The studio should be arranged so the lights, camera, and electrical cords are safely out of the way and your subject does not have to avoid tripping over them. Every effort must be made to make the portrait session a pleasant experience for the customer. Any props to be used should be stored out of the way where they can be retrieved  quickly  and  easily. The  studio  should  be  spacious  enough  to  move around freely, with enough room surrounding the posing bench so the subject does not feel crowded. The distance from the posing bench to the background should be great enough so shadows from the subject are not cast onto the background. This distance should also be great enough so the background is out of focus when the lens is stopped down to the working aperture. The studio should have enough room so a longer than normal lens can be used and provide enough room behind the camera so the photographer can move about freely. It should be wide enough so the lights can be moved in an arc around the  subject  without  changing  the  light-to-subject distance.  The  ceiling  should  be  high  enough  to  provide enough  space  for  a  standing  full-length  portrait. Whatever the size or location of the studio, it must, above  all,  be  a  productive,  professional  workplace, having everything required to produce technically perfect  portraits. In many Navy photo labs, especially the old ones and  aboard  ship,  these  conditions  do  not  exist.  Just because you do not have a large “professional” studio and equipment does not mean you cannot produce professional  quality  portraits.  Many  professional quality portraits are made by Navy Photographer's Mates using only two small lights in a compartment being used as an office, finishing room, and darkroom aboard ship. STUDIO   EQUIPMENT There are endless types and manufacturers of studio equipment available for controlling light and making portraits. The size and the budget of your imaging facility  determines  what  is  available  for  making portraits. This chapter discusses only the basic studio equipment that is common to most Navy imaging facilities. Camera Regardless of what camera you use in the portrait studio, it should be clean and in good working order. The camera should have interchangeable lenses and be at least medium format. The larger the negative size of your portraits, the higher the quality of the finished product. Lenses A lens used for portraits should have a longer than normal  focal  length.  A  long-focal-length  lens  produces a large image on the film while keeping the camera at a far enough distance from the subject to prevent image distortion. Normal-focal-length lenses are too short for anything  but  full-length  portrait  photography.  They require the camera to be too close to the subject, image distortion becomes apparent, and working too close to the subject may intimidate him or her. Working too far from the subject with a normal lens to prevent distortion makes the image size too small. The ideal lens for portraiture should have a focal length equal to 1 1/2 or 2 times the diagonal of the film. When you are using 4x5 film, the lens focal length should be about 8 to 12 inches. Background Simplicity is the key word in portrait backgrounds. Simple backgrounds give more artistic results by maintaining viewer interest on the subject. The most widely accepted background is a large, flat, unmarked surface, such as a painted screen, an actual wall of the studio, or seamless background paper suspended from the ceiling. Whatever the background, it should have a matte finish, rather than a glossy finish. A glossy finish causes  distracting  reflections. A background can be plain or patterned. When the background has a pattern, it must not detract the viewer from the main subject. When props are used, such as a globe or an American or Navy flag, they must not draw attention  away  from  the  subject. The background should normally be light and neutral in color; however, black or dark backgrounds are used for certain effects. A black background is used to add  richness  to  the  finished  print.  When  a  black background is used, keep your subject a good distance from it to prevent the lights (except the background light) from striking it. The color of a background becomes important when color portraits are made. Bright-colored backgrounds should be avoided because they distract from the subject. When using a cold-colored (blue, green, etc.) 7-2