Black and White:

ASA 400 films can be "pushed" or under exposing by 1-2 stops if needed then over-processed to compensate for the under-exposure. When pushing these films use the Tmax developer or D-76.

ASA 100 and 400 films require average agitation during development, while ASA 3200 film requires a water bath and very gentle agitation.

Fixing film— To determine the correct fixing time for film, drop a piece of film (the torn off leader works well) into the fixer and time it to see how long it takes to turn clear. (You will be able to see through it) Double this time and add 15 seconds. Fresh Rapid Fixer will fix most films in 2-3 minutes, Tmax films in 4-5 minutes. Regular fixer doubles these times. Fixer can be saved and reused until the fixing time doubles.

Washing film — Wash film to remove all of the fixer from the plastic base of the film by washing with running water for 15-20 minutes. Reduce the washing time by using Hypo Clear for 2 minutes and then washing for 5 minutes. Un-removed fixer will contaminate and ruin negatives.

Photo-flo — To prevent water spots from drying on the film, immerse your film in Photo-flo after washing for 30-45 seconds.

Drying film — Hang the film in a dust free cabinet, closet or film dryer. Carrying it around or allowing it to dry in a normal room will allow dust to dry on the emulsion, making it very hard to get a good print.

Storing negatives — Cut into stripes of 5 and put in negative sleeves to prevent dust and scratches. Label and store negatives in file folders or a 3 ring binder to keep them flat

• The higher the ASA/ISO of the film, the higher the inherent contrast. ASA 3200 film has more contrast than ASA 100 film.
• The longer the development time, the more the contrast builds up.
• The stronger the developer solution, the higher the contrast.
• The higher the developer temperature, the higher the contrast.

Anything that allows the developer to work faster increases the contrast.

Contrast in the print can be affected or controlled by:

• The higher the filter number (they go from 0-5) used (on multi-grade paper), the higher the contrast
• The higher the number of paper grade used, the higher the contrast.
• The stronger the developer solution (using straight developer instead of 1:2), the higher the contrast.
• The higher the developer temperature, the higher the contrast.
• Blowing or rubbing an area of a print while it is in the developer will increase the contrast in a small area

• Putting the enlarger on f/11 and 3-4 seconds on the timer (time depends on your enlarger).
• Take out the neg carrier and raise the enlarger to an appropriate height.
• With the light off, put a sheet of paper on the baseboard, emulsion side up. Put the negatives, emulsion side down, on top the paper. Put a sheet of glass on top of the negatives and expose the paper.
• Develop in Clayton P-20 (1:9) or Kodak Dektol (1:2) for 1 and a half minutes, rinse for 30 seconds, fix for 5 minutes and wash for 5-10 minutes. Dry in the paper dryer or on screens.

Test Strips — Used to determine proper exposure of a print and to cut down on wasted materials and time.

• Put the enlarger on f/11 and 2 seconds on the timer.
• Put negative in the neg carrier, raise the enlarger to an appropriate height, focus the image on a practice sheet of paper in the easel.
• Put a 1" x 5" strip of paper in the easel, emulsion side up.
• Cover all but 1 inch of the paper (cardboard works well), expose the paper. Move the cover over to show 1 more inch of paper, expose. Repeat at least 2 more times.
• Develop in Clayton P-20 (1:9) or Kodak Dektol (1:2) for 1 and a half minutes, rinse for 30 seconds, fix for 5 minutes and wash for 5-10 minutes. DO NOT PUT TEST STRIPS IN THE DRYER AS THEY WILL GET STUCK. Take the test strip into the light to determine the best exposure time.

Prints — After determining the exposure time with a test print, make a print by:

• Put the enlarger on f/11 and set the timer for the number of seconds determined by the test strip.
• Put paper in the easel, emulsion side up and expose.
• Develop in Clayton P-20 (1:9) or Kodak Dektol (1:2) for 1 and a half minutes, rinse for 30 seconds, fix for 5 minutes and wash for 5-10 minutes. Check for quality in the light.
• Adjust the exposure time if print is too dark (less time) or too light (more time) and try again.

Filters — If the print is too flat (not enough contrast) or has too much contrast, a filter can be used to improve the print. Filters usually range from 0-5 with 0 providing the lowest contrast and 5 the highest. Some filters go below the lens in a plastic holder and some go into the enlarger. They filter the light that passes through the negative. Fingerprints and scratches on the filters will degrade the image slightly so be careful of getting fingerprints on the filters. Filters will change the exposure time, so a new test strip needs to be made.

