groping in the dark

Controlling Contrast

Among the many choices one must make when printing is the type of paper to use. First, you have the choice of resin coated (RC) or fiber-based paper. RC paper is coated with a plastic layer on which the light-sensitive emulsion sits, while fiber-based paper is embedded with emulsion in the cotton fibers of the paper itself. The professionals often prefer to use fiber; I'm sure for a variety of reasons, none of which I understand well enough to talk about yet.

Another choice is that of graded paper vs. variable contrast (aka: multigrade) paper. A paper's "grade" refers to the amount of contrast the paper's emulsion will produce when it's developed. Again, graded papers are used by the professionals who know specifically what they are looking for from their negatives.

The best starting place for newcomers like me is with a resin coated multigrade paper. The resin coated paper is easier to process, requires less drying time and is generally not as much of a hassle. Multigrade papers allow you to adjust the contrast of your print based on decisions you make during the printing process providing a great deal of control (as well as a learning opportunity for novices).

With multigrade paper, the contrast of your prints is controlled through the use of filters. The filters are numbered from 0 through 5 in half-number increments (oh yeah, there is also a 00 filter). The #3 filter is considered to be neutral contrast, while the #5 provides the highest contrast and #00 the lowest. Generally you might want to make your initial prints with the #3 filter and then work in the direction you feel would most benefit your print.

Braving the dust, I did some printing this past weekend and used my filters to add contrast to one print and soften the contrast in a couple of others. I printed this picture of Ted and Abby using no filter, just to see what I had. Immediately, I decided to reduce the contrast and thus soften the harsh divide between the light and dark sides of ted's face. I also hoped to gain some detail in the light areas of Abby's face by reducing the harshness of the light.

A snap judgement prompted me to drop in a #2 filter. Still not enough. How about #1½? or #1? Finally i settled on #½. Note how in each of the examples, the harshness of the transition across the top of Ted's nose is progressively lessened. Also the subtle gradations in Abby's face become apparent as the contrast is reduced.

This picture of Tristan is an extreme example of using the contrast filters to make a lousy negative presentable. The negative for this picture is almost hopelessly thin and underdeveloped. Here is how it looks, printed "straight" using no filter. Pretty blah, huh? I jumped right to a #4 filter, then tried the extreme #5. Not too shabby for what I started with.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• keep your filters clean and dry - filters are highly susceptible to scratches or discoloration from improper handling.
• remember to adjust your exposure time when using filters - moving from no filter to any filter, double your exposure; moving from the low end to 2-3½ double the exposure again; moving to 4 and higher, double the exposure once more. These numbers are highly sketchy, just keep in mind that as the filter # goes higher, the filter becomes denser requiring more light to produce an image.
• get your exposure correct before messing around with filters - in other words, don't expect to darken you shadows or brighten a highlight with a filter choice alone.

After a while you will be able to properly judge your contrast needs and will be able to quickly choose the right filter for a given negative. There are also other techniques such split filter printing to learn that can be employed to fine tune the contrast of your prints.