Or why having it correct in camera is not the be all and end all.
Michael Elliott — Fine Art Film Photographer-Flâneur and Londoner at Significant
This was inspired by my answer to the following Quora query:
What is the distinction involving a one particular quit underexposed adverse and a two quit underexposed adverse when utilizing black-and-white film?
Film photography is a fascinating and rewarding hobby but it can also be difficult and frustrating at instances. 1 of the most frequent sources of confusion and anxiousness for film photographers is how to expose their film properly. In contrast to digital photography exactly where you can immediately verify your exposure on the LCD screen and adjust it accordingly film photography calls for a extra cautious and deliberate strategy. You have to rely on your light meter your expertise and your intuition to estimate the appropriate exposure settings for your film and your scene. And even then you will not know for certain if you got it correct till you create and scan your film.
But what does it imply to expose film properly? And how do unique sorts of film react to unique levels of exposure? And what if you make a error and overexpose or underexpose your film? Is there a way to repair it or even use it to your benefit? In this report we will attempt to answer these concerns and extra by exploring the principles of exposing black and white colour adverse and colour slide film. We will also appear at how improvement of film can compensate for exposure errors and how you can use a mixture of overexposure or underexposure and compensated improvement to realize particular artistic effects.
Black and White Film
Black and white film is the simplest and most versatile variety of film when it comes to exposure. It consists of a single layer of silver halide crystals that are sensitive to light. When the film is exposed to light some of the crystals are converted into metallic silver forming a latent image that is later created into a visible image. The extra light that reaches the film the extra silver is formed and the darker the image becomes. Conversely the significantly less light that reaches the film the significantly less silver is formed and the lighter the image becomes.
An instance of pushing Rollei Paul and Reinhold (ISO 640) to 1600 (roughly 1 2/3 stops). Although shadow detail is minimal there are nonetheless shadows that can be pulled out of the image. Photo credit: Michael Elliott
Black and white film has a wide exposure latitude which implies that it can tolerate some degree of overexposure or underexposure with out losing also substantially detail or tonality. In reality a huge quantity of photographers deliberately overexpose or underexpose their black and white film to realize particular effects. For instance overexposing black and white film can outcome in a low-contrast image with soft tones and smooth transitions. Underexposing black and white film can outcome in a higher-contrast image with harsh tones and sharp edges.
Fuji Neopan 400 pushed to 1600. Shadow detail is virtually non-existent. Even although this was in broad daylight I had an orange filter and polariser on and to realize the important depth of field with a affordable shutter speed I had to use a greater EI than the box speed. Photo credit: Michael Elliott
Having said that overexposing or underexposing black and white film is not adequate to realize these effects. You also have to have to adjust the improvement time accordingly. This is exactly where the idea of compensated improvement comes in. Compensated improvement is a approach that entails altering the improvement time primarily based on the exposure level of the film. The common rule is: overdevelop underexposed film and underdevelop overexposed film. This way you can balance out the exposure errors and bring back some detail and tonality to your image.
For instance if you underexpose your black and white film by one particular quit (i.e. half the quantity of light necessary for a appropriate exposure) you can compensate by growing the improvement time by 20%. This will enhance the density of your adverse and make it darker bringing out some shadow detail that would otherwise be lost. If you overexpose your black and white film by one particular quit (i.e. double the quantity of light necessary for a appropriate exposure) you can compensate by decreasing the improvement time by 20%. This will lower the density of your adverse and make it lighter preserving some highlight detail that would otherwise be blown out.
Regardless of my finest efforts the shadows are muddy and not detailed in this shot taken on Fuji Neopan 400 at 1600 and pushed 2 stops in improvement. Pushing does not often operate wonders for a offered scene. Photo credit: Michael Elliott
Of course these are just rough suggestions and unique films may perhaps need unique amounts of compensation. You may perhaps also want to experiment with unique degrees of compensation to realize unique outcomes. For instance some photographers favor to overexpose their black and white film by two stops or extra and underdevelop it by 50% or extra. This produces a really low-contrast image with virtually no shadows or highlights building a dreamy or ethereal impact.
Colour Negative Film
Colour adverse film is extra complicated than black and white film when it comes to exposure. It consists of 3 layers of emulsion each and every sensitive to a unique colour of light (blue green and red). Each and every layer also includes chemical substances named dye couplers that react with the developer to type dyes that correspond to the opposite colour (yellow magenta and cyan). When colour adverse film is exposed to light some of the silver halide crystals in each and every layer are converted into metallic silver forming a latent image that is later created into a visible image. The extra light that reaches each and every layer the extra silver is formed and the extra dye is made. The outcome is a adverse image with an orange hue that wants to be inverted and colour-corrected to create a optimistic image.
Colour adverse film also has a wide exposure latitude but not as wide as black and white film. It can tolerate some degree of overexposure or underexposure but not with out affecting the colour balance and saturation of the image. In common colour adverse film handles overexposure improved than underexposure. Overexposing colour adverse film can outcome in a extra saturated and vibrant image with extra detail in the shadows. Underexposing colour adverse film can outcome in a extra muted and dull image with significantly less detail in the highlights.
