Grain on 4x6 print with Portra 160VC ???

I just shot some photos of a friend outside, with Kodak Portra

160VC. I was shooting with a sigma 70-200 2.8 HSM EX. One thing I

cannot figure out is that the 4x6 prints have an unusual amount of

grain. I have been tring to improve my siklls now for a few years

and I have never seen this. Could the Grain result from my Lens? The

film I shot was from several different sources all of which has not

expired. The environmant was outside, nice, not too much direct sun.

Some shots were slow shutter some were fast all were the same

quality. Any ideas??

<p>Your lens should not affect the grain. Were the pictures underexposed, by any chance, or are you seeing grain in darker areas? Grain tends to be more prominent in darker areas (with an underexposed frame being a rather large example of a darker area :-)</p>

I am calling it grain but prehaps that I am saying it wrong. there seems to be almost a "haze" over that entire prints. But there will be a few that are not as bad. Could this be metering issues? The prints are not at all "crisp". I had shot a roll of this film a few weeks ago and the prints were awesome. Same camera, same film, same location, different time of day, and different lens.

Can you scan & post an example?Explaining & diagnosing without this is non productive.

Hey Steve thanks for your comments, I think I have narrowed it down. My friend that I was shooting was wearing a white dress. If I am correct, I think my camera was metering off of the white dress thus underexposing the face and everything else. Once printed I believe my lab tried to compensate by lightening the prints up A LOT. I scanned the negative and noticed that they were really Dark. This "haze" as I call it seems to be a result of underexposed shot, overexposed print. My only issue now is trying to figure out how I as a photographer can compose a shot in a situation such as this. How do I know how to set my camera if my camera won't operate right.

 

Yes, I will post a photo.

Ok I uploaded 2 photos from the same roll of film. Just click my name. The one where she is standing is better that the other. Let me know what you think about my obervations.

This is about what you can expect with Portra 160VC in 35mm.

One interesting facet of slow films is that they are grainier than

(some) faster films when underexposed by the same number of stops.

I'd wager that Fuji NPH or Portra 400UC would have been less grainy

despite your underexposure. Portra 160NC is superb.

 

For metering, I'd recommend using the spot meter, or partial meter

if it's a lower end Canon, in this case on your subject's skin.

Incident metering would be another option but probably not worth the

cost and hassle.