Black and White Photography

Black & White Photography

           

           By Henry Horenstein

Black and White Photography

1 Beginnings



This manual is a basic guide to black-and-white photography, covering all the
points taught in a typical introductory class. It starts at the beginning, assuming
you know little or nothing about photography, and guides you through
using your camera, developing film, and making and finishing prints.
Although there is much to learn, it’s not all that difficult. Modern films and
printing papers are easy to work with and today’s cameras offer a considerable
amount of automation, all of which make the job easier. Automation is not foolproof,
however. A camera can’t know exactly what the subject looks like and
how you want to photograph it. Much can go wrong, even in the most automated
cameras, for example, film that doesn’t load properly, autofocus that’s
off the mark, or inaccurate meter readings. And, of course, there’s always user
error. The more you understand about how everything works, the fewer problems
you will encounter along the way and the more control you’ll be able to
bring to the process, even when working with your camera on automatic mode.
To get the most from this book, you’ll need a reasonably sophisticated camera,
preferably one that works manually as well as automatically. Don’t worry if
you don’t have a top-of-the-line model; you can make great pictures using very
basic equipment. Photographic equipment varies somewhat in design and usage
from one camera system to another, so keep your manufacturer’s instructional
manuals handy to supplement the information in this text for details specific to
your equipment.
To make the best use of the sections on developing film and making prints,
you will need access to a darkroom. Both in the darkroom and when taking
pictures, refer to your equipment as you read the instructions. It will make
understanding the process much easier.
Here are some very general instructions and tips on getting started with your
camera, assuming it is a 35mm single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera, a commonly
used model. Later chapters cover these points and other types of cameras in far
greater detail.

Check the battery and turn on the camera. Your camera needs one or more batteries

to operate. Different models take batteries of different sizes. If your camera is new,

it probably comes packaged with the needed battery or batteries. If you haven’t

used it for a while, you may need new batteries. At any rate, you’ll need replacements

after shooting about 25–50 rolls of 35mm, 36-exposure film, depending

on the camera model and other factors; for instance, the more automation

you use, the more battery power you’ll drain. Some cameras have a battery

power indicator, usually displayed on an LCD screen. It’s a good idea to bring

extra batteries with you when you are photographing, just in case you need them.

Automated cameras usually have a power switch or button that you must

turn on to operate the camera. Keeping the power on drains battery power, so

switch off the camera when you’re not using it. Manually operated cameras are

often ready for use all the time, without having to be turned on.

Choosing and loading film. There are many different films available for blackand-

white photography. The most important difference among these films is

their relative film speed, how sensitive they are to light. Every film has an ISO

number that rates its sensitivity; the higher the ISO number, the more lightsensitive

the film. You’ll usually need a high-speed film (ISO 400 or higher) if

you are photographing indoors or in a low-light situation (without a flash) to

best capture what little light there is. You can generally use a medium- or slowspeed

film (ISO 200 or lower) in bright light outdoors or with a flash, when

there is plenty of light to expose the film adequately.

Thirty-five-millimeter film is packaged in a cylindrical cassette with the leader,

the tapered end of the film, sticking out. To load the cassette into your camera,

first swing open the back of the camera, usually by sliding or twisting a switch

on the side of the camera or by lifting a knob on the top left side.

The camera back has two chambers; usually the left chamber is empty and

the right chamber contains a take-up spool, to wind the film as it advances out

of the cassette. You insert the film cassette in the empty chamber with the

extended spool end down. Then, pull the film leader to uncover enough film to

reach the right chamber of the camera’s interior. Don’t pull out more film than

you have to.

With cameras that advance film automatically, you’ll need just enough film so

the front of the leader reaches just beyond the middle of the take-up spool; this

point is often indicated by a marking (sometimes colored red or orange). With

cameras that advance film manually, you’ll have to slip the end of the film leader

into a groove on the take-up spool and advance the film using the film advance

lever located to the right on the top of the camera. Thirty-five-millimeter film

has sprocket holes, square perforations along the edges. Advance the film one

or two times until the sprocket holes on both sides of the film fit into small

teeth in the spindle of the take-up spool. These teeth grab the film and move it

along after you take your pictures.

