Small Fixes for Grainy Portraits
· 2 min read
I print modest first, then decide what deserves to be larger. Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter. The small things matter less than the routine of paying attention. I would rather do one thing deliberately than five things quickly.
What I would do differently
Good grain is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. The best advice I got was just to slow down. Good composition is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. The first ten weeks were mostly about unlearning. There is no single right way to approach editing a series, but some ways are kinder than others.
What changed
This is less a guide and more a record of what worked for me. The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take. A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you.
Notes along the way
It is not glamorous, but it holds up. The trick, if there is one, is to leave enough room for slip-ups. It took me twelve attempts to see the pattern. Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around all of it.
Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape. The result is not perfect, but it is candid. Looking back, the high-contrast approach was the right call. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. You can get unexpectedly far with a light meter and some a steady hand.
Somewhere between the hills and home, the thought finally made sense. There is no single right way to approach scanning negatives, but some ways are kinder than others. I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. A friend once described shadows as quiet work, and the phrase stuck.
You can get unexpectedly far with a 50mm lens and some a steady hand.
A friend once described light as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. It took me five attempts to see the pattern.
the darkroom