Different approach to proofing

This may not be different to others but it is something I have done recently and has really helped me to see things much better. Whenever I've finished developing roll film I have traditionally proofed all the negs unto a sheet of 8/10 paper and used this as a guide to see what I would enlarge. However, the last roll of my 120 I proofed as usual and then cut them up into individual photographs. What a difference this has made in the selection process and what a difference as to how the pictures just come off to me in general. It is far less distracting to view them as their own entity and not bunched together with the others on the roll. Thought I'd pass that on.

I'd also like to wish everyone a Most Merry Christmas and a Really Great New Year as well. God Bless You and Yours!

Mike Pry

Works as well using a piece of mat board with an appropriately sized hole in the center laid on the contact sheet. Gives you a clear field sround the image to isolate it.

Instead of using 8X10 paper, I now proof my 4X5 negs on 5X7 paper thru enlarger rather than contact print. Seems to give me a better idea of neg image quality ( I read somewhere about this idea).

I do what Gary does -- got a frame place to cut me a 1.5" x 1" opening in a small piece of mat board for looking at contact sheets from 35mm. It does help a lot.

On a similar note... Here's what I've been doing and found it to greatly reduce the mountain of images and extras...

For roll film and sheet film I make a quick proof set of contact sheets. I then get out the sharpie and edit away. I usually end up getting rid of half of the images if not more. Realistically all those extra images will never be used, why am I keeping them? (I usually do this rough set on older paper that I have no more plans for or cheap 8x10 rc)

I then take all the edits and re-sleeve them in 4 up 4x5 pages or 9 up 120 pages. Then FINAL contacts are made on 8.5x11 paper. For 35mm I just contact the whole roll, but I don't really shoot that much 35mm anymore. (My proof set is done in sleeves that I reuse for the purpoes and keep clean)

Seem like a hassle, but my contact sheets are now what I really want to see (a good example would be shooting with models - they now only have the good stuff, not the good and bad to show off) But the biggest benefit was storage of finished work.

Works for me,

joe