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.

Black and White Photography

3 Black-and-White Film


There are many different types of film available and different reasons to use
each type. Sometimes your choice of film is a practical matter; for instance, you
may need a film sensitive enough to make a picture in low light. Other times
your choice will be aesthetically driven; perhaps you need a film that reproduces
all the subject’s textures and tones as smoothly as possible. Whatever
your choice, it’s highly likely that the film you use will have a noticeable effect
on the way the picture ultimately looks.
Black-and-white films consist of a clear, flexible, plastic support, called the
base, coated with a microscopically thin emulsion. The emulsion is a chemical
compound of light-sensitive silver halide crystals suspended in gelatin. It is coated
with a protective layer to minimize scratching (and other physical damage caused
by handling) and backed by an antihalation layer that helps promote image
sharpness.
Different films often have strikingly distinctive characteristics, but sometimes
the variations are quite subtle. These are the most important characteristics of
black-and-white films:
film speed
grain
tones
contrast
Film speed. Film speed is a measurement of how sensitive a film is to light. A
film that is highly sensitive to light is called a fast film, or just “fast”; a film with
low sensitivity is a slow film, or just “slow.”
The most common way to quantify film speed is according to its ISO (International
Standards Organization) rating. A film with a higher ISO number
needs less light to properly capture an image than a film with a lower ISO
number. For example, ISO 400 film is more sensitive to light than ISO 100; it
will take four times more light to properly expose ISO 100 film as it will take
to properly expose ISO 400 film (400 ÷ 100

Black and White Photography

for black-and-white films:
ISO 50      slow
ISO 100, 125, 200      medium
ISO 400             fast
ISO 1600–3200           ultrafast
Medium- and slower-speed films are mostly meant for brightly lit subjects.
You will usually need fast film in dimly-lit outdoor conditions, for sports and
other action subjects (even in bright light) and almost always indoors, unless
you’re using a flash. But you also can use most fast films outdoors, even in
bright light. Ultrafast films (ISO 1600 or faster) are useful in very dim conditions,
such as at night or in clubs.
Grain. When film is developed, the silver halide crystals that were exposed to
light form small black clumps of metallic silver, called grain, that make up the
photographic image. Grain looks a little like particles of sand. You will recognize
it when you see it, for example, when you’re viewing your film through a
magnifier or looking at an enlarged print. The size of the individual clumps can
vary according to the type of film you use.
Slow- and medium-speed films (ISO 200 or lower) produce smaller particles
of silver, and are therefore called fine-grain films. Such films reproduce subject
tones smoothly and render subject detail finely and accurately. Fast-speed films
(ISO 400 and higher) use larger particles of silver to create the image. Ultrafast

How Film Records an Image

The film’s emulsion layer holds the key to understanding

how a photographic image is formed. The

emulsion contains silver halide crystals, which capture

the light projected by the lens onto the film’s

surface. Certain areas of the film receive more exposure

than other areas, since light areas of the subject

reflect more light than dark areas. For instance, a

white sweater reflects more light than blue jeans, so

more light will expose the area of the film representing

the sweater than will expose the area representing

the jeans.

When you take a picture, an image of your subject

forms as an invisible pattern of altered silver

halide particles in the emulsion. This is called a latent image. Chemical development converts the

film’s exposed silver halides to black particles of

metallic silver, making the image visible.

Film development takes place in proportion to

exposure. In other words, when film is exposed, a lot

of silver forms in the brighter areas of the subject and

renders those areas dark on the film; relatively little

silver forms in darker areas, which renders these

areas as light on the film. Thus your developed film

contains a tonally reversed image—a negative. The

light areas of the original scene are dark and the dark

areas of the scene are light. Making a print from the

negative reverses the image to produce a positive,

correctly representing the tones of the subject.

films (ISO 1600 and higher) are sometimes called coarse-grain films, or simply

grainy, and reproduce image tones and details more roughly and with less

subtlety. ISO 400 films are generally considered medium-to-fairly-fine-grain.

