How to Push and Pull Film for Creative Effects: A Primer on Tailoring Your Film Improvement Course of action
Michael Elliott - Fine Art Film Photographer-Flâneur and Londoner at Massive
If you are a film photographer you might have heard of the terms “pushing” and “pulling” film. But what do they imply and how can they impact your pictures? In this weblog post we will clarify the fundamentals of pushing and pulling film and give you some strategies on when and how to use them.
Pushing Film
Pushing film indicates to intentionally underexpose your film at the time of shooting and then compensate for it by more than-establishing it in the darkroom. For instance if you have a roll of ISO 400 film you can set your camera to ISO 800 and shoot as regular. Then when you create the film you raise the improvement time by 1 quit (ordinarily about 20% additional) to bring out the shadows. This ordinarily increases the contrast and compresses the midtones.
Some films are particularly formulated to be push processed. For instance Ilford Delta 3200 and Kodak T-Max P3200 (the P standing for “Push”) are really ISO 1000 and ISO 800 films respectively but their composition and grain structure specifically lend themselves to push processing. Similarly in the globe of colour slide film photography Fuji utilized to make Fujichrome MS100/1000 with distinct initially developer timings for processing at EI100 200 400 800 and 1000.
Other slide films like Fujichrome Provia 100F and 400X (now discontinued) also lend themselves to push processing up to 2 stops.
Pulling Film
Pulling film indicates to intentionally overexpose your film at the time of shooting and then compensate for it by beneath-establishing it in the darkroom. For instance if you have a roll of ISO 400 film you can set your camera to ISO 200 and shoot as regular. Then when you create the film you lower the improvement time by 1 quit (ordinarily about 20% much less) to decrease the highlights. This ordinarily reduces the contrast and extends the midtones.
Pull processing film is extremely valuable for scenes of higher contrast exactly where you want to retain printability or scannability - it brings the scene back into a usable dynamic variety. Ansel Adams notably utilized these techniques in the guise of the Zone Technique to make some of his most well-known function.
Why would you want to push or pull film?
There are many motives based on your inventive vision and the lighting circumstances. Right here are some popular scenarios:
You want to shoot in low-light scenarios with no employing a flash or a tripod. Pushing film can aid you obtain more rapidly shutter speeds and stay away from camera shake or motion blur. Even so pushing film also increases the contrast and grain of your pictures which might or might not be desirable.
You want to generate a moody or dramatic appear with higher contrast and grain. Pushing film can improve these effects specially with black and white film. You can also experiment with pushing film beyond 1 quit such as two or 3 stops for additional intense benefits.
You want to shoot in vibrant sunlight or with higher-contrast scenes. Pulling film can aid you retain additional detail in the highlights and stay away from overexposure. Even so pulling film also decreases the contrast and saturation of your pictures which might make them appear flat or dull. With a suitable digital post-processing workflow this can be rather straightforward to overcome.
You want to generate a soft or dreamy appear with low contrast and grain. Pulling film can obtain these effects specially with colour film. You can also experiment with pulling film beyond 1 quit such as two or 3 stops for additional subtle benefits. The difficulty with pulling film this far is that the improvement occasions grow to be so brief that attaining even and balanced improvement can be not possible major to poor negatives.
Limitations and Drawbacks
Pushing and pulling film can be a exciting and inventive way to discover unique appears and designs with your film photography. Even so there are some limitations and drawbacks that you should really be conscious of:
Pushing and pulling film only impacts the exposure of the whole roll of film not person frames. This indicates that you have to commit to 1 setting for the entire roll and adjust your exposure accordingly.
Pushing and pulling film needs additional precise metering and exposure handle. If you overexpose or underexpose also a great deal you might not be in a position to appropriate it in improvement. It is encouraged that you use a light meter or a camera with manual exposure mode to assure correct exposure.
Pushing and pulling film might impact the colour balance of your pictures. Pushing film tends to make the colours warmer and additional saturated when pulling film tends to make them cooler and additional muted. You might require to adjust the colour temperature or use filters to obtain your preferred colour balance.
Pushing and pulling film might raise the price and complexity of establishing your film. Not all labs present pushing and pulling solutions and they might charge added for them. If you create your personal film you will require to adjust the improvement occasions and temperatures according to the manufacturer’s guidelines or your personal knowledge.
Pushing and pulling film is not a magic remedy for each and every scenario but it can be a valuable tool for expanding your inventive possibilities with film photography. By understanding how it operates and when to use it you can generate pictures that reflect your vision and style.