 BetterPhoto Member |
Enlarging a regular photo. I have an issue. I use 100 speed film when I do weddings, portraits, and studio shots. The slow speed makes for a better and clearer shot when the film is developed. I can enlarge up to an 8x10 without getting any of the grainy look. When I go past that size I run into problems. I use a Minolta Maxxum 4xi SLR camera. It does a pretty good job for what I need. A friend recently came to me and wanted a 16x20 picture so she could hang it on a wall in her home. How can I get a good clean shot and what type film should I use to get a super clear enlargement?
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Ken Pang |
I'm assuming that you've already taken the shot, but I could be wrong. The thing is, by the time you get a 16x20 picture to hang on the wall, you're not going to see the grain, because very few people walk up point blank to a picture to look at it. The other option, if you are picky about it, is that you can have it laser drum scanned. Watch out, this is EXTREMELY expensive, a single scan costing $100 up. But you will be able to scan to the grain level. Then, you can use software to smooth out the grainy look. There will obviously be no extra detail, but the photo will look smoother.
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
What flavor of 100 speed film are you using? 16x20 is pushing 35mm but if you nail the exposure etc. it is not impossible. Have you tried Portra 160NC? It has very nice grain. Another option is to rent or borrow a medium format camera.
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John A. Lind |
Ken's right (and so is Jeff). A 16x20 is 17X enlargement of the negative. This is beyond the limits of what most professionals would do with 35mm film unless it is to be displayed in a location where the viewing distance is guaranteed to be at least several feet. Extracting an acceptable 16x20 out of 35mm format is very painful at best. This level of enlargment goes beyond film granularity, it also gets into resolution limits of 35mm format lenses (measured in lppm: line pairs per millimeter _on_the_film_). Lens contrast and resolving power (MTF) is sometimes the forgotten part of extracting a "sharp" image for extreme enlargement. I second Jeff K.'s recommendation to rent or borrow a medium format camera for shooting this. A 645 using a film such as Portra 160 would more than suffice. A reasonable shooting and printing effort with excellent lenses using a 645 will easily overtake the best you can do expending exceptional effort using 35mm with world class lenses. -- John
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