amy_c1

craig,

thank you so much, this helps a lot! it sounds like you are saying that they will adjust exposure for the batch as a whole? what i was hoping that they do not correct exposure for each negative individually, so that images that were purposely "underexposed" would be printed that way. i believe it would be printed ok based on your response. thanks!

hi kaileen,

your photos are gorgeous and i really like your web site. i read another post from you recently about networking in the VA area - although i no longer live in d.c. i would love to chat/email - i am a beginner and am looking to learn about techniques, etc. from your photos i can tell that i can definately learn a lot from you! let me know if you're up to it.

about your question, i have had the same issue recently. i am also using a 50mm lens pretty much wide open. i am going to try the dynamic focus feature and maybe stopping down if i can (although it is hard using natural light). i was also going to try a longer lens to give me a bit more time before the little guys get so close to the camera.

let us know what works :)

amy

hi jochen,

thanks for your response. i understand what you are saying about color filtering. that is ok with me but i would not want them to do any exposure compensation. do you know if they would automatically adjust for under/overexposure?

i see what you are saying about digital and needing a file -- how do most people get thier prints online? scanning film or prints?

since i am new to the digital terms, can you explain this a little?

"There's nothing like a lossless scan. Conventional moderate sized prints shouldn't reveal pixels under a loupe."

thanks!

hi everyone,

i recently posted a request for color 35mm film recommendations for natural

light children's portraits and got some good responses. i now have several films

to test out (i.e. kodak portra UC/VC, fuji pro H, fuji reala...) and was trying

to look into where i should get the film processed and printed. i am used to

taking b&w photos and processing/printing myself so i have been trying to read

up on processing color film. in reading posts on labs and processing, i got a

bit overwhelmed because there were so many factors to consider when selecting a

lab.

so...here is my question: does anyone have recommendations for a specific lab in

the NYC/upstate area? or do you recommend mail-in labs? i read a lot of posts

that talked about the adjustments the labs make on your prints -- do the pro

labs do this as well or just minilabs -- should i ask that they print them

unadjusted so that i can see the prints without alteration? as for related

questions, how do you all feel about analog printing versus scanning/digital

(i.e. the frontier system)? kodak vs. fuji?

thanks so much in advance!

amy

hello everyone,

i am trying to get some more practice photographing young children with color

film. does anyone have recommendations for good color films to try? i was hoping

to try a fuji film to compare to kodak portra. i like vivid, crisp colors and

need a decent speed as i like to use natural light and the little ones are

quick. any thoughts would be appreciated!

thank you,

amy

hi steve and paul,

thanks so much for the advice. i will definately check out Kodak portra 400iso, neutral and vivid :)

any recommendations for flash units?

hello everyone,

several months back i had posted a question about going into

people's homes to take portraits of babies and children and i got

some great advice and information. over the past few months, i have

started to practice with friends and relatives, and have a couple of

follow up questions for you...

for using natural light with reflectors (i do not have any studio

lighting), what speed film (color and b&w) do you bring with you and

usually find yourself using?

second, can you recommend some good color films to use for home

protrait sesisons using natural light only? I usually stick with

Fuji or Kodak and i like a sharp look with vibrant colors.

i currently use a Nikon N80 with a 50mm/1.8D lens. (i am looking to

upgrade to the F100 and to get an 85mm or 105mm lens, but don't have

the money right now). i like ilford delta 100, delta 400, HP5+ and

delta 3200 for black and white, and am just starting to explore

different color films.

i would appreciate any help!

thanks,

amy

hi anna,

getting onto the bridge is easy as there is a large walkway right down the middle of the bridge that is meant for pedestrians and bicycles. i think your biggest challenge will be clearing the space so that you don't have other people in the photo. you may want to have yourself all set up and ready to go, then ask everyone to hold up for a minute. people are generally very nice and it shouldn't be too hard!

david,

thanks for the advice for trying delta 3200 with Xtol or DD-X. "develop twice the speed you shot" = develop film rated at 1600 for the time recommended for 3200? just want to be clear :) i am going to take a look at roger hicks website tonight, his photos look wonderful. what about delta 100 and rodinal do you like? grain, contrast, etc.?

the photo i posted is one i took a few months back with HP5+. i have not tried pan-f but i will certainly look into it. what about it do you like for babies and kids? thanks for your help!

amy

michael and stephen,

thanks for the advice about processing times. i will try the posted times with ID-11 and about 15% over with a slight overexposure and see how they come out. that gives me some good starting points, thank you!

amy

thanks for the helpful responses so far. i have heard of the film development cookbook and will pick up a copy. the webite was also helpful, thanks!

question: do you find that the times ilford posts for ID-11 and Kodak posts for Xtol are accurate or do you adjust?

hello all,

i have recently been processing my own 35mm b&w film at home and am

trying to experiment to learn about different film-developer

combinations and processing times. as many have written about, i

often find that the recommended processing times don't quite give me

the results i am looking for in the negative, and that certain film-

developer combinations don't work so well. although i am going to

continue my "research", i was hoping to get some advice from those

of you who have already been through this and can give me some

guidance...

