Printing full range of tones by using lower paper grade vs burning in at std grade

[waileong]

When faced with a high contrast neg, other than for artistic reasons (ie to emphasise or de-emphasise certain elements within a photo), are there any reasons why one would prefer to use a standard paper grade (eg #2 or #3) and burn in the highlights instead of printing the entire range of tones by selecting a softer grade of paper?

I ask because I face this quite often, the tonal range of my negs often exceeds what can be accommodated on #2 paper, the temptation to print at #1 or #0 is always there although getting the right exposure at soft grades is not easy.

Nevertheless, it sometimes is worth the trouble if the area to be burned is too complicated and there's no artistic reason to burn.

What do you guys do?

And is there any visible difference between burning in at std grade vs using a lower grade to capture all the tones, assuming one does not leave tell-tale burn marks? I suppose the lower grade print will have less grain and a fuller range of tones compared to a burned-in std print. Anything else?

In fact, the question can be wider: with multigrade papers and techniques such as split grade printing, is there any need for burning nowadays (other than for artistic considerations, as listed above)?

 

[aizan]

sounds more like you need to decrease film development time.

 

[rogue_designer]

I split filter with multigrade FB paper. Get my highlights and skin tones with the 0 filter, then bump the shadows in nicely with a quick hit of the 5 filter.

There is still a need for burning/dodging and other techniques - but not to salvage data, only to control the print to exactly where you want it. My notes for printing usually include at least two sketches of additional controls.

But making sure the negs are dead on never hurts.

 

[jmcd]

With 35 mm I aim to expose and develop so that the proof sheet, exposed at a minimum to reach maximum black, looks good on grade 3. If it proofs well at grade 3 it will print enlarged well on a grade 2.

Prints on grade 1 can be super, but aiming to print easily on grade 2 makes good prints easier.

But sometimes the sky or some small area, say a white paw on a dog, or the top of a rock, is too white when the overall print balance looks good. This is a good time to burn in. Make a good light scrim, custom cut out of cardboard, and burn away.

 

[stuken]

You will never get the full amount of detail from a negative film in a straight wet print. Photo paper does not have the same latitude of b/w negative film. So, reducing contrast will give you more detail, but it won't really give you more of a tonal range. The lower you go in contrast the flatter your tones will get, essentially they will just turn all to grays that look very similar. Dodging and burning are integral parts of wet printing. They are not a step you can glide over with a quick fix and still get a good print.