Close the camera back and advance the film. Make sure the back clicks shut. If

your camera loads automatically, it may advance the film as soon as you close

the cover when the camera is turned on; on some models you’ll need to press

the shutter button, the button used to take pictures, to initiate the film advance.

After advancing, the camera’s LCD panel should show a “1” to indicate you

are on the first exposure. Some models advance the entire roll of film onto the

take-up spool, then wind the film back into the cassette as you take your

pictures. On these models the LCD panel may show the total number of exposures

the film allows (usually 24 or 36) and count back to 1.

If your camera loads manually, you can only advance the film one frame at a

time. Alternate between moving the film advance lever and pressing the shutter

button until the film counter, usually a window on top of the camera, indicates

that you’re ready for the first exposure (1).

Compose your picture and set the film speed, lens aperture, and shutter speed.

Looking through the viewfinder on the top and back of the camera, you can

compose your subject the way you like it. But you also must make sure that the

film is receiving the right amount of light (exposure) to record the subject. The

first step for correct exposure is to set your ISO number, or film speed, on the

camera so the built-in light meter knows how much light your film needs. Most

modern cameras set the film speed automatically by reading a bar code on the

film cassette. On older or fully manual models, you must set the film speed

yourself, often using a dial located on the top of the camera body.

Once the film speed is fixed, the light meter can measure light in the scene to

determine how to set the camera for correct exposure. There are two settings

to control light. One is the lens aperture, an adjustable opening inside the lens,

measured in f-stops. A low f-stop number, such as f/2, indicates a wide lens

opening that lets in a lot of light, whereas a high number, such as f/16, indicates

a small opening that lets in much less light.

The other light-controlling setting is shutter speed, a measurement of how

long the shutter (a curtain or set of blades located between the lens and the film) opens up to allow film to be exposed. The most commonly used shutter

speeds are indicated as fractions of a second; a “slow” shutter speed (1/30) lets

in light for a much longer period of time than a “fast” speed (1/1000).

The job of the light meter is to provide the right combination of f-stop and

shutter speed to achieve correct exposure. In fully automatic cameras, or cameras

in a program autoexposure mode (P), the camera sets the f-stop and shutter

speed for you, often displaying the chosen settings in its viewfinder or LCD

panel. In nonautomatic cameras, or cameras set in manual mode (M), you’ll

have to set f-stop and shutter speed yourself with guidance from the meter.

Many cameras offer various other semiautomatic exposure modes, described

later.

There’s a lot to know about getting the right film exposure. But to begin with

you may want to shoot a few rolls in automatic or program mode to become

familiar with the mechanics of picture taking. Good exposure technique is

covered in great detail in later chapters.

Focus and take your pictures. Once you’ve composed your picture and established

the correct exposure, make your subject sharp by setting the focus, either

automatically (autofocus) or manually; most cameras offering autofocus have

a switch that allows you to choose either manual or autofocus. In most cameras,

to use autofocus you push the shutter button halfway down; there is often an

Black and White Photography

indicator such as a green dot in the camera’s viewfinder that lights up when the
subject is in focus. For manual focus, you turn a focusing ring on the barrel of
your lens until you see the subject become sharp as you look through the
camera’s viewfinder.
Once your picture is composed, the exposure set, and the subject focused,
press down on the shutter button to take your picture. Be very careful to hold
the camera steady while you press the button; if your camera moves during the
exposure, you may get a blurry image.
Rewind the film and remove it from the camera. At the end of a roll of film, many
cameras wind the film back automatically into its cassette. If your camera
doesn’t have automatic rewind, you’ll have to rewind it manually by first pressing
a button (or sliding a switch) on the camera body and then flipping a crank
on the rewind knob and slowly rotating it in the indicated direction. Once the
film is safely back in its cassette, you can open the camera back and remove the
film cassette.

