RANSVESTIA

dark picture obliterating shadow. Within limits you can utilize their effect to your advantage. Facial lines can be minimized in a bright or over-exposed picture, signs of body hair can be minimized in a dark picture. You will have to play that by ear to get the balance to suit you, since it will have no use if it is too much in one extreme or the other.

Be it understood that nothing will guarantee a perfect picture. However if after reading this article it does nothing except to cause you to take a few moments to consider the effects of light, background, pose and other factors you can control in the taking of a picture, then I hope it will help you.

Editor's Note: While I hope that this article will help you all take better pictures and I appreciate Amelia writing it, there are, however, 3 items that she overlooked which ought to be mentioned. (1) When selecting the background consider the color of your clothes and hair. Against a dark background, dark hair just disappears. If you are wear- ing anything with red or pink in it, it will photograph as though it was black and will just melt into the background. (2) If you use clown white (or other white base) for street wear to cover your beard shadow you may discover that reflectance is such that it will make the beard area appear bright and shining. What is good for the street may not be good for the camera. (3) Amelia suggests that you be doing something in your picture. To this I say "great idea" but I strongly suggest (and request) that you be smiling. I don't understand why I get so many pics with straight faces like FPia wasn't any fun at all.

—

SMALL ITEMS FOR FILLERS LIKE THIS

We could certainly do with more poems, jokes, special cartoons and other small items which can fill up these odd spaces at the end of longer pieces. So to make the magazine more interesting to all, how about making small contributions like the above story. Special hints and helps, addresses of cooperative businesses of various types, etc., will also be appreciated by others.