Wet Plate for Architectural & Portrait

[Wesito]

Hi Everyone!

My wife and I are planning on starting a wet plate studio and are up to our ears in research for the "best place to start" ...

Our concept is to do studio portraits with a Petzval lens and 5x7 format -- we love the extra sharp central focus with bokeh --- (then upgrade to 8x10 when we improve) --- we've located a 13x18cm 1880s J. Audouin camera with a Dallmeyer 1a lens (from our understanding this is a Petzval-esque lens, correct? --- any knowledge or suggestions are welcome here, too!

We also plan on doing gallery exhibitions that showcase aspects of our city - market stalls, store fronts, etc... This is where we are really stuck ---we love extra sharp focus as well as edges with imperfections / blur etc--- which lens / wet plate camera type/size, etc would work best for this? ... We do appreciate the aesthetic and feel of natural "imperfections" within wet plate.

Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions!

[Tin Can]

I find the process too difficult

Good luck

[Havoc]

which lens / wet plate camera type/size, etc would work best for this if we are planning on enlarging these t

What enlarger do you have / can you find / do you have the place for? Doesn't make sense to get a format larger than your enlarger unless you want to do contact printing.

[Tim Meisburger]

Are you planning to enlarge digitally or optically? If digitally, the 5x7 plate or negative should be fine, as you can have it easily printed any size by any good firm. If optical enlargement is intended, I would suggest 4x5 negatives, as anything larger entails a much larger and more expensive enlarger. Optical enlargement also requires much more expensive paper, so if the idea is to sell the customer an actual plate and a large print, digital might be a more commercially-viable alternative.

[Tin Can]

I believe this OP is a Bot aka computer


It is probing

[Tin Can]

Soon we will not know 'NOT from BOT'

aka Brave New World

IRL

[paulbarden]

I believe this OP is a Bot aka computer


It is probing

I doubt that. A bot wouldn't bother to add formatting to their message for emphasis.

[Tin Can]

i doubt that. A bot wouldn't bother to add formatting to their message for emphasis.

lol

[paulbarden]

lol

Seriously, Randy - what evidence do you have to suggest that the OP is a bot??

[Tin Can]

The task is impossible.

Seriously, Randy - what evidence do you have to suggest that the OP is a bot??