Taking pictures is one part of the equation, but just as important are the steps
of film developing and printing. Developing turns your film into a reversed
image, or a negative—dark areas appear light or clear on the film and light
areas appear dark. This all happens in a succession of chemical baths.
You can send film to a processing lab for development, but you can also
process it yourself. You don’t even need a dedicated darkroom, which is a room
generally used for film and print processing. Developing your own film helps
guarantee that your film will be carefully handled, which isn’t always the case
at processing labs. It also gives you more control over the final results. For
example, you can increase or decrease the overall image contrast by extending
or reducing the developing time.
Once you have negatives, you can make positive prints. This process is more
complicated than developing film and requires a darkroom, but it is relatively
easy to learn. You put the negative in an apparatus called an enlarger, which
projects the image onto a sheet of photographic paper. Then you put the paper
through a series of chemical baths similar to those used for developing film.
You can send your negatives to a processing lab for printing, and many labs
produce excellent results. But a lab technician can’t predict exactly how you
want a picture printed. Even if you have labs make your prints in the future,
knowing how to make prints gives you an idea of what kinds of results are
possible and how to communicate what you want to achieve.
The best reason for learning how to make prints, as well as develop film, is
to take control of the process. You’ll soon see how much of a difference you
can make with simple techniques to frame the image exactly the way you want
it, make a print darker or lighter, alter the contrast of a negative or a print, or
selectively darken or lighten specific print areas. Aside from the control it
offers, successfully developing film and making prints can be very satisfying—
even exhilarating. Some photographers actually like darkroom work more
than they like taking pictures.
The rest of the text discusses other approaches to taking pictures and making
prints which may give you ideas on how to produce your own visual style. It
also covers various ways to finish a print—by changing its overall color, retouching
it, and matting or mounting it.
When you have completed reading, you will have learned all the techniques
necessary to make excellent black-and-white prints. You also will have learned
much of what you need to know when photographing in color or by digital
means. However, a book can only carry you so far. Like most skills, good
photography comes from practice and hard work. The good news is that you’ll
have a lot of fun along the way.

Black and White Photography

2 Camera Types


There are many different types of cameras for you to choose from, ranging
from cheap generic models used by millions of snapshooters to costly specialized
models used by very few advanced amateurs and professionals. Most
modern cameras are quite sophisticated; they are controlled by small computerized
circuitry, and they offer more features than you will ever need or even
learn how to use. Such models are often linked to a camera system, an array of
lenses, flash units, and other accessories made by one manufacturer, designed to
work together with the camera for maximum effect and automation.
Good pictures are made by photographers, not cameras, so don’t worry if a
complicated camera doesn’t suit your budget or your creative goals. You don’t
need the most expensive model or fancy features; many wonderful pictures are
made with simple, even primitive equipment. Still, it helps to understand the
various types of available cameras, so you can evaluate your options and make
informed choices.
One way to categorize cameras is according to the size film they use: 35mm
cameras use 35mm film, for example, and medium-format cameras use size 120
(or 220) film. Another way is according to the viewing and focusing systems
they use, such as single-lens-reflex (SLR) or rangefinder. This chapter describes
the different categories of cameras and how to use them.
A single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera is so named because you view, compose,
focus, and take a picture through a single lens with the help of a reflex mirror.
You can’t see directly through the lens, because the film and shutter are in the
way; they have to be positioned right behind the lens to do their job. So the
SLR redirects the light from the lens to your eye with a reflex mirror, focusing
screen, pentaprism, and viewfinder (see the illustration on the following page).
Reflex mirror. The reflex mirror is located in the camera body right behind the
lens and in front of the film. It’s positioned at a 45-degree angle; when light
comes through the lens, the mirror reflects it upward. The mirror also is
hinged; when you press the shutter button, it flips up and out of the way as the

shutter opens, permitting light to expose the film. The mirror then quickly flips

back into position, so you can view the subject and take another picture. It’s

this flipping action that creates most of the noise you hear when you take a

picture with an SLR—and it also may cause the camera to vibrate somewhat.

