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Thread: Films for B/W Portraiture

  1. #1

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    Smile Films for B/W Portraiture

    I am thinking about doing some b/w portraiture and was wondering what films/ISOs people here generally use?

  2. #2
    Moderator Ralph Barker's Avatar
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    Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    You'll probably see a wide range of preferences, Diane. Mine, generally, for 4x5, is Ilford FP4+ or, for 8x10, HP5+. If I want a crisper look, Delta 100.

  3. #3
    multiplex
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    Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    i like the look of outdated tri x ( souped in dilute print developer )

  4. #4

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    Smile Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    Sorry, I should have said that I am planning to do some 8x10 portraiture. Also, I am curious to know why you choose the way that you do.

  5. #5

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    Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    When I did 8x10 I had to use ISO 320-400 films because I needed the extra sensitivity to use a workable shutter speed, especially when working indoors with minimal additional lighting. If I worked outdoors in New Mexico it would be a different story.

    HP-5 or Tri-X. I cheat and send my film out, so I don't really have the control over the processing that many people here do. So I tend to prefer the HP-5 since it tends to handle my less than perfect zone placements better than say, TMY or Tri-X.

  6. #6

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    Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    FP-4 in LF; Plus-X in MF.

  7. #7
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
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    Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    Ektapan until I run out of it and Tri-X are my usual 8x10" portrait films.

  8. #8

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    Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    HP5 or TMY.

  9. #9

    Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    If you're using strobes, and have enough watt-seconds, you have the luxury of choosing based on factors other than speed. I can't help you there.

    Using natural light, the biggest issue I face is getting sufficiently fast shutter speeds for the subject. Between the extension factor and depth of field requirements, I've always had shutter speeds between 1/4 and 2 seconds. With traditional films this places you at or near reciprocity failure, so I use TMY. Getting to f/16 rather than f/8 or f/11 is what I've found to be an overriding concern with my film choice for portraits.

  10. #10

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    Smile Re: Films for B/W Portraiture

    A friend of mine has a studio set up in his house and is using some Alien Bees lights. He had to crank them up all the way the last time I tried to do portraiture but I was using a process lens with max aperture of f/11. I am hoping that perhaps f/5.6 or f/8 with a different lens would be easier to work with on his setup.

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