Burning and dodging — Some areas of a print may be too light, while other areas are too dark or just right. Areas that are too light can be "burned" or darkened by adding extra light (after the main exposure) to that area while covering up the areas that are just right. Areas that are too dark can be lightened by "dodging" or protecting the area from getting as much light as the rest of the print during the main exposure. Both techniques can be used on the same print. To avoid abrupt edges, keep moving while burning or dodging, but don’t bump the enlarger or easel.

Develop a photographic "eye". Ask yourself what are you trying to say with your photograph? Does your angle, distance, subject matter, etc. say what you want? Practice makes perfect. Good photo habits are developed by doing things the "right way" over an extended period of time. The thought process gets faster and faster and more intuitive.

Learn your camera parts thoroughly, so using them becomes second nature.

Look at pictures constantly in old yearbooks and magazines. Figure out where the photographer was standing, what type of lens was used, why is it a good picture or a bad picture?

Get in close — "If you are not getting good photographs, you are not close enough" --Henri Cartier Bresson.

Include only enough to tell the story, eliminate everything else. Fill your frame!

Crop when you take the picture.

Shoot lots of film — shoot from a variety of angle, experiment, bracket and really work the idea. Film is cheap, reshooting is not. Remember: practice, practice, practice!

More depth of field— To have more foreground area or background area in focus, use a higher f/stop number. Make sure to compensate for the change in the amount of light hitting the film by slowing down the shutter speed one stop (or shutter speed number) for every f/stop moved. Be careful not to go to too slow of a shutter speed.

Less depth of field — To emphasize your subject by blurring out the background or foreground, leaving only your subject in focus, select a low aperture or f/stop, like f/2.8 or f/4.

Using an automatic camera to control depth of field – Put the setting on "A", set the f/stop to allow the determined depth of field and let the camera pick the shutter speed.

Using shutter priority on automatic cameras — Use "S", set the needed shutter speed. The camera will pick the F/stop.

Use faster film to be able to use faster shutter speeds — Kodak Tmax 3200 is the best choice for football, swimming, basketball and volleyball. This film is good for any low light event that requires higher shutter speeds. However as film speed increases, grain increase. 3200 ASA film is very grainy.

"Push" 400 ASA films to 1600 to use faster shutter speeds — This involves "lying" to your light meter by setting the ASA at 1600. Using the light meter as normal, your film will be under exposed. To compensate for this, the film is then over processed by about 20% per stop. The film will be very grainy and thin, but at least the action will be stopped.

When using any flash, the camera has to be set to synchronize with the camera’s shutter. Some cameras "sync" at 60 or 125.

Using flash to stop action — Some expensive cameras "sync" at 250th and will stop action. However, most sync at a slower shutter speed and results will have a kind of blurred with a stop look. Try to get the action coming towards you to stop the action as much as possible. Use a high film speed film and set the camera on F/4 and whatever shutter the camera syncs at.

Fill-Flash— Use this technique to balance or fill shadows created when the background or side light is too bright or much brighter. Take a light meter reading of the background using the shutter speed required to sync the camera to the flash. Put the flash on the correct power or move it the correct distance from the subject to get it to be the same or 1 stop less than the background. Example: the background light is F/8 at 60th of a second. Set the flash power so that it will expose the subject at F/8. If the flash doesn’t have the ability to change power, you will need to bring it closer or further away based on how powerful it is (the guide number). Read the flash manual carefully to determine the distance to f/stop ratio.

Handling students "mugging for the camera" — Just say no or don’t take the shot. Film and processing cost a lot of money. If your subjects insist on looking straight at the camera, tell them you can’t use the picture and ask them to ignore your presence and go about doing whatever they were doing that you found interesting enough to get a picture of. Educate them that unposed shots are the rule. If they insist on posing, walk away and choose another group to photograph.

Make appointments — Teachers hate it when you just show up and ask if so and so can get out of class for this or that. Make appointments — call, state your need and ask when the best time is, plan ahead. Be professional. Show up for appointments. Don’t keep people waiting. Don’t waste time. Be honest. If the shoot doesn’t work out, make a new plan as quickly as possible. Be a problem solver. Think about how to get the best shot while bugging the least amount of people.

Shoot first — Get IDs later: Get your pictures first, then go get the subjects’ first and last names. Make sure the names are spelled correctly. Get their grade as well. Asking first often ruins "the moment".