The choice of film, with its inherent grain characteristics, is one of the most

important controls you have over the final look of your work. Some subjects,

perhaps a lush landscape or an elegant flower, may look best when photographed

with a fine-grain film that reproduces the scene with smooth, rich

detail. Other subjects, such as a gritty urban scene, may feel more real when

photographed with grainier (coarse-grain) film. It’s very much a matter of individual

preference.

Note that film type is only one factor that determines grain. Other factors

include film exposure, film development, and print size. Even film speed isn’t a

totally reliable gauge of graininess. An ISO 400 film from one manufacturer

may produce finer or coarser grain than an ISO 400 film from another. Some

manufacturers even offer more than one film choice with the same ISO, but

different grain characteristics.

Tones. A black-and-white photograph is rarely just black and white. Instead, it

is made up of a range of shades—blacks, grays, and whites. These shades are

called tones, and the variety of tones from dark to light contained in an image

is called the tonal range. For instance, a photograph of a chess board might

have a limited tonal range, since it consists mostly of blacks and whites; a

photograph of the surface of a lake would have a much longer tonal range,

since it is made up of dozens of subtly different values ranging from black to

gray to white.

Some films are capable of reproducing more of a subject’s tones than others.

As a general rule, slower films, such as ISO 50 and 100, reproduce more tones

than faster films, such as ISO 1600 or 3200; the fine grain of slow-speed films

captures more information to better render subtle differences. Note that several

other factors can play a large role in tonal range, including the inherent tonal

characteristics of the subject, film format, and film exposure and development.

Contrast. Contrast refers to the relative difference between dark and light tones

in the original subject or in the negative and print that represent the subject. All

other things being equal, some films inherently produce more contrast than

others. Higher contrast films produce dense blacks and bright whites, with few

shades of gray, while lower contrast films produce more grays and a subtler

transition from the darkest tones to the lightest.

As with other film characteristics, contrast is a function of several factors

other than the film you use. The original subject lighting is critical, as is film

exposure and development; when printing, you can use different papers and/or

colored filters to vary the image contrast.

Film format refers to the size of the film used by a particular camera. Over the

years, there have been many different film formats, but today they can be

generally classified as follows:

35mm

medium format

large format

35mm. By far, the most common film format is 35mm, which measures 35

millimeters wide. It is packaged in rolls that produce 12, 24, or 36 exposures;

the narrow strip of film is coiled around a plastic spool and encased in a metal

cassette for protection and to keep light out. You also can buy some types of

35mm films in longer rolls, known as bulk film, for reloading into reusable

cassettes.

Because 35mm is a relatively small format, most of the cameras that use it

also are small. This makes it an ideal choice for spontaneous and action work,

such as candid portraits, photojournalism, and sports photography.

