how do I create more contrast in my black and white photography?

Question

I have a manual camera and I need to take photographs outside during the day..last time I did, the pictures all came out gray. I really want contrast in my photographs what are the best f stops and shutter speeds to do so.

Answer 1

Overexpose and under develop is one way. Shutter speed and F-stops don't factor into it. You can also use certain color filters over your lens to affect contrast. A yellow filler will darker a blue sky, for example. Assuming you develop your own prints, you can also affect contrast using filters with your enlarger.

Shutter and f-opening affect only the exposure of the entire image, not the contrast, but OVER exposing and under developing will increase contrast. The best is to invest in a red, yellow, blue and green filter (even though this is b/w photography) and have some fun. The filter will darken its opposite color and lighten it's color. A yellow filter darkens blue (by blocking blue wavelenths) and so forth. You can email me/add me to your messenger at [e-mail] if you want to ask a few more questions.

Answer 2

For optimal contrast in outdoor pictures you need a faster film to start with. Then you get yourself a light meter to help you determine f-stop and shutter speed. After a while you'll develop a feel for how to set everything without it. Once you have optimal contrast on the film,there are two ways reduce it in the darkroom. Either how long you time the developer when developing the film and a combination of filters and exposure times when making prints.

Answer 3

As a professional photographer, MFA in Photography, and photo instructor, I have to take issue with the first responder's answer. He told how how to decrease contrast. Over exposing and underdeveloping will yield more shadow detail while controlling the highlights, in fact contracting the contrast. This is called pulling the film. To expand the contrast, you should UNDEREXPOSE the film and OVERDEVELOP it. This is called pushing the film. What this will do is turn the shadow areas more black and blow out the highlights (white) thereby increasing the contrast range.

So, the easiest way to accomplish this is to set your meter 1 stop faster than the actual film speed, i.e. 100 speed is rated 200, 200 is rated 400 ect.

I suspect, from many years of teaching beginners, that you have more than one problem here. First, if you want a high contrast shot, shoot during the middle of the day when the light is very contrasty. Then, check your metering. Meter on the shadow areas, the midtones and the highlights. Figure out the range of stops by counting them, eg if the shadow reads 1/125 at ƒ4, the midtone at ƒ8 and the highlight (the sky perhaps?) ƒ22 you have a range of 6 stops. (4,5.6,8, 11, 16, 22-count on your fingers). Most good b/w films will record this nicely. Kodak tri-x at 200 (which is its true speed btw) will handle this nicely.

Next, look at your developing. When the film is in the developer, you should agitate continuously for the first 30 seconds, then for 5 seconds every thirty seconds thereafter. And I don't mean a light swish, I mean shake the damn can. Agitation is necessary to get fresh developer in contact with the surface of the film - if you don't agitate vigorously or often enough, the film will come out flat (grey).Also be sure you are mixing the developer properly. Follow the directions-D76 is a great developer, cheap, and has been working well for generations. I use this in my classes, although I have been very happy with Ilford developers as well. The point is put enough in-FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS TO THE LETTER. i find for many students this is the main problem.

To enhance contrast, use contrast filters in both the shooting and printing stages. The first responder told you how to darken a sky slightly-an orange or red filter will do so dramatically.

Your filters work like this: Each filter will lighten itself and the colors adjacent to it on the color wheel, and darken its opposite and the opposite's adjacent colors. This means yellow lightens itself, red and green, while darkening blue, cyan and magenta (the blue part of both). Red lightens itself, magenta and yellow, darkens green, blue and cyan. Green lightens itself, cyan and yellow, darkens red, magenta and to a lesser extent, blue.

Also use a polarizer to cut out glare and slightly darken the sky.

Always use a contrast filter when printing (start with a 21/2, increase as necessary.) Again, the dilution of your developer is critical, as is the temperature (68 degrees F). I prefer Dektol at 1:1 for high contrast, if I'm going for shock value Dektol straight is great. Ilford paper is better than Kodak (who stopped making b/w paper anyway.) Use Multigrade paper until you are very sure of what you are doing.


Finally, you have to be consistent in how you meter, develop the film, and print the image. Once you find your filmspeed/development time combo (for tri x in D76 at 1:1 dilution, it can be anywhere from 12 to 14 minutes at 68 degrees) always use this ASA rating and development time/dilution. This can take some testing at various ASAs and development times. You expose for the shadows but develop for the highlights-ie make sure you develop long enough for highlight detail to come in.

Next, when you print, you should ALWAYS leave the print in the developer with agitation (gentle but continuous) for 1.5 minutes (some ppl prefer 2 - again you have to test and again assuming Dektol at 1:1 - Dektol can be diluted all the way to 1:9) Printing is for the highlights so on your test strip, be sure to include them and set the time for them. Dodge the shadows if you need to. If the print is too flat (grey) increase the contrast filter.

I highly recommend you read Ansel Adams' books The Camera, The Negative and The Print. Do that and you will love your results.

Answer 4

Lens filters are a good way to do this. The primary ones for landscape would be yellow, orange, and red. Yellow adding a little contrast, orange adding more, and red adding a lot of contrast. Meter and take the photo with the filter on. Cheap ones go for around $10 each.

Answer 5

I have a Nikon CoolPix 5400 that takes pics in black and white and so they say that you are going to get higher selection should you set the digital camera this manner within the first situation. I can not vouch for that declare as I by no means evaluated it severely. The D200 additionally enables B&W pictures, however I don't see any declare approximately accelerated selection. I additionally admit that I have by no means used this environment. I pick to take away colour by means of desaturation in Photoshop. Actually, I have Photoshop Elements. You can readily eliminate all colour by means of hitting [SHIFT]+[CTRL]+[U] and you'll get a black and white photo. I pick to not do it this manner, nevertheless. If you simply hit [CTRL]+[U], you'll get the Hue/Saturation adjustment display. From this display, you'll be able to reduce all colours however the only you decide upon to want to -one hundred after which take the Master saturation right down to some thing like -eighty till you get the preferred end result. This will depart the naked slightest hint of a colour to your photo and that is so a lot more intriguing than specific black and white. When I used to be printing pics, I used to decide upon one paper or one other for the local colour of the paper. If I desired stark black and white, there used to be an Agfa paper that used to be beautiful well. Most different papers looked as if it would colour the photo fairly in so much the equal approach as Kodachrome made matters extra saturated and purple whilst Ektachrome made matters cooler and blue. Adobe have to have heard from different customers, given that Photoshop Elements five.zero has a brand new function that allows you to just do what I used to do with the Hue/Saturation gear. Under the "Enhance" menu, there's an object referred to as "Convert to Black and White." If you open up this menu, you'll see a display with 8 samples of your photo. The samples exhibit extra purple, much less purple, extra inexperienced, much less inexperienced, extra blue, much less blue, extra distinction and no more distinction. You can modify the depth of the end result and there you pass. They additionally present presets for portrait, brilliant panorama, scenic panorama, city/snapshots, newspaper or infrared end result. Once you have got visible the outcome, you'll now not be convinced with simple ancient black and white out of your virtual pics. The desaturation system for older types of P.E. and the "Convert to Black and White" in P.E. five.zero make a lot more sensible B&W prints, if that makes any feel in any respect. Like I stated, you by no means particularly noticed ACTUAL black and white prints from a darkroom in any case and this copies that end result.