The members of the Photographic Society of Shanghai spent a very enjoyable and profitable hour at the Union Church Hall on Thursday evening, when a lecture was given by Mr. R. D. Mansfield on "The Art of Portraiture."
Mr. Mansfield said that he did not propose to read a paper on the subject—there were books galore written by such masters as F. C. Lambert, Child Baylie, A. J. Anderson and others, He wanted to make it rather a causerie than a lecture. Portraiture held the paradoxical position of being the easiest and the most difficult of all branches of photography. It was easy because nothing was simpler than to make technically good negative once the necessary technical skill had been acquired. In portraiture, everything was under the control of the photographer—lights, pore, and to a large extent, expression. Moreover, the conditions in portraiture were far less
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.