..Whether an experienced photographer or just a friend who knows nothing about photography, is looking at your photograph, the first thing they will notice is the contrast. Therefore, controlling contrast is crucial for making a good print.

..Contrast is the range of colors between opposite colors. In black and white photography, it is the range of grays between white and black. When somebody says you have a muddy print they simply are saying it is lacking contrast, or there are too many greys and not enough white and blacks. On the other hand if your work is said to be too hard, this simply means your work is lacking grays or the whites and blacks are too dominant.

..Most of the time (especially beginners) you will not shoot perfect negatives. When we say not perfect, we mean too contrasty or not enough contrast. This is often a problem when you over or under expose a scene. The best way to control contrast is in your film development time. If your negatives are consistently too flat, then you should increase your development time, and vice versa if they are too hard.

..There is a final way of changing your contrast, using variable contrast papers in combination with contrast filters. As with papers, contrast filters range from least contrasty (#1), to very contrasty (#5). By using filters, you must remember to increase your time for ever complete number you go up. This time will sometimes double. Usually # 1 - 3 will increase in increments of 5 seconds. Above #3 the time will often double.

 

 

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