How should I shoot to get bright black and whites?

[Heidia]

I like them on the brighter side...skins more white/cream than gray...how should I shoot and process black and white 35mm print film to acheive this? Thanks!

 

[Rick A]

Meter on the skin then open the aperture (or slow the shutter) one and a half to two steps. You can use a combination of shutter/aperture to achieve this.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Don't increase agitaion much. This could lead to issues on the negatives.

Best to try one thing at a time. Perhaps exposure first. See how it works then look at darkroom process if you don't like that. But exposure should be enough to raise values, though it will be for the entire image.

 

[lns]

Outside the ambit of your question, but still important, is how you print. You'll want to find a paper that gives bright whites and perhaps use a higher contrast filter than normal.

-Laura

 

[john_s]

Another vote for generous exposure. It solves a lot of problems especially for portraits.

 

[Heidia]

Thank you all so much!

 

[JBrunner]

Good thick neg as others have said, but I speculate that the "look" you are after is that of a yellow or orange filter than a particular exposure/processing/printing method. Remember to factor the filter in the exposure, that's how it does what it does to caucasian skin tones.