Exposure and Contrast in Prints
EXPOSURE
When making a print, exposure is the amount of time
that you expose the photo paper to light using the enlarger.
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A longer exposure leads to a print that is too dark. Details are lost in the shadows.
Correct Exposure - Details in both the highlights and the shadows.
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Too short of an exposure leads to too light of a print. Details are lost in the highlights.
CONTRAST
When making a print, contrast is the range of values from white to black. For example:
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0 |
I |
II |
III |
IV |
V |
VI |
VII |
VIII |
IX |
X |
Contrast is controlled by the use of filters while printing. 00 is the lowest, and 5 is the highest.
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Correct Contrast -
Full range of tones |
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III |
IV |
V |
VI |
VII |
0 |
I |
II |
VIII |
IX |
X |
A filter that is too low leads to the loss of values towards the black and the white
part of the value scale. |
A filter that is too high leads to the loss of values towards the middle grey part of the value scale. |
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