For high-resolution scans, labs will almost always use a flatbed scanner or in some cases a drum scanner that has to be manually calibrated. This is because when labs produce scans as part of development, they are using an automated film scanner. If you have a roll of film developed and scanned, and then decide you want to have a higher-resolution scan made, you may be surprised to discover the images look completely different. One thing that’s important to understand about scanning is it’s inconsistent. The YouTuber NegativeFeedback does a nice job of explaining the process if you’d like to learn more about how prints are made. Once the scan has been made, a print can be produced using the traditional wet printing process or on an inkjet printer.
During the scanning process, color corrections are made either by a technician or automatically by a computer. This process involves scanning the negatives and converting them into a positive image. Instead, many labs will produce prints digitally. For this reason, very few labs to my knowledge offer true enlargement-based wet printing services anymore. The process I’ve just described is a time consuming and, in the case of color printmaking, a highly technical one that requires years of practice. Photographers can adjust the color balance of the image by applying cyan, magenta, and yellow filters to various degrees. On color film enlargers there is even greater control. Photographers can enact edits in the darkroom by controlling the amount of light projected through the enlarger, the quality of light, and how long the photo paper is exposed. Once exposed, the paper goes through a development process very similar to the one used to develop the film. This involves projecting light through the negative on to a sheet of photosensitive paper.
While there are several ways to turn a negative into a final print, the way I learned to do it is a process called wet printing. The fact is a negative isn’t a finished image. There are some processes that add or remove wash steps, and some that will add a reagent step, but for the most part, this is how color negative films are developed.įor many, including myself, this is where the darkroom process ends, and a scanner is used to convert each frame into a digital image.Īnd this is where I think much of the confusion comes from.
#Adjust when mozypro scans series
When you process a roll of C-41 film, say Portra 400, the film goes through a series of baths that go something like this: develop, wash, fix, wash, dry. In this post, I explore the process by which color film is printed and why you should edit your film scans. Some might argue that you are corrupting the character of the film by editing your scans.įrankly, I believe the people making this argument simply don’t understand how images are made in the darkroom and are burdened by the belief that everything should happen in the camera. To be perfectly honest, I think this is all rather silly, and while I don’t edit my scans to the same degree others might, the idea is to walk away with an image that you’re happy with. Since diving back into film photography again early this year, I’ve run into a strange debate over whether you should or shouldn’t edit your scans.
0 kommentar(er)
