What are some tips for achieving a high-contrast look with black and white film?

From my perspective, achieving a high-contrast appearance with black-and-white film involves meticulously selecting a film stock with inherent contrast. During the development process, it's essential to refine contrast by adjusting and experimenting with various developers. Ultimately, when capturing images, emphasis is placed on strong lighting, integrating deep shadows and bright highlights to craft visually impactful and compelling scenes.

From my experience creating a high contrast film is a combination of the right lighting, making sure to not overexpose to keep the highlights clean, and the right film.

As a painter, values are an area of focus especially in the start of any painting. Getting the tones (or values) right means the colors tend to work out no matter what hue you choose. The legendary illustrator Andrew Loomis in his book "Creative Illustration" has narrowed down 4 Value arrangements that will always attract the human eye, no matter if its a photograph, painting or abstract. Google: "Andrew Loomis four basic value plans", or "Andrew Loomis Tonal Organisation". Note, the word Value (i.e, amount of blackness or whiteness of a hue) means the same as the word Tone.

Choosing the right black and white film is a crucial step in capturing a compelling and timeless photograph. Each black and white film possesses unique characteristics, including contrast, grain structure, and sensitivity to light, which significantly influence the mood and aesthetics of the final image. Understanding the characteristics of different black and white films enables photographers to tailor their choices to the specific visual narrative they aim to convey.

The best contrast b&w photograph needs sharp light at one end to create an equally sharp shadow at the other end. Try the adjustment in photo-editor to ensure a satisfied customer.

I have found that in post processing adjusting the histogram is a good starting place. I also like the suggestions for red and green filters.

Use the “expose for the highlights” technique, where you meter for the brightest part of the scene you want detail in. This ensures highlights are well-exposed, while shadows will naturally fall into deeper blacks, enhancing contrast.

You can even underexpose, slightly. This works to enhance contrast by deepening your shadows and making highlights more pronounced. Take caution with this, however, too much under-exposure could mean that you lose out on fine details.

Using black and white film means less post-processing control, so nailing exposure is crucial. Aim for proper highlights exposure to avoid losing details. Despite the challenges, shooting in black and white encourages focusing on tones and textures, creating unique, timeless images with a classic feel.

I see the question is about film, yet some answer with a "digital" solution which is the opposite of what is needed when using film. With film, always expose for the shadow not the highlight areas, no histogram to be seen with a film camera. Increasing contrast with film is best done using filters, green, blue, orange/yellow and the like. Also there are films made for high contrast where you get just black and white and little to nothing that shows gray.

Use Filters: Colored filters can affect how different colors are rendered in black and white. For example, a red filter darkens skies and enhances contrast. Experimenting with various filters helps you see their impact on contrast.

In my perspective You should be going for a good quality of glass filters to get a clearer and sharper contrast instead of buying cheap ones as its just waste of money. Also there are 4 filters basically Below are their effects 1. Red - bold and dramatic scenes , e.g blue skies turns to almost black. 2. Yellow - differentiate skies and clouds , helps in removing haze and fog. 3. Orange - this filter give stronger effects than yellow filters but are not as bold and dramatic as a red. It is therefore an ideal choice to span the effects given by both these filters. 4. Green. - This gives a more natural and lighter feel to a picture.

Así es, es importante que los filtros sean de buena calidad y de vidrio ya que estamos poniéndolo delante de la lente y si tenemos una muy buena óptica y usamos filtros baratos estamos tirando a la basura el buen lente

Using filters with black and white film is like having magic glasses for your camera. Pop on a red one to make the sky moody or go green to brighten up nature shots. Filters are simple tools that let you play with contrast and create cool effects, giving your photos an extra touch of style.

Filters can do magic in B/W photography. One irony is one has to study colour theory for B/W photography to get what they want, or else its going to be disaster.

To get striking black and white photos, look for scenes with clear light and dark differences, like shadows or patterns. Play with angles, shoot against the light, or use empty space around your subject. Simple tricks can turn ordinary scenes into eye-catching, high-contrast photos.

Hey folks, in my experience one should look for a place where there is an bright sunlight and the objects against,which is creating shadows and you can play accordingly, Also instead of balancing light from both sides you can try going ahead with uneven exposure to get a more striking contrast. Most importantly framing the subject within the frame with shadows on negative spaces, playing around angular shots , low aperture to have more DOF in the picture to make subject stand out.

All the technical issues aside Consider the following… What’s the story you’re trying to tell? Find good examples to look at and learn from… For example, look at the work of Ansel Adams. Do more to understand the relationship between light and dark in your frame… Where do you want the eye of the viewer to go? Daylight or nighttime scene the role of light has different purposes.

A sunny day and mid-day light produces harsh shadows and contrast. Although I use sometimes a rainy day, for landscape images, as water that saturates the objects/items.

