PhotographyBy:

Donte LewisNestor Tuazon , Alicia Donohue, Jeffrey Phelps

Kevin Lao

How Film Affects Your Picture

The most important ingredient is the reducing agent, or developing agent.

Each crystal contains silver atoms combined with a halogen such as bromine, chlorine, or iodine in light-in light-sensitive compounds like silver bromine.

After development, fixer makes the image on the film permanent.

Photography

Continued

The longer the development time, the darker and more contrasty the negative becomes.

Three other factors also influence the amount of development, which in turn controls contrast and density.

A higher temperature of the developer solution, more concentration of developing agent in the solution, and greater agitation-all will increase development.

Exposure and Development

A correctly exposed and properly developed negative will make your next step-scanning or darkroom printing-much easier.

Changing the development time has little effect on shadow areas, but it has a strong effect on highlight areas.

Changing the exposure affects both highlight and shadow areas.

Photography

Black-and-White Printing

Darkrooms for printing are set up with a dry side and a wet side.

Dust is a common problem on the dry side.

Contamination can cause a plague of spots, stains, and weakened chemicals.

The most noticeable difference between diffusion and condenser enlargers in in contrast.

Continued

The focal length of the enlarger lens must be matched to the size of the negative.

Condensers must be matched to the lens for even illumination.

The light source in an enlarger is usually a tungsten or quartz-halogen bulb.

A stable and correctly aligned enlarger is a vital link in the printing process.

Printing Papers

Black-and-White printing papers vary in texture, color, contrast, and other characteristics.

Variable-contrast paper is more economical than graded-contrast paper because you have to purchase only package of paper.

Resin-Coated (RC) papers require much less washing time than fiber-base papers.

Photography

A Contact Sheet

A contact sheet, or proof, is useful when you want to choose a negative to enlarge.

The back of the contact sheet is a good place to keep notes.

Contact sheets are easy to make.

Makin a test strip will help you determine the correct exposure for your first contact prints.

Setting Up an Enlargement

Personal judgments are important when selecting negatives for enlargement when you have many shots of the same scene.

Standardized exposure exposure and development of your contact sheets will help you evaluate the individual frames.

A standardized contact sheet can also help you estimate what filter to use with variable-contrast paper or what contrast grade of graded paper to use.

A Test Strip for Your Print

A test strip will give you some exposure choices for your final print.

Stop down the enlarger lens a few stops from its widest aperture.

Due to the intermittency effect, five separate exposures of 5 seconds each may not produce exactly the same effect as a single 25-second exposure.

Evaluating Density and Contrast in a Print

Prints are judged-and adjusted-for density and contrast.

Density refers to the overall darkness or lightness of the print.

Contrast is the difference in brightness between light and dark areas within the print.

Photography