paper negatives instead of film negatives

Im not sure about you but I tend to use paper in my cameras instead of film. Film is great and all that, but it’s so expensive I’m not sure how anyone can afford it to be honest. Back in 2001 just before 9-11 a 100 sheet box of 4×5 TMAX film (both iso 100 and iso 400) were about 65$ shipped from NYC. Nowadays that same film is $360 plus shipping. I’ve been using photo paper as an alternative to film, it takes a little getting used to but it’s loads more fun and if you have a darkened room to develop in, it can be instant compared to film.

A few things to think about –– photo paper is not responsive to all the light you see around you, it tends to have a lot of contrast, it might be hard to make an enlargement or photographic print.

There are some techniques you might use to counter these off putting differences. You might already be doing these things when you are exposing your favorite slide film or digital files because like slide film and digital files if you don’t get the exposure right the paper negative might not be what you want.

You can use a yellow filter to counter the contrast, as you would if making a darkroom print and the negative was cooked, or you use split filter printing. You can expose paper that is expired and might have a little “base fog”. Base fog reduces the contrast, makes your blacks a little less black and your whites a little less hot. You might shoot on days that are overcast so the light is soft, or you can photograph in open shade. You might also reduce the contrast when you develop your exposures. I tend to do this with a 2 bath developer– one is fresh and the other is spent and I go between the 2 baths until I get my print the way I like it. Some folks reduce the amount of developer they use so it is really dilute, or they use a less “active” film developer instead of a robust paper developer. There really is no right or wrong way to do these things, just what works for you.

Im a big fan of putting a scrap of paper in a 35mm camera to do a test exposure to get an idea of what the paper does and how the developer I am using is working. You simply put a scrap of paper in the back of your 35mm (120 hassy, clack, or box camera or …) and make an educated guess at the paper’s ISO. Like film paper has a relative ISO but unlike film this ISO is kind of weird.

As mentioned film is sensitive to all light, paper to only a portion of that light, and what makes it tricky is what might seem like a bright sunny day it might not have a lot of the light (blueish light ) your paper is sensitive to. Blue light is most abundant mid day. The old rule of thumb was that photo paper was around ISO 6, some say in bright sun it is ISO 24, maybe it’s in between? it all depends on the chemical composition of the paper. Some papers have ingredients that make it more or less light sensitive, for example if regular Ilford paper is ISO 24, LUPEX or LODIMA or AZO paper is more like ISO .185 (7 full stops slower). Using “graded paper”. will do hte same thing as using yellow filters. Instead of a scrap of paper, if you want to make a “test strip” retracting your dark slide that works too. Just like making a test strip with a contact print or enlargement, make sure your development technique for your scrap or in camera test strip is the same between the test and your final. Not flipping the paper over a few times, not agitating the tray, not developing for a full 1 or 2 mins &c will change everything, and turn your great negative into something that is unevenly developed and a mess.

When you make paper negatives you will get good at judging the light and you won’t even think about any of these things.

The developed negative might be your final result –– if it is, congratulations, you’re done!

.. If not, you still have a few things to do with your new paper negative. You can make a contact print by putting your negative on your paper (or glass or ?) and blast light through it. It will take a lot of light to make its way through the paper, most paper now is not single weight (thin). To counter this, you might want to go to buy a bright light instead of your enlarger, the downside to this is you won’t be able to use contrast enhancing or reducing filters, you will still be able to dodge and burn. I use a 300 watt bulb, it’s extremely bright, but it works really well. I said glass or ? because if you have a stash or “dry photographic plates” they are basically photo paper but the light sensitive chemicals are on glass instead of paper. you can make your own if you want, it’s not too hard, like everything it just takes effort and time and learning from mistakes. You might decide to scan your paper negative.

If scanning is your next step adjust your scanner so its auto correct settings are off and do a direct scan without contrast/level enhancements. You’ll be able to do all that, and dodging / burning and tonality in your editing. Always scan in color because there is tonality in the negative your scanner will see (a scanner is just a flat bed camera). The nice thing about using a scanner is whatever size your negative is, doesn’t have to be its final size. As long as your scan is large enough you can enlarge your 4×5 paper negative into a 20×24 or larger print.

There are other ways like using a reflecting enlarger which projects light UP onto the paper negative and it’s reflected light goes through an enlarging lens. You’ll have to search for that topic, I’ve never made or used one, or seen one in person but they exist. You can also rephotograph your negative like people who use an “afghan camera” this will give you a positive.

This condensed list of techniques will work for any type of photographic paper and is not limited to paper. The test strip, develop and print technique is a standard for film too. And it’s not limited to store bought pre-made papers. If you want to make your own photo paper there are companies that sell photographic emulsion in a bottle ( or make your own!). In the darkroom with the red light on you scoop some hardened emulsion out, put it in a jar and float that jar in hot water so it melts. You submerge or brush on or use a coating rod to coat your paper and the rest is the same. You don’t need to stop at just paper if you want. As long as you put something for the gelatin in the emulsion to stick to you can use metal or plastic or glass or paper, or concrete slabs or bricks or slate or even a hard boiled egg. You can use anything as a negative or positive as long as you figure out the logistics ( like how are you going to get a concrete slab in your camera ).

Tutorials, workshops and classes available via distance (web) or in person.

Author: jnanian

I am a Freelance Photographer in Rhode Island. I make photographs using a variety of methods with and without a camera, and I teach photography online and in person. I make photo emulsions from scratch, I coat my own photo paper and make cyanotypes too. I am a huge fan of Caffenol ( I helped write the Caffenol Cookbook ) and instead of instant coffee, I roast my own Sumatra Robusta beans. I sell them so you can make your own long lasting, film and print developer called Sumatranol. I also sell silver recovery products.