Bill Pierce
Well-known
In our last thread on shooting film, the majority of comments were about black-and-white with a general consensus that b&w film looked different from digital and, for most, film looked better.
A lot of folks are familiar with film curves, graphic representation of the lower contrast in the darker values and higher contrast in the middle of the tonal range. This effect is increased when printing on silver paper because, like film, it has a curve too. Less shadow detail/seperationl and more midtown contrast are film's most obvious tonal differences from a relatively unmanipulated digital image.
Perhaps because I grew up on film, count me as one of the folks that prefers the tonal rendition of b&w film to a relatively straight b&w conversion in digital. But you can easily alter the digital image to more closely resemble the film image.
There are a number of programs like Silver Efex and DxO Filmpack that alter the tonality of digital images to mimic film. But, unsurprisingly, it will take time to master and fully exploit them. If you are a dedicated b&w shooter, it’s probably worthwhile. I should also point out that PhotoNinja has some excellent b&w presets that provide good starting points for for bringing digital images into the “silver world.”
But a great deal can be done with conventional image processing programs. For one, you can take the very darkest tones in your capture and clip them, throw them away. “Throw away my precious near blacks; I can’t do it.” Film does it. You can do it. Be strong. Now, reduce the contrast and up the clarity. (Or, take a relative small section at the midpoint of your curve and increase the contrast.)
In other words, digital tonality is highly manipulable. It’s a pain in the butt, but you can make black-and-white digital images look like film images.
Your thoughts and - of course - any other tips you might have about making digital files look like b&w film.
A lot of folks are familiar with film curves, graphic representation of the lower contrast in the darker values and higher contrast in the middle of the tonal range. This effect is increased when printing on silver paper because, like film, it has a curve too. Less shadow detail/seperationl and more midtown contrast are film's most obvious tonal differences from a relatively unmanipulated digital image.
Perhaps because I grew up on film, count me as one of the folks that prefers the tonal rendition of b&w film to a relatively straight b&w conversion in digital. But you can easily alter the digital image to more closely resemble the film image.
There are a number of programs like Silver Efex and DxO Filmpack that alter the tonality of digital images to mimic film. But, unsurprisingly, it will take time to master and fully exploit them. If you are a dedicated b&w shooter, it’s probably worthwhile. I should also point out that PhotoNinja has some excellent b&w presets that provide good starting points for for bringing digital images into the “silver world.”
But a great deal can be done with conventional image processing programs. For one, you can take the very darkest tones in your capture and clip them, throw them away. “Throw away my precious near blacks; I can’t do it.” Film does it. You can do it. Be strong. Now, reduce the contrast and up the clarity. (Or, take a relative small section at the midpoint of your curve and increase the contrast.)
In other words, digital tonality is highly manipulable. It’s a pain in the butt, but you can make black-and-white digital images look like film images.
Your thoughts and - of course - any other tips you might have about making digital files look like b&w film.