Thirty-five millimeter cameras almost always produce images measuring

24 x 36 mm (a little less than 1" x 11⁄2"), but sometimes they produce different

sizes and shapes depending on the rectangular opening in the back of the

camera body. The most common alternative size is called panoramic, because it

provides a wide panorama of a scene. In most models, the camera’s manufacturer

achieves this wider view by masking out the top and bottom of the 35mm

Black and White Photography

Film Storage and X Rays
For safe storage, keep all film in a relatively dry environment (low humidity)
and away from heat, whenever possible at a temperature of 75°F or lower. This
applies to unexposed or exposed film, and even processed negatives. You can
store unexposed film in a refrigerator or freezer to prolong its freshness, but be
sure to keep it in its original package, and let it reach room temperature before
taking it out of the package and putting it in your camera. It’s good practice to
keep film in its original packaging at all times until you are ready to use it, and
to process film as soon as possible after you expose it.
Film is sensitive to radiation, such as the X rays used by airport inspection
systems. Film exposed to radiation can be fogged, exhibiting random streaks of
density or an overall darkness when developed. To avoid such fogging you
should never keep film in checked baggage, which is subject to high-intensity
X rays. Also, you should have film hand-inspected whenever possible, rather
than put it through the screening machines used at airport gates. High-speed
films (ISO 800 or higher) are most susceptible to X-ray exposure, but all films
are vulnerable, especially if they go through these machines more than once.
The damaging effects of radiation exposure are cumulative.opening. A few cameras have a bigger opening in their back to produce a larger
image on 35mm film.
Medium format. Medium-format film is larger than 35mm film, so it produces
larger negatives that, with rare exceptions, produce prints that are sharper, less
grainy, and render more gray tones. This film format is generally used by advanced
and professional photographers for such subjects as fashion, portraiture,
still life, and landscape.
Rather than packed inside a protective cassette, medium-format film comes
as a roll wrapped tightly onto a spool, with an opaque paper backing to prevent
unwanted exposure to light. Medium-format film is sometimes called roll
film for this reason. The most common medium-format size is 120; the far less
common size 220 film allows double the exposures per roll. Both 120 and 220
films measures 23⁄8" wide.
Some medium-format cameras produce one size image only, while others are
capable of producing more than one size with the use of masking attachments
or different film backs. Many medium-format cameras have interchangeable
film backs that attach to the back of the camera, much as interchangeable
lenses attach to the front, and take different-size pictures; these include film
backs as well as digital backs that do not require film at all. Other cameras
accept masking attachments that fit into the back of the camera.

Large format. Large-format film is much larger than 35mm or medium-format.

It comes in single sheets rather than rolls—and is thus called sheet film—and

produces only one picture per sheet. Sheet films come in a variety of sizes,

including the most common size, 4" x 5", and the less common, 8" x 10".

Large-format cameras are used by advanced and professional photographers

who want extremely sharp and grainless results with the widest range of tonality.

Photographers working with architectural and still-life subjects, as well as many

landscape and formal portrait photographers, often favor large-format film.

There are several specialized black-and-white films available, originally made

for a particular purpose, such as for medical or graphic-arts images. You can

use some of these films for creative effect. Here are a few of the most interesting

special black-and-white films, but keep in mind that some of them may be

hard to find.

High-contrast. Sometimes called litho films, these films can be used in the

camera to make high-contrast original negatives, or they can be used in the

darkroom to make copy negatives and positives for a variety of darkroom

manipulations.

Black and White Photography

Transparency. Almost all black-and-white films produce negatives that are then

printed to make a positive image. But it also is possible to make black-andwhite

transparencies (film positives). One way is to buy film specifically made

for this purpose, although there are few such films available. Another way is

to develop standard black-and-white film in special reversal chemicals, which

produce positives rather than negatives.

Chromogenic. Chromogenic black-and-white films use dyes rather than silver as

the main component of the negative, which also is how color films work. While

these films produce very good quality negatives, the main reason to use chromogenic

black-and-white films is convenience. They can be processed in any lab

that processes color film and you also can get snapshot-size black-and-white

prints from such labs at an affordable price, if you choose, though often the

prints have an overall cast of blue, brown, or some other color.

Infrared. Infrared films were originally developed for industrial and scientific

applications, but they are now widely used by creative photographers for their

unusual visual qualities, which have been variously described as surreal, dreamlike,

ethereal, and unworldly.

Black-and-white instant. Most instant films are made by Polaroid; many types

are available, including many made for professional use, sometimes called peelapart

films. These films are mostly used in medium- and large-format cameras.

Many professional Polaroid films were made to use for a quick proof—to see

how a picture would turn out before using standard film to capture the final

image.

Black and White Photography

4 The Camera Lens


The lens is one of the fundamental tools of photography. There are two main
types: camera lenses and enlarging lenses. The camera lens is located on the
front of the camera body and has several functions: It gathers light from the
subject you are photographing, allows you to focus that light on the film, and
controls the amount of light that reaches the film. It also determines how much
of the subject will be included in the picture and which parts of the subject will
be in or out of focus. You will learn about these controls in this chapter.
Some cameras have a fixed lens, one that is permanently attached to the
camera body. Fixed lenses are a common feature of point-and-shoot and other
snapshot-style camera models. They also are found on a few more expensive,
sophisticated cameras. Most fixed-lens cameras are relatively compact, but
have limited versatility.

