I will be shooting some portraits of my sisters and a group shoot of the 3 of us next week. My sister talked me into breaking out the film cam and doing b+w for them so I have a few quick questions as it's been a while since I have done B+W portraits.
I will be shooting kodak tmaxx100 and I have red and yellow filters available. When shooting b+w landscapes I normally use the deep yellow for the cloud contrast in the sky. Am i remembering correctly that the red filter is better for skin tones shooting portraits?
The set up will be outdoors in a rocky area, should I just use the red filter or should I stack red and yellow, or use red and a cir pol to regain contrast in the sky in the background for the group shot
The portraits will be close up type so I am thinking I will use just the red on those. I only have one shot at this since I have to drive to meet them and come bck home to get film developed and processed and choose one for large print for a gift for our parents (11x14)
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated, I think i am going to do some digitals also while we are there just incase I totally screw up the film shots
A red filter will really lighten up any red tones like lips, lipstick, etc., so you have to be careful. It can give some odd tones to people. On the other hand, it will reduce (lighten) ruddy complexions and helps a lot in that regard. A green filter is often used on people as well, but if I remember right, it will enhance ruddy skin, so there again, it will depend on the subject(s).
I have never done a lot of people photography, so I'm not an expert on this. Just my 2 cents on what I know about filtering, and some experience with filtered B&W and skin tones.
Personally, I would shoot without a filter assuming good light, and if you can, scan the negatives and adjust curves if needed in PP.
BTW, I never had very good luck with Tmax100 for some reason. I liked tmax 400 better so long as I didn't push the enlargement too much. Seemed like it just had better dynamic range and sharpness to me. I liked Tri-X pro better than either of the Tmax films. Used to shoot 4x5 tri-x at ISO 160 and develop accordingly for my setup. Good stuff, or was. Don't even know if you can get it anymore...
