BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Hot to get negatives?

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July 03, 2003

First:
With any critical work and especially any that produces many photographs, the prints should be indexed with the negatives by roll number and frame number before they're delivered. Do it with a pencil on the back, and don't press down hard, otherwise the print will be indented from your writing.

Do you have a copy of all the prints?
Have you looked at the negatives?

Prints usually have a frame index number on the back along with some other codes which indicate the color balancing and print density settings on the print machine. If they don't have a frame number, it will be more difficult, but not impossible. Get the prints and put them in the order in which you shot them. Getting entire rolls of film into sequence shouldn't be any problem for a wedding. If the backs do not have a frame number, put them into the best order you can.

Get the negatives and look at them. They should be archived in sleeves you can see through. If you pull them out of the sleeves, handle them very carefully by the edges. You DON'T want to scratch them or end up with your fingerprints on them. Fingerprints are very difficult to remove without damaging them and the oils/acids from your skin will ultimately and permanently damage them (takes a while for the permanent damage to occur but it eventually will).

The best method for examining any film is use of a light box. It's a relatively simple device with a white translucent panel on top of a box that is backlit by small fluorescent bulbs inside the box. This backlights the film so you can see the images on it. You will also need a loupe or magnifying glass with 35mm film. If you don't have or cannot borrow a light box, you can use a household table lamp with a smooth white lampshade. DO NOT hold the negatives over the top of a lamp. The heat from the bulb will damage them. Instead, hold them over the lampshade on the side of the lamp.

You should see frame numbers along the edges of the film, along with printing that gives the film type and speed. Arrange the negatives by film roll in the order in which you shot them and label the archive sleeves with roll numbers. Match each print to its negative frame, label it on the back (using a pencil as described before), and you're done. I use #2 wooden pencils as they have soft lead and tend to have a broader point, and I don't sharpen them to that fine a point. Mechanical pencils tend to have narrow lead and indent the prints too easily.

One more issue:
If your cousin uses a different lab to have the negatives printed, the reprints may not look exactly like the first set of prints made when the film was developed. Chances are they won't. How much different is anyone's guess. Even if it's the same lab, if it's a consumer lab, chances are they'll still look different, although there's less risk of them looking that much different. It's one of the reasons I use a professional lab for critical personal work, and for EVERYTHING someone is paying me to do. They use a more sophisticated color analyzer, much better trained technicians, and the equipment is maintained and adjusted/calibrated to much tighter standards. All of these things are required if reprints several weeks later are to look like the proofs. Consumer labs are notorious for quite noticeable variation in printing, even if it's the same frame from the same negative. A print is actually a photograph of the original film that was in the camera. The print machine technician has an enormous amount of control over print density and color balance.

-- John

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July 04, 2003

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July 04, 2003

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July 04, 2003

It's evident from your two questions that you are very much a beginner, as you admit. Before doing much more "critical" work for others, even if you're not being paid to do it, get some books and/or take some classes about photography and begin serious study.

You've apparently managed to avoid some major pitfalls, but if you continue long enough without gaining more knowledge and skill with the technical and artistic aspects of the art and craft, you will eventually have a disaster. It's not IF, it's WHEN. The technical problem(s) and pitfalls you don't know about, don't foresee, and don't see coming at you are the ones that will blind-side and bite you. If you're lucky, it will be minor and you will have muddled through with something that's not the best, but acceptable. If you're not, it can be a disaster and incredibly embarrassing.

I've been doing photography seriously and semi-professionally on the side for about 25 years. I have committed my share of blunders, with a few BIG and very embarrassing ones. Not a pleasant experience; very unpleasant. Fortunately they've been very few and far between, but that doesn't diminish the pain and grief suffered at the time, or my vivid memories of them.

As a photographer doing work for others, paid or unpaid, you have a reputation to think about and protect. They have hired or asked you to do the work because they believe you can do it better than they can; sometimes much better. Otherwise they'd do it for themselves. It takes time to build a reputation. It can also be seriously damaged very, very quickly if you make mistakes . . . especially ones that are difficult or impossible to fix. A damaged reputation can take a very long time to recover from.

A tip for building a solid reputation and maintaining it:
NEVER let anyone see anything but your best work. Think in terms of a "yield rate." Not every photograph will be a "keeper." What your yield rate is will depend on your skills with the particular task and how much risk you're taking with lighting, timing, location, etc. Pros overshoot to compensate for a yield rate that is never 100%. This ensures there's enough product to deliver that's at least acceptable to their own quality standards. They edit down what comes back from the lab. The photographs that are less than acceptable never see the light of day again, except for personal review to sort out what was amiss and think about how it could have been done better. They are NEVER shown to anyone else except perhaps another, skilled photographer and trusted *friend* in private to discuss and learn about the technical/artistic issues.

As you grow in the art and craft, you will find that continuously paying attention to the smallest details of every aspect of a photograph are what make an enormous difference between photographs that are good, better and best. It's these details, both technical and artistic, that you want to learn about, practice, and instill discipline in yourself to never let lapse. If I've scared you a little, that's a Good Thing if it motivates you to begin studying, and to continue your learning as long as you own a camera and make photographs with it. While this site's Q&A forum can help you with specific things from time to time, it's not a substitution for formal study.

Good Luck and Best Wishes

-- John

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July 04, 2003

-- John

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July 04, 2003