Digital cameras allow to explore high-contrast images since the very first moment one is planning the photo. When I try Black & White photos, I do look for contrasted scenes and took the first photo with full colour. Once I'm happy with the composition, the light, shadows and landscape, I switch the camera mode to b/w, and start the process again. The advantage is the RAW result. I can still developing the photo to contrast even more shadows and lights to have a nice final shot.

Higher developer temperature, higher concentration and also the agitation rhytm must be increased in order to obtain high contrast. The usual induction point of the hydroquinone in a developer starts from 7 min onwards. If this is brought under 7 minutes with temperature and agitation, as a result will ussually darken the silver halides on the film faster. Also a highly concentration stop bath is recommended, than adding in the fixer 2 - 3 g of potassium bromide, will dissolve the unexposed or poorly exposed shadows on the negative, leaving almost a graphic effect on the negative. Another way of doing it is to develop the film normally by having a great tonal range and choosing a hard grade paper by using filters in the enlargers.

If you're pushing film, but like me you don't develop your film, it's wise to get to know the people at the laboratory that does your developing. Don't be afraid to ask questions about their processes and the chemicals they use, most are happy to even show you around if you ask nicely. When you send your films off for development, make sure that your film is correctly marked up so the Lab knows that your film needs more development time to enhance the contrast and grain in your images.

Developing black and white film is like cooking your photos. To boost contrast, adjust development settings like time or temperature—similar to adding spices. It's a creative process, so feel free to experiment with different "cooking" methods (developers) to find the flavor (texture and sharpness) you like best for your pictures.

In my experience Agfa Ordinal is the best developer that provides the most pleasing high-contrast negatives, and this without the expense of blowing out the details in your highlights.

The most striking contrast I remember seeing from black and white film was slides that my teacher, Cheryl Delacroce, would take weekly at a nightclub when I was in high school, 1979-80 or so. She used regular black and white print negative film, Ilford I think, and then used a reversal process in the tank to pull positive images right on the film. And the blacks and the whites were rich.

In addition to all the above recommendations, definitely it is the paper that will show the final image. I have used the Ilford Gallerie papers with excellent results, expensive though. Another process that I have done (which purists may disagree), is scanning the negative with a high res scanner, cleaning all the small dust particle, giving the right contrast on the digital dark room, and sending the file to a Lambda/Lightjet machine, printing over Ilford photographic paper and later developing it. Very expensive, but I got grate images.

Consider film development as your secret sauce in photography. Just as a chef fine-tunes flavors, you tweak settings to enhance contrast. Think of it like crafting a signature dish; play with development methods (ingredients) to discover the texture and sharpness that make your photos uniquely yours. So, embrace the darkroom as your kitchen and savor the creative journey of turning negatives into a visual feast.

Contrast can be greatly manipulated in the print process. Papers used to be rated for contrast, but then multi-contrast papers were created. The filter you used over your enlarger lens determined the image's contrast.

The B/W image allows us to achieve striking effects, to focus the attention on the subject/object or message that we wish to visualise in greyscale. A grisaille that uses the veil of development times, sensitivity applied during exposure and support are an equation that allows us to enhance the contrast of any scene. It concentrates us on the light and shadows, as a game of subtle sensitivity. Both the light temperature of the place where the image was taken, the amount of light received during film printing. Digital post-production also helps the effect. I remember the impeccable work of one of the most representative Spanish photographers. Cristina García Rodero, with the permission of the rest of the image professionals.

La práctica es clave. Experimenta con diferentes combinaciones de iluminación, película y procesamiento para descubrir el estilo de alto contraste que más te gusta.

Start with the light.Different films, filters and processing are less important than the light. Considerations beyond the basic qualities of the light: where the light is coming from vs where the camera is.

Try different combinations of exposure, development times, and paper types to find the combination that best suits your desired level of contrast. Remember that achieving the perfect high-contrast look often involves a bit of experimentation. Keep notes on your settings and processes for each roll of film, and learn from the results to refine your technique.

Push it a stop or 2 in the lab, use a heavy contrast paper when you print, heat the dev a bit… old school you hear! 💪🏻👍🏻❤️

The combination of technical skill with a thoughtful consideration of context and subject matter can indeed create a profound visual narrative. Photographs, as a form of visual storytelling, have the potential to go beyond mere aesthetics and convey complex social, cultural, and political messages. The technical aspects of the image, such as composition, lighting, and contrast, work in tandem with the content to evoke emotions and provoke thought. The context of an image is also crucial for its interpretation and impact.

Making the right contrast in a movie is intricately tied to the mood and symbolism of the narrative. 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' utilized high contrast not merely for aesthetic reasons but to symbolize the twisted reality of the plot and intensify the psychological elements. To achieve a high-contrast look, filmmakers must carefully choose the mood of the film, aligning it with the color palette, contrast, and highlights. Tone can be effectively conveyed by using harsh lighting techniques, creating strong highlights and deep shadows. Additionally, consider experimenting with different black and white films, using contrast filters, and tweaking other technical aspects.