darkroom meter calibration

[danzyc]

hello friends! how many people have calibrated the meter with the skin tone???

my jobo comparator 2 due seems to be not reliable if i should calibrate it with the skin tone...


thanks

 

[BobNewYork]

The meter should just provide a print exposure that replicates the density of the tone you calibrated it to. Be aware that any image has a range of skin tones - the shadowed side, the highlight side, the near-specular reflection from the forehead. Nonetheless the meter should replicate the exact tone that you calibrated - to the same paper and batch that you used for calibration of course.

Bob H

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

A 'Skin Tone' is the hardest tone to pick for calibration: As Bob has pointed out, there are many, many 'skin tones'; as many tones as there are ways to light skin. You may as well calibrate to a 'rock tone'.

The proverbial 'skin tone' - 40% reflectance or so - applies to a Caucasian palm in diffuse illumination. Hardly a common, or interesting, subject.

You need to calibrate your meter to a range of tones and then pick the appropriate tone for the image you are printing.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Why is there always a better way?

There are an infinite number of wrong ways and only one true way; the chances that you are on the one true way are infinitesimally small.

 

[danzyc]

the thinnest negative part(black) for example seem to be the most reliable value...i think...

the skin tone is much more difficult...