super helpful video! just developed a couple rolls the other night and came out way overcooked. good to know for next time, thanks for all the informative darkroom and film videos too, your channel is a goldmine!
Great tip, thank you! Bonus question: In case I have a very flat negative and I'm already at grade 5, could I overexpose the photo paper and reduce the development time in the dev bath in order to increase the contrast?
@@eliyag1 I understand what you mean, but shooting at box speed and cutting 25% of developing time I see more like underdeveloping the film, different than overexposed the film in camera and compensate in the developing by cutting the time. But maybe is the same thing and I'm just confusing.
Same doubt here, for example, lets say you figured out that for a given film you have to develop for 25% less to get in the 2 1/2 as mentioned by John. Then you have a roll that you intend of pulling by 2 stops. Does that mean you have to develop 75% less time?
@@GaboDelgado1 for what I understand developing is not linear, shadows develop slowly then highlights. So if you cute the developing time your highlights will be less white and because you pull the film by 2 stop, you overexposed the film. So your shadows are in zone 5 instead zone 3. But by cutting the developing time you put the shadows from zone 5 to zone 3 in the developing process. And you get more dynamic range by doing that.
Sorry… I don’t get it. Once my film is developed, how can I then decide to under- or overdevelop the same film? Doesn’t the development time depend on whether I push or pull my film? Or do you mean the development time of the paper?
Film development time determines contrast in the negatives. Longer development means more contrasty negatives (and thus a lower grade filter when printing). Shorter development time reduces contrast (and you'd need a higher grade filter for a nice print). You can use this to your advantage: if you have taken pictures in very dull conditions and don''t want flat negatives, develop a little longer. If you were shooting in very high contrast (e.g., sunny day around noon) and want to reduce that a bit, develop shorter. And yes, you also adjust film development time when pushing or pulling your film. With the same consequences for its contrast.