The reflex mirror has another important function. All lenses naturally project

an image that is upside down and laterally reversed, so that the left side of

the picture is on the right and the right side is on the left; for example, words

read backwards and upside down (see the illustration on the following page).

The reflex mirror turns the image right side up to allow you to view your

subject more easily, but it doesn’t correct the lateral reversal. That comes later.

Focusing screen. Light reflected upward strikes a focusing screen, a textured sheet

of thin plastic or glass. This is where the right-side-up (but still laterally reversed)

image forms for you to view and focus. The screen is positioned at exactly the

same total distance from the lens as it is from the film. Thus, when you’ve

focused the image on the focusing screen, it also will be in focus on the film.

With most SLRs, the focusing screen is nonremovable, but in some advanced

cameras you can choose from a variety of screen types. There are screens that

are brighter than others for easier viewing and focusing; screens with a splitimage

circle or other features to help focus; screens with grid lines, used by

architectural photographers and others who want a guide for precise composition;

and various other types.

Pentaprism. The hump on the top of the camera body incorporates a pentaprism,
which is a prism or mirror system that reflects and directs the image
from the focusing screen to a viewfinder. It also allows you to hold your camera
at eye level for viewing. Without a pentaprism you would have to look down
at the focusing screen to view and focus. By reflecting and directing the image,
the pentaprism also corrects the image’s lateral reversal, so it matches the original
subject—the left side of the subject is now on the left and the right side is
on the right.
The pentaprism also is usually integrated with the camera’s through-the-lens
meter and exposure controls, and reflects the displays of f-stop, shutter speed,
and other meter settings and markers you see when looking through the
viewfinder.
SLRs are available for different film formats. Most models are 35mm, but there
also are many medium-format SLRs, as well as digital SLRs. One reason SLRs

Black and White Photography

are so popular is that they accept a wide variety of accessories, such as interchangeable
lenses and close-up equipment. With many other camera types your
choice of accessories is far more limited or nonexistent.
A rangefinder camera has a single lens like an SLR, but you don’t view and focus
through it. Instead, you compose your picture by looking through a viewfinder
usually located above the lens and to the right (as you look at the front of the
camera), and then focus using a rangefinder, a measuring device that links the
viewfinder and lens.
The rangefinder works with a prism behind a window located on the opposite
side of the lens from the viewfinder (on the top left as you look at the front
of the camera). As you turn your lens to focus the subject, the prism rotates and
bounces light sideways to a mirror in the viewfinder. This produces a double
image of the subject—one from the viewfinder and one from the prism. The
double image appears as a translucent rectangular or square patch floating in
the middle of the viewfinder. The image from the prism moves as you focus the
lens; when the two images superimpose, the subject is in exact focus.
One advantage of rangefinder focusing is that the viewfinder is bright and
always visible. With SLRs, when the reflex mirror flips up to expose the film,
the viewfinder blacks out briefly. Rangefinder cameras have no reflex mirrors,
which allows you to maintain sight of your subject at all times.
The lack of a mirror also makes a rangefinder quiet and easy to hold steady
when using slow shutter speeds. You may even be able to handhold your camera
at shutter speeds as slow as 1/8 of a second, or even 1/4 under some circumstances,
and still get sharp results, unlike SLRs which cannot usually be safely

handheld at shutter speeds slower than 1/60 or 1/30. The lack of mirror and

pentaprism also makes a rangefinder camera compact. This is good for 35mm

models, but especially advantageous with medium format; medium-format

rangefinder cameras can be handheld more easily and at slower shutter speeds

than most medium-format SLRs.

The biggest disadvantage of rangefinder cameras is that they don’t permit

through-the-lens viewing. Viewing the subject through a separate viewfinder,

rather than through a lens, means that you may need a different viewfinder for

every lens you use. Good rangefinder cameras do offer adjustable or accessory

viewfinders or markings in the viewfinder that show what different lenses see.

But none of these solutions is as precise as seeing directly through the lens.

