Problem Solving With Negatives

A well developed negative is the key in producing an excellent print. A correctly processed negative, assuming the frames were correctly exposed in the camera, should have a full range of tones, highlights, and shadow details. If your negatives do not look correctly processed, there are several reasons why it may have occurred.

• Low density negatives or "thin" negatives (Meaning the negatives look gray/white).
  May be caused by one or several of the following:
  • Underexposed the film in your camera
  • Did not keep the negatives in the developer long enough
  • Did not agitate the tank enough
  • Temperature was below 70EF
  
• High density negatives or "heavy" negatives (Meaning the negatives look dark).
  May be caused by one or several of the following:
  • Overexposed the film in your camera
  • Negatives were in the developer too long
  • Agitated the tank too much
  • Temperature was over 70EF
  • Negatives were in the developer
  
• Low contrast negatives or "soft" negatives (Meaning the negatives look flat; small difference between light and dark).
  May be cause by one or both of the following:
  • Could be think or densely processed
  • The original picture had little difference between light and dark
  
• Contrasty negatives or "hard" negatives (Meaning there is a significant difference between light and dark)
  May be caused by one or both of the following:
  • The original picture contained high contrast, but was developed too long
  • The original picture had extremely high contrast
  
• Undeveloped blotches may be caused by the following:
  • Areas in the negatives were touching another part of the film when they were processed in the tank and reel
• Strange lines on the negatives may be cause by one or both of the following:
  • The film dried while attached to another negative, leaving imprints on one another
  • Patches of light reached your negatives while you were rolling the film onto the reel
• Pinch marks (Meaning your negatives have strange, dark arches):
  • While you were rolling the film onto the reel, you pinched too hard, causing finger-sized arches