In my experience the easiest way to produce them in the darkroom is to first print the portrait leaving some white space all around the image (printing a full frame portrait with a filed-out neg carrier makes a snappy looking comp, quite "` la mode" here in Hollywood North... er that is Vancouver BC). Then create a piece of film 8x10 or bigger (Kodalith developed in the two part lith developer works best) with the person's name being clear and the rest being black. (easily created by shooting a laser output on 8x10 film or by a service bureau output of a computer file). Place it on top of the paper and contact print the name onto the portrait.
This way you need not compromise image quality by printing through acetate.
If you shoot the portrait on a light background or if the subject is wearing light clothes then you can get away without creating a white border for the black type to show up on. Traditionally comps have been borderless but the technique described above creates contemporary looking results and is more forgiving with registration and other manual darkroom issues.
Hint: Most people who want comps require lots of 'em (in the order to 50-250 at a time). Do these assembly line stlye exposing the portrait and name in large amounts seperatly. Commercial Labs that render this service actually end up shooting a copy neg (usually 4x5 or 70mm) of one good print produced manually and print off hundreds from there. There is slight loss of sharpness, but the subjects don't usually mind as this is usually kind to their complexion.
Whatever technique you use be make sure it fits the subject and the industry it's supposed to appeal to. Some actors have two or three shots depending on the kind of part they are auditioning for!
"COMPS"...how are they produced?
in Medium Format
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In my experience the easiest way to produce them in the darkroom is to first print the portrait leaving some white space all around the image (printing a full frame portrait with a filed-out neg carrier makes a snappy looking comp, quite "` la mode" here in Hollywood North... er that is Vancouver BC). Then create a piece of film 8x10 or bigger (Kodalith developed in the two part lith developer works best) with the person's name being clear and the rest being black. (easily created by shooting a laser output on 8x10 film or by a service bureau output of a computer file). Place it on top of the paper and contact print the name onto the portrait.
This way you need not compromise image quality by printing through acetate.
If you shoot the portrait on a light background or if the subject is wearing light clothes then you can get away without creating a white border for the black type to show up on. Traditionally comps have been borderless but the technique described above creates contemporary looking results and is more forgiving with registration and other manual darkroom issues.
Hint: Most people who want comps require lots of 'em (in the order to 50-250 at a time). Do these assembly line stlye exposing the portrait and name in large amounts seperatly. Commercial Labs that render this service actually end up shooting a copy neg (usually 4x5 or 70mm) of one good print produced manually and print off hundreds from there. There is slight loss of sharpness, but the subjects don't usually mind as this is usually kind to their complexion.
Whatever technique you use be make sure it fits the subject and the industry it's supposed to appeal to. Some actors have two or three shots depending on the kind of part they are auditioning for!
Good Luck!