Thus rangefinder cameras do not offer as many different types of lenses and

other accessories as SLRs.

The lack of through-the-lens viewing also may lead to parallax error, the difference

between what you see through the viewfinder and what the lens sees (and

the film records). This is because the viewfinder is usually a little higher and to

the left of where the lens points. When your subject is far away, parallax error

is usually not a factor; what you see through the viewfinder is pretty much what

you will get on film. But parallax error becomes increasingly evident the closer

you get to your subject. Some viewfinders adjust for parallax error automatically

or include parallax-compensation lines that guide you as you adjust your composition

manually. In general, to compensate for parallax error, you have to

aim the rangefinder up a little and to the left.

A view camera is like a camera from the early days of photography. Using

one takes practice, but its design is simple enough. It has a lens mounted on a

front standard to capture the scene and a slot on a rear standard to hold the

film. Between the front and rear standards is a collapsible bellows, a light-tight

accordion-like tube made of cloth, leather, or some other material. A view

camera takes large-format sheets of film or a high-quality digital back, making

it capable of producing finely detailed, sharp photographs.

The view camera lens is mounted on a lens board, and in the rear there is a

focusing screen called a ground glass. A film holder, a removable accessory that

contains the film or digital back, is inserted between the bellows and the ground

glass. The bellows sits on a rail (or a platform); you turn a knob on the front or

back of the camera and the bellows collapses or expands to achieve focus.

You view and focus the subject on the ground glass, which is positioned

behind the lens and bellows; the image forms upside down and laterally

reversed. Ambient light makes the image hard to see, so you must cover your

head and the ground glass with a dark focusing cloth to keep extraneous light

out. When your subject is in focus, you slip a film holder or digital back between

the ground glass and the bellows, or replace the ground glass with a digital

back, remove the dark slide that covers the film on one side of the holder,

and take your picture.

A view camera offers more control over the image than any other camera

type. The front and rear standards move independently and tilt and swing in a

variety of directions, which gives you very precise control over focus, as well as

the ability to correct or distort perspective, such as straightening converging

lines when you’re pointing the camera up at a tall building. The view camera

also accepts a wide array of accessories, lenses, and film formats.

On the other hand, a view camera is large and cumbersome, and must be used

on a tripod. It is not practical for making candid and spontaneous pictures.

It also may be expensive, though view cameras are available for a wide range

of prices.

A popular variation of the view camera is the field camera, which is a good

choice for landscape photography because it is light and folds into a neat package

for easy portability. It delivers many of the benefits of the view camera, including

high image quality. A field camera is not as versatile as a view camera,

however; it doesn’t take as many accessories and has fewer front and rear

controls for adjusting focus or perspective

Black and White Photography

There are other types of cameras available for a wide variety of basic to specialized
uses. Some are designed to take snapshots, but also can be used for advanced
and even professional photography. Others are made for a specific way
of working. The viewing and focusing systems used on these models also vary,
from simple to complex—and it follows that some are cheap and others are
quite expensive. The camera types described below include point-and-shoot,
twin-lens-reflex, and digital.
Point-and-shoot. The point-and-shoot category covers a lot of territory, from
cheap disposable cameras to costly high-end models. What all types share,
however, is ease of use and either automatic or fixed focus, making them very
convenient for times when you cannot or do not want to think about adjusting
focus or other camera controls manually. Most point-and-shoots take 35mm
film or are digital.
With the most inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras, you compose your
subject through an open window located on the top left or center of the camera
back. The viewfinder shows approximately what the final photograph will look
like. With such cameras no focus is necessary, because the lens is designed and
preset by the manufacturer to produce a sharp image from a distance that
ranges from about 4 or 5 feet away from your subject to infinity.
While some point-and-shoot cameras are simple and allow limited or no
focusing, many models come with a zoom lens, built-in flash, and sophisticated
automatic focus and exposure. On a typical point-and-shoot, you have to hold
the shutter button halfway down to activate and achieve focus, and the camera
sets the exposure settings (f-stop and shutter speed) for you.
Some point-and-shoot cameras are quite sophisticated—and expensive—
offering excellent quality lenses and some measure of focus or exposure control.
Many advanced and professional photographers use such point-and-shoot
models for subjects that call for a casual and spontaneous approach.
The instant camera is a special type of point-and-shoot camera. Most instant
cameras take Polaroid brand films that self-develop in a matter of minutes.
Over the years, there have been sophisticated SLR and rangefinder instant
cameras—and there are film backs that take instant film for professional
cameras—but the most familiar models use a simple viewfinder for composing
the picture and either focus automatically or require no focusing at all.
Twin-lens-reflex (TLR). A twin-lens-reflex (TLR) camera has two lenses stacked
one over the other. On top is the viewing lens, through which you compose and
focus your subject; on the bottom is the taking lens, through which you expose
the film to light.

