First time making a contact sheet:

Hello everyone, last night I printed my first contact sheet.
I printed it at grade 2, does it look to dark to evaluate shadow details?
I can easily see in the negatives but not on the contact sheet, only if I put the paper though a light pad I can easily see shadows information.
Should I lower the contrast filter?

For me, a contact sheet is a general reference for the subject and composition. For anything more, like sharpness, detail in the shadows or highlights, I examine the negative. I have made quite a few nice prints from negatives that looked lacking on the proof sheets.

Welcome to Photrio.
Those negatives look very contrasty to me, so a lower contrast filter might help.
Printing the contact proof sheet a bit lighter will probably help too.
Perhaps though the best thing to learn from what you have done so far with the contact sheet is an indication that your film development is longer/at a higher temperature than what you might want to aim for.
Outside of that though - the results are close, so a very good first try.

My experience is the same as Pieter’s. A 35mm contact sheet makes it easy to find the neg I want and to pick those worthy of closer scrutiny (on a light table with a loupe). But a good contact sheet (and those look fine) can also provide clues about relative density and contrast. When you’re happy with a print of one frame, the contact sheet can help you decide if a different frame needs more or less exposure and contrast for a test print.

Many thanks for the feedback.
May I ask the those negs looks overdeveloped to you?

Pieter12 said:

For me, a contact sheet is a general reference for the subject and composition. For anything more, like sharpness, detail in the shadows or highlights, I examine the negative. I have made quite a few nice prints from negatives that looked lacking on the proof sheets.

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Ditto; oops, I just saw, I'm unanimous with myself.

It's a little hard to tell from the pictures, but you want to get able to just about differentiate the negative rebate from the completely exposed paper., so they might be a bit dark. As others say though, contact sheets are just a guide, so don't worry too much.
Some people even like to print contact sheets darker but then view them on a light table (Jon finch does this), I think it lets you assess highlight detail a bit more.

Rorystreet91 said:

May I ask the those negs looks overdeveloped to you?

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Slightly to my taste, but they'll print just fine. I also personally try to have sufficient shadow detail also in the more contrasty scenes. Looking at your sheet, exposures vary a little from frame to frame. Which only means that the contact sheet is doing its job! You can make some perfectly fine prints from those. Well done!

Forget the contact sheet and evaluate the negatives themselves.

koraks said:

Slightly to my taste, but they'll print just fine. I also personally try to have sufficient shadow detail also in the more contrasty scenes. Looking at your sheet, exposures vary a little from frame to frame. Which only means that the contact sheet is doing its job! You can make some perfectly fine prints from those. Well done!

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I agree.

ic-racer said:

Forget the contact sheet and evaluate the negatives themselves.

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Sorry but a negative never told a thing except if it is over or under exposed
a contact sheet will certainly help give you the feedback needed
Fred Picker's workshop book Tells you exactly how make the proper proof
In the end it's just a window into making a photograph!!
whatever works for you!!
happy new year everyone

Rorystreet91 said:

Many thanks for the feedback.
May I ask the those negs looks overdeveloped to you?

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Yep.
But in amongst my darkroom using friends, my preferences tend toward thinner negatives.
You can see some of mine here:
https://www.photrio.com/forum/resou...nsparencies-for-troubleshooting-purposes.461/

Peter Schrager said:

Sorry but a negative never told a thing except if it is over or under exposed

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Sorry, determining if a negative is too light to print or to dark to print is difficult from the negative.

Well done, as your first contact sheet looks good. Don't worry about contrast, as others have said the contact sheet allows you to select what you consider worth printing.

Peter Schrager said:

Sorry but a negative never told a thing except if it is over or under exposed
a contact sheet will certainly help give you the feedback needed
Fred Picker's workshop book Tells you exactly how make the proper proof
In the end it's just a window into making a photograph!!
whatever works for you!!
happy new year everyone

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Peter, A negative holds all the information that will appear in print. Pretty easy to see composition details.....
In my view a contact sheet for 35/120 ...... doesn't necessarily have the best exposure for every image on the negative strips.

Contact proof sheets are often full of useful information.
And the more you make them, and then print from the negatives thereafter, the more you can glean from them.
To @Rorystreet91 I would say - now go print some of those negatives and make notes about what worked and what was challenging. Then store those notes with the contact proof sheet. If you can recall them, add your thoughts about your original camera exposure choices for the relevant frames.
As you do this more, read through your notes and look at the contact proof sheet and the resultant prints, and see if you come to any conclusions about film exposure and development. It can be a great learning feedback loop!

GregY said:

Peter, A negative holds all the information that will appear in print. Pretty easy to see composition details.....
In my view a contact sheet for 35/120 ...... doesn't necessarily have the best exposure for every image on the negative strips.

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A negative will give a good idea about composition and sharpness, but a contact sheet will give you a better idea when all the tonal values are reversed as seen on a print. Also producing a contact sheet is a good discipline to keep, as if you store your negative sheets with th contact sheet on top. Then 10 years later when you are looking for a particular negative, it is much easier to find.

cliveh said:

A negative will give a good idea about composition and sharpness, but a contact sheet will give you a better idea when all the tonal values are reversed as seen on a print. Also producing a contact sheet is a good discipline to keep, as if you store your negative sheets with th contact sheet on top. Then 10 years later when you are looking for a particular negative, it is much easier to find.

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Clive, I gave up making contact sheets decades ago when i started using a view camera. If i need more detail i look at the negatives on a light box. We all have different ways of working. Especially these days when a box of 8x10 paper costs $250 Cad/ 150 €...... i don't regret having given up the contact sheet practice.

So...

What do you want from a contact proof sheet? If you want to see how the photos might look, only small, then adjust contrast and exposure to make your best proof sheet. That means finding the average right exposure and contrast to render the most pictures well-printed. This is good for choosing which frames to print and seeing which might not be worth the effort.

If, like me, you also use contact sheets as a control on the processes of exposure and development, then learn how to make a "proper proof." This entails printing the rebate (clear area) of the film just slightly lighter than the maximum paper black. Then, you can easily see if you are exposing your film properly (not enough shadow detail = underexposed / too much = overexposed) and developing it properly (blown highlights with the right shadow detail = overdeveloped / muddy highlights with the right shadow detail = underdeveloped).

If you consistently find you are exposing or developing wrong, then you adjust your process.

Also, in my experience, defects in the negative often show up in the contact sheet that aren't readily apparent by looking at the negative, especially small differences in density caused by a little flare. So contact sheets are helpful here in keeping me from printing larger to find this out.

FWIW, I proof everything and keep the proof sheets together with the negatives in my files.

Best,

Doremus

For a first contact sheet this looks great. My first contact sheet looked horrible as I was still figuring out a lot of stuff. Like others have said I usually use my contact sheets more for choosing what exposures to print next but everyone’s process is different. Good luck!

Daybreak135 said:

For a first contact sheet this looks great. My first contact sheet looked horrible as I was still figuring out a lot of stuff. Like others have said I usually use my contact sheets more for choosing what exposures to print next but everyone’s process is different. Good luck!

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The contact sheet can be used to getting the first estimate of the enlargement exposure.