Bracketing...

[bvstaples]

Thanks for all the input. Like I said, given that my metered (first) shot is usually spot on, I think I'll move to the work flow. More images in half the time.

Brian

[Drew Wiley]

I never bracket. For one thing, the lighting and subject can change; for another, I shoot 8x10 and am not rich. Nor do I carry around more than a few filmholders at a time. Once in awhile I'll shoot the same subject on color neg film and chrome film just
for the printing option. If you have a light meter and a little experience with the curve and development of a specific film, why on earth would one bracket?

[Robert Hughes]

I never bracket. I just shoot wildly under- or overexposed shots, and fix it in the darkroom. By calling up the shot on my cell phone cam, and printing that one!

[Preston]

I shot two sheets regularly for quite some time. Now, I am trying to wean myself, and its not easy! We become used to our routines, and like birds, return to the old roost because it's a known quantity, and we're comfortable with that.

At this point in time, I am leaning toward one shot unless the lighting, weather, or some other variable causes me to say, 'Hmmm?'

--P

[Vaughn]

I tend to expose two negs at the same exposure, develop one then develop the other differently if needed. Sometimes I will develop one neg for platinum printing and develop the second one for carbon printing (more development/contrast).

But occasionally I will expose a second neg at one more stop exposure. A little extra shadow detail never hurts (I am not enlarging), but less than I want is a drag. The light under the redwoods varies quite a bit.

If I am out all day in the redwoods with the camera, I carry 5 to 7 holders (8x10), and usually return to the car with some unexposed film, so I am not worried about doubling up. If the image just jumps out at me and says, "I am very very special", having a back up neg is good, as occasionally my printing process will eat a negative.

Vaughn

[Hector.Navarro]

I always expose 2 sheets with the same shutter & fstop and adjust developing time for the second sheet after proofing the first.

[Ron McElroy]

I've rarely bracketed large format shots. Shooting 4x5 I almost always shoot 2 negatives of the same scene. The time and expense of getting to a location plus the finding the image is too great to find when I get home I had a problem. The second negative gives me a chance to tweak development.

When I started shooting 8x10 I tried to shoot multiple negatives, but that became too expensive. I shoot one of each setup.

None of the above applies to portrait work. I'll shoot as many sheets as I think it will take, but none will be bracketed.

[Ted Crosby]

Generally I shoot 2 sheets of 5x4 b/w neg, and 3 or 4 sheets for tranny . I occasionally use polaroid if its a tricky exposure . With neg I shoot one at what I think is correct exposure and one one stop over. The extra shot is a safeguard in case dust has got in the holder. With transparency , I only sent what I consider the correctly exposed sheet to the lab, then follow up with one of the other sheets. I have worked in a photographic studio doing industrial pack shots for over 25 years and this is the way I always worked.

Maybe now that I am semi retired, and photographing mainly for pleasure outside, I will start using less film.

Ted.

[ki6mf]

Rather than Bracket I used to shoot a back up for my exposures. After printing if I needed to change contrast I would develop the backup for more or less time than the first exposure. This would happen after the first finished print from the first negative. After several years of doing this I realized the exposure for the first negative was mostly correct for the way I visualized the scene 99% of the time.

The Danger: If there is a scratch on the negative, you did something to ruin the image, like forget to stop down from F4.5 for focusing, jiggle the camera (even with a cable release!!!) there is no backup to fix the problem. Once this happened just as the mother ship landed and I did not get the shot!

If its a commercial assignment I always shoot backups. Also if there is extreme contrast as measured in the scene I will shoot a backup to do compensating developer treatment to get the negative exposed properly after developing and printing the first negative.

[jennym]

I have never bracketed. I mainly use transparency film, and when I started, I took two shots at the same exposure and adjusted the development on the B sheet if necessary. Increasingly I take one shot, unless the light is moving around or I am particularly keen to make sure I nail the shot. When there is moving water I often find there are subtle differences between shots, and will tend to take two shots so that I can choose the effect I prefer.