Black and White Photography

A fixed mirror, positioned behind the viewing lens at a 45-degree angle to the
film, reflects light up to a focusing screen, so you can see the subject. The film
is positioned behind the taking lens. The two lenses are mechanically linked,
and as you focus the viewing lens (generally using a knob on the camera body),
both lenses move simultaneously. Thus, when the image on the focusing screen
is sharp, the image on the film also will be sharp.
Although not as popular as they once were, TLRs are still available, mostly
used. Almost all TLRs take medium-format film and with a few exceptions
have a nonremovable lens.
Unlike most camera types, TLRs don’t offer eye-level viewing. Instead, you
view your subject at waist or chest level, looking down at the focusing screen
to view, compose, and focus your subject. Ambient light can make the focusing
screen difficult to see, so a small pop-up viewing hood fits around the screen to
shade it from extraneous light and help make the image on the screen more visible.
There is usually a spring-mounted magnifier built into the hood for critical
focusing.

TLRs can be awkward when composing and focusing your subject, because

you see a laterally reversed image when you look down at the focusing screen.

This takes some getting used to when making adjustments to your composition.

A very few TLRs take an accessory prism viewfinder that fits on top of the

ground glass. It corrects the lateral reversal and offers eye-level viewing.

Since you don’t see through the taking lens as you do with an SLR, TLRs

must be parallax-corrected to allow the viewing lens to show what the taking

lens records. Some cameras have parallax compensation built in, but with

others you must correct parallax error manually.

Digital. A digital camera works a lot like a film camera, except it uses an electronic

sensor rather than film to capture light. Light from the subject passes

through the lens and falls on the sensor; the pattern of light recorded by the

sensor is stored as a digital file of the image either in the camera or on a removable

memory card. The digital image files can then be downloaded to a computer

or to a portable hard drive.

Most simple digital cameras function like sophisticated point-and-shoot

models. You view and compose the image either by looking through a viewfinder

window or, more commonly, seeing what the lens sees displayed on a

small LCD screen on the camera back. Most digital cameras offer a variety of

programmed exposure modes and a built-in flash, but otherwise the camera

determines focus and exposure automatically. There are digital SLRs that allow

through-the-lens viewing and focusing, and digital backs that attach to mediumformat

and large-format cameras. These are mostly for advanced and professional

photographers.

Digital cameras offer a lot of advantages. There are no film and processing

expenses, because memory cards can be used over and over again. Moreover

you can see the results immediately and delete any pictures you don’t like. You

can make prints either by downloading files to a computer and printing with a

desktop printer, or taking a memory card to a camera store or consumer lab for

high-quality hard copies from a special digital printer. You don’t even have to

make a print; the image files are easy to view on a computer monitor, burn to a

CD or other media, e-mail to a friend, or post on a Web site.

Keep in mind that there are still considerations after you take the shot with a

digital camera. The image files may need to be adjusted and manipulated in an

image editing application, such as Adobe Photoshop, and this can be timeconsuming.

Also, for best results, you must fine-tune the color consistency between

your camera, computer monitor, and printer, a process called color

management; managing black-and-white results is a little easier, but still must

be done.