Other cameras have interchangeable lenses, which offer a lot of creative

control. Interchangeable means you can remove the lens from the camera body

and replace it with a variety of other lenses for a wide range of uses. For example,

you might choose to replace your lens with one that’s better for lowlight

situations, close-ups, or shooting distant subjects. Cameras that accept

interchangeable lenses include the very popular 35mm single-lens-reflex (SLR)

models and medium-format SLRs, some rangefinder models, and view cameras.

There also are digital SLRs that accept interchangeable lenses.

When buying an interchangeable lens, note that compatibility is crucial. A

lens from one camera manufacturer usually doesn’t fit on a camera from

another manufacturer. Your best bet is to buy lenses made specifically for your

camera, either from the camera’s manufacturer or from an independent lens

maker. Many independent brand lenses are of good quality and relatively

affordable, but make sure you specify your camera model when buying any

lens to make sure it is compatible.

Whether fixed or interchangeable, all lenses control or affect these basic

functions: focus, film exposure, angle of view, and depth of field.

Probably the most obvious thing a camera lens does is focus—make the image

sharp. It does this by gathering the scattered light rays that are reflected by a

subject, causing them to converge on film to form the picture. Focus is

controlled by moving the lens elements (an array of small, specially shaped

pieces of glass or plastic inside the lens) to control where the light converges.

But you don’t have to understand optics to use your camera lens. On nearly all

cameras, the process is quite simple and intuitive. And most cameras provide

visual aids to help you focus easily and sharply.

Some camera systems offer manual focus only. Others offer autofocus (AF),

or automatic focusing, in which the camera and lens work together to do the

focusing for you. However, most autofocus cameras have a switch—sometimes

on the side of the lens, sometimes on the camera body—that allows you to

choose either manual or automatic focusing.

Manual focus is the simplest to understand, but not always the simplest to

use. When you turn a ring on the barrel of the lens, it moves the lens in and out

to achieve focus. With some lenses you can see the physical in-and-out movement;

others have internal focusing (IF), which means you can’t see the movement

because the focusing action happens inside the lens.

As you look through the viewfinder of most manual-focus SLR cameras, you

can actually see the subject become sharper when you turn the lens. Some

models have a focusing aid called a split-image circle in the viewfinder. As you

view the subject, you see a horizontally bisected circle in the middle of the

viewfinder. When the subject is out of focus, the image details depicted in the

top and bottom halves of the circle don’t align; when the subject is in focus, they

do align.

In most cases, autofocus is quicker, simpler, and more accurate than manual

focus. To autofocus, you point your camera at your subject so that the focus

point, usually indicated as brackets, boxes, or other marks in the center of the

viewfinder, covers the part of the subject you want in focus. Press the shutter

button halfway down to activate the focus, and then press the button all the

way down to take the picture. Sounds easy enough, but in practice autofocus

doesn’t always work as well or as quickly as you might like.

All lenses have an aperture, an opening created by a series of overlapping blades

that allows light into the camera. The lens aperture is adjustable on almost all

camera lenses. You can open it up to allow more light in, or close it down to

reduce the amount of light that passes through.

Film of a given speed (sensitivity to light) needs a certain amount of light, not

too much and not too little, to record an image. The size of the lens aperture is

one of two factors in determining how much light is allowed to reach the film,

Black and White Photography

and thus is critical in controlling correct film exposure. In simple terms, you

need a relatively large (wide) opening in low-light conditions to allow enough

light to expose the film, and a smaller opening in brightly lit conditions so you

let in no more light than is needed. Note that your other primary control, shutter

speed, is equally important in determining film exposure.

The term f-stop refers to the size of the lens aperture. Most lenses offer a

wide variety of f-stops, sometimes set manually by the photographer and sometimes

set automatically by the camera. The terms lens aperture and f-stop are

often misunderstood and confused; lens aperture refers to the physical lens

opening and f-stop represents a measurement of that opening.

The following f-stops are among those available, although the range will

vary depending on the model of lens:

f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32

The f-stop numbers are counterintuitive. A higher f-stop number indicates a

smaller lens opening, which means that less light passes through; a lower f-stop

number indicates a larger lens opening and more light passing through. A lens

set at f/16, for example, allows much less light to pass through than a lens set

at f/2.

