Hello everyone, I am fairly new to large format photography but I am experienced with studio photography (stills and portraits). I have been experimenting with large format film (4x5) and I seem to be hitting a wall. Every piece of film that I have exposed ends up clear when I develop it.
I have tried developing at home as well as sending it out - same result. Other film that I processed (shot outside) with the studio shots turned out fine. I believe that I am underexposing the image - but I am not sure how.
My setup:
Ilford FP4+ film (ISO 125)
4x5 camera w/ 210 lens.
Aperture set to f/8 (adjusted from f/11 +1 stop for bellows and exposure compensation).
Shutter speed set to 1/100.
One studio light metered (with flash meter) at f/11 (ISO 100, 1/125 sec - as close to lens settings as meter will allow).
Bellows racked out to 10 inches for focus. 0.5 stop added to aperture for bellows compensation, another 0.5 added to brighten image (intentional).
Lens approximately 6 feet from subject.
What am I doing wrong? With a film speed of ISO 125 I shouldn't have any problem exposing with a strobe at 1/100 & f/8. What am I missing? I've tried triggering the flash on both "M" and "X" settings, it doesn't seem to change the result.
I'm hoping that it's not the shutter, I'm not sure how to fix that except buying a new one.
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