Creamy Skin Tones!!

Hi All,

Inspired by Wayne Willis recent question on �C-41 B+W films

vs "real" films�. I was interested by how many people commented on

the rich creamy skin tones these C-41 film give.

 

I have also used Kodak T400CN quite a bit and love the results �

just wondered if anyone has achieved simular (rich creamy skin

tones) with traditional B&W films?

 

I have also been told that Ilford SFX 200 gives lovely creamy skin

tones � I have not yet tried this film and would love to hear what

other people have experienced.

 

Thanks,

 

David Jenkins

I think C-41 B+W films just look soapy. Some might like these films for portraits, but for the high contrast negs that I enjoy, I don't think that the current crop of these films fits the bill.

Not everybody want's brutal contrast and every single pore in human skin to look like old news reel of 1930's professional baseball game.

 

The chromos are exceptional for portraiture because they render skin a lot like print films. Very smooth and typically free from blemishes because of their slightly extended red sensitivity. In larger formats the chromogenics are pretty incredible.

 

Again, they tend to be very weak when it comes to low contrast scenes.

You can "Cream up" your conventional film's skin rendition by using a light orange filter on your lens.

A bit of overexposure (with normal development) can also make light skin tones creamy (at least it does with FP4+, HP5+, and Delta 3200--with PanF+, they have a kind of metallic shimmer).

Thanks guys,

I have already found your comments interesting and helpful.

 

Scott�s comment about chromogenics films slightly extended red sensitivity interests me as Ilford SFX 200 has extended red capabilities (740nm)! Using SFX 200 + Al�s suggested light orange filter could be quite an interesting combination to "Cream up" SFX�s skin rendition!!

 

Thanks again,

 

David Jenkins

Ilford XP-2 isn't bad, although when printed with c-41 process, it is a bit soft for my taste. Where I think XP-2 really shines is when you take those negs and print them in the darkroom. Use a higher value filter to pump up the contrast and it prints very nicely.

There's now't wrong with using XP2. Yes it is good for skin tones. It doesn't have a great spread of tones though. It is dead easy to print with. These two examples are XP2 exposed at 320asa in the pouring rain and printed at grade 3 onto Ilford MGIV RC which was then dropped in selenium for a dew minutes to help bring out that XP2 skin tone sheen.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/1451559&size=lg

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/1451140&size=lg

<I>Where I think XP-2 really shines is when you take those negs and print them in the darkroom</i><P>I've printed a lot of XP-2 both commercially for clients and for myself. On Ilford MG with dichros set for grade 3 this stuff is absolutely gorgeous unless you are shooting under lighting that isn't appropriate for a low contrast film.

What are the archival qualities of the C-41 film?

With the warming filter, is this specific to causasian/fair skinned subjects? In trying to think this through, is it the increased red of the filter to the whiter skin that brings the tone closer to blemishes, making the contrast less? Has anyone used this when taking portraits of light or medium brown skinned subjects? Which filter would be more appropriate for making creamy skin tones? I used a sunset filter with the Kodak c-41 b&w film last weekend to see what it would do with our dark brown house, and I think that I can see more shadow detail. (There weren't any alterations at the machine, "NNN-0" as I ask them not to correct anything. I'm fortunate that all the Frontier machine operators I have encountered here know their stuff or follow what I request.)