentleman with
a hat on and in shirt sleeves, in a garden.
A
copy negative was made, the hat blocked out and a small enlargement
made, and from another snap showing the hair, the assistant drew in
the hair and put a coat on, the result being most successful.
This young assistant had less than two winters at Mr Young's drawing
and retouching classes."
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The comments above were addressed to the Edinburgh Society of
Professional Photographers at their Meeting on 23 March 1923. |
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Late-20th century |
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Amateur Photography
There were very few retouchers still
working for Edinburgh professional photographers in the late-20th century.
The last one, I believe was employed by the studio of Edinburgh Cameras,
based in Lothian Road.
However, amateur photographer often
found it necessary to retouch their work, using small brushes to disguise
the small white 'dust spots' that invariably appeared on the prints that
they enlarged.
John Robb of Edinburgh Photographic
Society gained a reputation for the retouching work that he did on his
35mm colour slides using coloured dyes and a large magnifying glass. |
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Early-21st century |
Digital Photography
Much of the work that required great
skill and experience in the past can now be achieved very simply on the
computer, using Photoshop to manipulate photographic images. |
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