Setting the f-stop. Some lenses permit you to set the f-stop using numbers

printed on an aperture ring, a movable control on the lens. To set an f-stop, you

simply turn the aperture ring on the lens until it matches up with a marker, such

Black and White Photography

as a line or a diamond-shape indicator. Most automatic cameras don’t have fstops
indicated on the lens at all. You set the f-stop on these lenses by rotating
the control wheel, a dial on the camera body, until the desired f-stop is
displayed on the LCD panel and/or in the camera’s viewfinder.
The f-stops on the opposite page have a special relationship to each other,
one that is critical for understanding film exposure and how to control it.
Changing the lens aperture setting from one of the f-stops in this list to one that
comes just before or after it halves or doubles the amount of light the lens
allows through, depending on whether you make the opening smaller or larger.
For example, changing from f/8 to f/11 makes the lens aperture half the size, so
it lets in half the light. Changing the lens aperture by two f-stops from f/8 to
f/16 reduces the light to one-fourth. Conversely, opening the lens from f/8 to
f/5.6 doubles the amount of light let in and opening it to f/4 allows in four
times the amount of light.
Note that these f-stops are sometimes known as whole, or full, f-stops. But not
all lenses offer the full range of these stops. Some don’t open as wide or close
as much, while others open wider and close more. For example, one lens may
have a maximum aperture of f/2, while another only opens to f/4. Still another
lens may have f/22 as its smallest aperture, while another only f/16.
Still others don’t offer whole f-stops as their maximum lens aperture, possibly
opening up to f/3.5 instead of f/2.8. In this case, f/3.5 is a partial stop,
meaning it is a setting in between two whole f-stops (smaller than f/2.8, but
larger than f/4). For more precise exposure control, you can deliberately set
lenses in between whole f-stops. On lenses that permit you to set the lens aperture

by turning a ring on the lens barrel, you simply turn the ring until the

marker points in between two whole f-stop settings. On many newer camera

models, the partial f-stops are shown in an LCD display. In-between settings

are indicated in half stops (halves) or third stops (thirds), depending on the lens

or camera system.

Some lenses are described as fast and others as slow. A fast lens has a large

maximum aperture, such as f/1.4, f/1.8, or f/2. Such lenses are capable of

allowing a lot of light in to reach the film, making them excellent choices for

low-light conditions, such as outdoors at night or indoors; these lenses also

allow for faster shutter speeds to capture subjects in action. A slow lens has a

smaller maximum aperture, perhaps f/3.5, f/4, f/4.5, or f/5.6. Such lenses don’t

let as much light in, so they require bright light conditions or auxiliary lighting,

such as a flash; otherwise, they may require slow shutter speeds and possibly a

tripod to steady the camera.

Lenses made for SLRs stay wide open (at their maximum aperture), regardless

of what f-stop you choose, until you actually take the picture. An f/2 lens,

for example, will remain open to f/2 even if you set the lens aperture to any

other f-stop in preparation for your shot. The lens and shutter are coupled, so

when you press the shutter button, the lens automatically closes down to the

selected f-stop for the correct exposure, and then the lens instantly opens up

again to its maximum aperture until you press the shutter button for the next

picture. This guarantees that the viewfinder will show the brightest possible

image for easiest viewing and focusing, since the most possible light passes

through the lens.

All things being equal, fast lenses are preferable to slow lenses. Not only

do they work better under lower light levels, they also make the subject look

brighter, which makes it easier to see and focus with any camera that has

through-the-lens viewing, such as an SLR.

Aside from helping to control focus and film exposure, a camera lens also
controls the angle of view, or how much of the scene the lens sees from camera
to subject. Some lenses take in a narrow view of the subject while others see a
normal or wide view. A special category of lenses, called zoom lenses, can see a
range of angles.
Most lens types break down into these categories reflecting different angles
of view: normal, wide angle, and telephoto. What makes a lens normal, wide,
or telephoto is directly related to its focal length. The shorter the focal length,
the more of the subject the lens sees.