An instance of pushing colour film gone right — this is Fuji CDU-2 a colour optimistic duplicating film with a really low native ISO of 6. Having said that by cross processing in C41 and pushing 2 stops I was capable to eke out an EI of 200. The grain is very noticeable and the colour shifts had been tricky to appropriate for but it was feasible. Detail all through is superior. Photo credit: Michael Elliott
Having said that overexposing colour adverse film also substantially can also have some drawbacks. It can enhance the grain and noise of the image as nicely as introduce colour shifts and casts. For instance overexposing Kodak Portra 400 by extra than 3 stops can make the image appear extra yellow and green even though overexposing Fujifilm Superia 400 by extra than 3 stops can make the image appear extra red and magenta. These colour shifts can be corrected to some extent for the duration of scanning or printing but they may perhaps also impact the general mood and tone of the image.
On the other hand some photographers deliberately overexpose their colour adverse film to realize a particular appear. For instance overexposing Kodak Portra 400 by one particular or two stops can create beautiful pastel tones with smooth transitions and low contrast. This is in particular appropriate for portrait photography as it can produce a flattering and soft skin tone. Overexposing Fujifilm Superia 400 by one particular or two stops can create vivid and punchy colours with higher contrast. This is in particular appropriate for landscape photography as it can produce a dramatic and lively scene.
In contrast to black and white film colour adverse film does not advantage substantially from compensated improvement. Altering the improvement time of colour adverse film can impact the colour balance and saturation of the image but not in a predictable or constant way. For that reason it is finest to create colour adverse film according to the typical procedure (C-41) and adjust the exposure level for the duration of shooting or scanning.
Colour Slide Film
Colour slide film is the most tricky and demanding variety of film when it comes to exposure. It consists of 3 layers of emulsion each and every sensitive to a unique colour of light (blue green and red). Each and every layer also includes chemical substances named dye couplers that react with the developer to type dyes that correspond to the identical colour (blue green and red). When colour slide film is exposed to light some of the silver halide crystals in each and every layer are converted into metallic silver forming a latent image that is later created into a visible image. The extra light that reaches each and every layer the extra silver is formed and the significantly less dye is made. The outcome is a optimistic image on a transparent base that can be viewed straight or projected onto a screen.
Taken on Fujichrome MS100/1000 — a film deliberately formulated for push-processing this was shot at EI200 and processed for 8m30s in the initial developer for a 1 quit push. Even though it really is not ideal and I would not attempt to push this film to EI 1000 (in particular due to the fact it really is extended discontinued and the examples I identified had expiration dates in the early 2000s) it really is got a superior colour balance and shadow detail is not entirely absent. Photo credit: Michael Elliott
Colour slide film has a really narrow exposure latitude which implies that it can tolerate really small degree of overexposure or underexposure with out losing detail or tonality. In common colour slide film handles underexposure improved than overexposure. Underexposing colour slide film can outcome in a darker and extra contrasty image with extra saturated colours. Overexposing colour slide film can outcome in a lighter and extra washed-out image with significantly less saturated colours.
Having said that underexposing or overexposing colour slide film also substantially can also have some drawbacks. It can lessen the dynamic variety and detail of the image as nicely as introduce colour shifts and casts. For instance underexposing Kodak Ektachrome 100 by extra than one particular quit can make the image appear extra blue and cyan even though overexposing Fujifilm Velvia 50 by extra than one particular quit can make the image appear extra yellow and orange. These colour shifts can be tricky or not possible to appropriate for the duration of scanning or printing as they are inherent to the film itself.
In contrast to black and white film but like colour adverse film colour slide film does not advantage from compensated improvement either. Altering the improvement time of colour slide film can impact the density and contrast of the image but not in a predictable or constant way. For that reason it is finest to create colour slide film according to the typical procedure (E-6) and adjust the exposure level for the duration of shooting. There had been particular films that had been engineered to let for some type of push processing compensation (Fujichrome MS100/1000) but these had been uncommon and now discontinued. Other films like Fujichrome Provia 400X (now discontinued) and 100F lend themselves improved to an up-to-2-quit push but it is substantially improved to shoot these at their box speeds.
Conclusion
A s you can see exposing film properly is not a straightforward or simple process. It depends on several elements such as the variety of film the lighting situations the topic matter and the artistic vision. Having said that it is also not one thing that you have to have to obsess more than or be concerned about also substantially. Film photography is not about having it correct in camera all the time. It is about experimenting with unique methods and effects mastering from your errors and successes and enjoying the procedure and the outcomes.
In this report I have covered some of the fundamental principles of exposing black and white colour adverse and colour slide film. We have also looked at how improvement of film can compensate for exposure errors and how you can use a mixture of overexposure or underexposure and compensated improvement to realize particular artistic effects. I hope that this report has offered you some beneficial facts and inspiration for your subsequent film photography project.