For that 400 iso film there are 5 ways to use it. 5 scenarios;
1. You set your meter to 400 and develop the film as 400. You get BOX speed and whatever looks it corresponds to.
2. You set your meter to 200 and develop as it was 400. You overexposed one stop.
3. You set the meter to 800 and develop like 400. You underexposed one stop.
4. You set the meter to 200 and develop like 200. You PULL one stop.
5. You set the meter to 800 and develop like 800. You PUSH one stop.
So...so what? Well. They will all give you a different look. What is the difference?
2. Underexposed film will have more grain and shadows that look muddy.
3. Overexposed film will block the highlights (though film handles that very well). You get more saturation too.
4. Pulled film has lower contrast but you may get lower grain too.
5. Pushed film has higher contrast and probably more grain.
This is why say Delta 100 pushed 2 stops is not the same as Delta 400. It will have much higher contrast.
Portra 160 pushed has higher contrast and a more muted palette Vs Portra 400 at the same exposure.
Also note that once you go above 1 stop push, the colour balance shifts as the colours don't push at the same rate. This is why in dim light, ie artificial light at night, ie already bad colour balance, film looks crap. People push it thinking they just up the speed but they get shutter speed at the expense of increased contrast (which is already high in dim conditions with directional artificial light) and much shifted colour balance.
Pull can be useful with films like Delta 3200. Pull a stop or two and the grain is much nicer but you get very low contrast. Pulling colour muted the palette too. So maybe you have some high contrast high saturation film and youre in direct sunlight. Normal shooting will make everything look hot and over saturated. Pull the film a stop and you tame it a bit.
This all depends on the final output too. A professional scanner will deal with pushed/overexposed film (which is high contrast) much better than a flatbed. Optical printing gives you another level of control.
Note that Portra 400 basically looks the same when scanned competently 1 stop over/underexposed. That's scenarios 2 and 3. I'd argue with good light Portra 400 works like a 200-800 film, set your meter to whatever and develop normally and you won't know. As the light becomes more difficult you will start to see the differences.
It is sometimes a necessity to push to get the shutter speed but it can also be a stylistic choice. On a flat overcast day when everything is low contrast and boring, take a slow film and push it to spice it up a bit (for example).
Apr 27, 2024 at 03:40 PM
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