In a message dated 1/3/2003 6:06:32 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> > Okay, here's another dumb newbie q. I've been trying to figure out how to > word this q for some time and still haven't gotten it right. And it is a > multi-part q, some parts esoteric and some not. I am also sure it has been > asked before. > > > > Feel free to answer any part of this q that you want. > > > > 1. What color ARE color negatives? (color print film) > > They are inverted from the print. That is Red is Cyan, Green is Magenta, etc Got it. > > 2. Who's to say the original 4x6 prints are right? (Right in the sense > that they show the color the camera recorded at the time?) > > > > I had some photos I felt real proud of -- dry grass covered hills that > came out very yellow. I felt that *I* had had something to do with the > resultant print color. The time of the day I took the shots; the aperture > setting I used. > > The photographer. All the computer can do is make a guess. If they do not > look the way you remember them, have them redo them. It helps if you can > tell them what is wrong with them like "too cyan" or "too yellow". You will > need to have some experience to be able to do that. If you need very > acturate colors you can shoot a gray card on the first frame. A pro shop can > set the color correction by that and the whole roll will be correct, if all > the photos were shot in the same light. Do'h. I've read about gray cards, but didn't realize one could shoot one on the first frame for that use (maybe I didn't read closely enough). Interesting. Very interesting. > > 3. But if one lab can develop color prints a different color than another > lab can develop them, how can I ever tell if *I* had ANYTHING to do with the > color they come out? > > > > (Maybe one lab simply printed them too colorful -- not the color the > camera recorded.) > > That is possible. If you want to be sure of your colors, and exposure, most > experienced photographers will tell you to work with slide file. Slide file > is the oridginal and what you see is what you got. The lab can do all kinds > of wierd things to prints. So it seems. Or so I am finding out. > > 4. What color is actually there? How come any machine cannot look at color > negatives and arrive at the same color in the prints? > > Because color is affected by many things. Only by having a neutral patch > (that gray card) can they be accurately compensated for. The color > tempurature of the light (daylight, lamplight, dawn, noon, etc) affects the > color on the film, and they need to be compensated for in printing. Even > which lens you use can affect the color to a slight extent. Aha, how the lab/machine compensates is where all the subjectivity comes into play. > > 5. This is why people use slide film isn't it? Because the developing > process doesn't change the color? And because the photographer can see what > color the pictures really came out? > > Yes. > > > > 6. *Is* the developing of color slide film accurate? (i.e. Do slides come > out the color the camera recorded? > > Slide film requires very precise processing. If the process is off it will > affect the colors on the film. Fortunately most slide labs maintain the > proper balance. Also, no film is 100% color accurate, all you can expect is > acceptable. Well, yeah, but that's good enough. > > > > Color is very important to me. > > That is because you are an artist <grin>. I have never been real good at > color, I grew up in a B&W world and have never quite > adjusted. I hope my > answers helped. They sure did, thanks! Doe aka Marnie :-)
