- Joined
- Oct 13, 2012
- Messages
- 34
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- Multi Format
Curves settings can be saved, but you can only do it with headroom ("reserves") if you want tempalates. Using those ready-presets you still need to fine-tune with new set of curves since each frame is slightly different from another. So I prefer to do it manually for each frame since it only takes sconds for me using my own guidelines.
It's about scanning and then inverting technique IMO. Lot of people think they can get all the magic out of scanner's software inversion but in most cases you don't, very-very few high-end scanning softwares offer you decent enough negative inversion. There's actually very simple principle to get decent negatives with an utter consistency from most scanners - scan them as 16bit positives and flat (but with one important sidenote: scanner must have a good stock white-balance for flat setting - i.e. IT8 calibrated on CCD or white-calibrated on PMT drumscanner).
And invert them in PP with smartly adjusted curves. This is something you must discover and master yourself since everybody can have his/her own taste or interpretation here. That's why I love the C41 since it gives you more playground with the colors and tonality
During the inversion with smartly adjusted curves you already set the gray into robust balance since you roughly sync the channel shapes. Then fine-tune later to have it spot-on. In fact it's so simple mostly you do not need to find black/gray/white spots on the image. You do it with inspecting the curve levels on each channel and reconfirm with your own eyes since your basis is right and when you're off it'll be painfully obvious. Works on all negatives - Kodak, Fuji etc. The first (inverting-) curves is the most important and even with very difficult white-balance frames I get decent results with my simple recipe. Here's coppermine shot through brownish haze w/o any usable gray spot but still came out usable after inversion into positive:
Cheers,
Margus
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