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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-09-2013, 01:22 AM
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I like both of your pictures- they are quite different in tonal rendition, but each is pleasing in its own way.
With regard to your first question, the correct approach is to underexpose by a certain amount. The amount that you underexpose varies depending on how much shadow detail you want to retain as well as the other variables you mention.
Note that negative film has a good deal of exposure latitude. It is usually better to be fairly generous with exposure, as it is easier to correct moderate overexposure than underexposure in both printing and scanning.
You might want to look for a used copy of one of Ansel Adams' Zone System books. In particular, "The Negative" remains a useful reference in many ways. It also seems to be available for free download.
For question 2, you can get any look that you want from a scanned negative, bearing in mind that most of the work should be done in your image editing software, not at the scanning stage. Dodging , burning in and other tonal adjustments are easily accomplished in Photoshop and other programs- often with a level of ease and flexibility that blows away darkroom techniques.
In a later posting you wonder about shooting film and printing digitally- particularly whether the cost of using film is worth it.
In many ways, even APS-C digital has surpassed 35mm film and can even look decent compared to medium format. Nonetheless I continue to use some film, about 80-100 rolls per year, because I enjoy the process and have a bunch of nice old gear. I also like the character of film, although it is easy to emulate that with plugins etc.
I like digital printing. The quality equals the best I could do in a darkroom, results are perfectly repeatable, and dust only has to be cleaned up once. Excellent inkjet printers are quite affordable. From my perspective the hybrid approach offers the best of both worlds.
I do have 40 years of darkroom experience and 20 years of digital imaging under my belt. I'm not sure film is such a great bet for someone starting out without the resources that were available when film was the only game in town. Whether using film is worthwhile depends on how rewarding you find the process, as in my view going digital all the way makes more sense cost-wise.
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