i usually use ilford delta 100, HP5+, or delta 3200 (rated at 1600).

i currently have Ilfosol-S, ID-11, and am interested in trying

Microphen and/or DD-X. i am trying to stick with ilford for now and

then when i have a good handle on their products will try some

others.

can you provide suggestions as to which developers to use with which

films, and recommended processing times? i prefer fine grain and a

good amount of contrast. here is an image that shows the kind of

print i tend to like...

thanks in advance!

amy<div></div>

hi elaine,

i think a combination of your card, dawn's idea of putting the words on the back, and emily's idea of putting a black strip across the top with your name in white would be nice. that way, you see the beautiful image, can see your name better, and have all of the info on the back. i like your wording. good luck!

amy

hi paige,

your daughter is beautiful! i agree with the helpful feedback given so far. it is very hard to get the focus exactly on the eyes when using such a shallow depth of field. i sometimes run into this problem too when using available light (espeically indoors) because i need the aperture wide open. it is not always easy to position a young child by a window or to get them to sit still enough! with my niece (one year old and on the move) what i have tried to do is give her something new and interesting to hold her attention for a few moments so i can focus while she explores it. then usually she will look up at me and smile and we can interact for a few moments. the other thing i have found helpful is to have someone standing behind me interacting with her and then i can focus on, well, focusing! this may all be very obvious to you already, so i am sorry if my response is too simple.

to answer your original question, i am by no means a professional, but i would say that i usually get about 2-3 really good shots out of a roll of 24 when photographing children. hope this is helpful!

amy

thanks so much for the info and suggestions so far! they are very helpful.

it seems that i should do some experimenting and see what happens! it seems like most people discussed color film and prints, what do you think about using slide film for black & white? any more color or black & white films to recommend for natural light portraits?

keep 'em coming, thanks!

amy

hello everyone,

pardon me if this is a very basic question, but i am wondering about

the advantages/disadvantages of using slide film versus 35mm film

for portraits. i shoot mainly b&w and some color in natural light,

mostly children, using a Nikon N80 and 50mm/85mm lens.

thanks so much!

amy

hi keri,

you should be confident! your photos are lovely and have a nice look to them. as others have mentioned, your site is easy to navigate and is well organized. the only thing i noticed is that the enquiry form didn't seem to work, nothing came up when i clicked it.

best of luck to you!

amy

thanks for the continued advice and help everyone!

i just want to restate one of my questions to get your opinions... is an 85mm long enough to get close-up head shots without being too close to the person's face, or do you think i would need the 105mm?

wow, thanks to everyone for your thoughtful responses! i think i am getting a clearer picture, and your answers have sparked a couple more questions...

OK, so it seems that the first recommendation is to go for a different lens first (either 85mm, 105mm, 135mm). i think the 85mm/1.8D is reasonably priced and i may go for that one first. my question is: is the 85mm long enough to get close-up head shots without being too close to the model's face?

however, if i do want to upgrade the camera body, it seemes that most people recommend the F100 over the N90s, and the N90s over the N90. after reading your responses, i must say that i agree. it seems that buying an N90 won't really give me much over my N80. the F100 seems to be an upgrade in options, better body build, and is closer in controls to my N80. the N90s seems to be in between. there was also the mention of going to medium format. my question about this is: what advantage would medium format give? is it only that you can make bigger prints? i am not familiar with this format so please give any info (including basic info) that you can.

thanks again, i really appreciate it!

amy

hello everyone,

i was wondering if anyone could give me some info about how the F100

compares to the N90 for portrait photography? i am currently using

the N80 and am looking to upgrade to a better lens body. i shoot

available light B&W and color. i am also wondering how each of these

systems work with slide film as well as 35mm negatives. right now i

am using the nikon 50mm 1.8D lens mainly. any info would be greatly

appreciated!

thanks,

amy

thanks for all of your responses so far, they are very helpful and i really appreciate the input!

frank -- i will definately bring a tripod and try some shots at 1/15 and 1/8. thanks.

jeff -- it is very possible that there was not enough motion to be captured well. i think they were being more reserved with me there. this time i will tell them to rock out and try some shots at 1/30 handheld.

brian -- i like the look of using the bulb exposure with flash. i was wondering if you could give me a little more info, i.e. about how long to keep the shutter open and how to factor in the ambient light with the flash? thanks.

chul -- my camera has a slow sync speed of 1/30. it also has rear-curtain sync that fires the flash when the shutter is closing. do you know if they would both produce the same effect? thanks for your help.

hi everyone,

i recently took some photos of a band in their practice space (color

and b&w). the photos came out pretty good, but the few i tried to

slow the shutter speed down to show the motion didn't really blur. i

used available light only and a shutter speed of about 1/30 and

1/15. unfortunately, i did not have a tripod with me, so i felt that

if i used any slower shutter speed the whole photo would have

blurred due to camera shake.

i am returning to take a few more photos next week with tripod in

hand, and would like to focus on capturing motion. does anyone have

advice for a shutter speed that will adequately portray motion blur?

i am using a nikon n80 and 50mm1.8 lens in low light.

thanks so much!

amy