OverSaturated reds

Hey All,
I just shot some tulips with Fuji Reala and the prints came back so saturated that the reds seemed blocked up. I checked the scanned images and found that most of the picture was out of gamut.

I plan to go back and shoot the tulips again (i'm sure you all can sympathise with that) until I get it right.

What do you suggest I could have done differently?

Did you process and print yourself? or did a lab do it for you, of course the reala is know for doing this in certain lighting conditions, I don't know that I am seeing alot of blocking up, but it is difficult to tell from a scan, but being honest with you, they look about normal and what I would expect from a fuji film, you may want to try another type of film that has less tendancy to saturate quite as much as reala, try a roll of fuji supreia and you may be pleasently surprised as the supreia is a bit more neutral.

Dave

Get a better film, preferably tungsten balanced. The combination of ridiculously oversaturated color balance and too much contrast is what's killing you here.

Tungsten balanced taken outdoors?
I figured I'd shoot flowers with the most saturated film hahah. The pink tulips were gorgeous but the Yellow and Red ones turned out kinda blocky.

I personnaly left FUJI REALA short after it came out... just because of the processing of some reds...
There is something wrong with blue/red balance on that level... (sorry not being technical on that level, I never had the tools needed to know which color range is wrong)
Just used one on holiday about two years ago... because I didn't find any other 220 rolls... and by chance I didn't hit the wrong red...
The solution? Definitely forget Reala and use Fujicolor NPS 160... It's far better and I never got any trouble with it... (by the way, does anybody know when the new version PRO160S is coming out ? it has been announced at Photokina)

Why not go to http://www.fujifilm.com and look at the film data sheets. These will show you the characteristic curves for the films colour layers, thus allowing some objectivity in film selection.

No film is going to match every circumstance, which is why the professionals use colour correction (CC) filters and colour meters etc to get the colour balance they want. Even then, there will be compromises.

When you say that the reds are "blocked up", does this mean that there is no detail on the negative, or that your scanner is unable to handle the density ? If there is detail on the negative, then the problem is not with Reala.

When you say the colour is "out of gamut", do you mean that your software couldn't match the colours to your chosen colour profile ? If so, this may not be a problem with the negative. It is possible that your system may not be capable of delivering what you want.

Fuji market Reala as a film with "Extraordinary Color Accuracy". I have always found it to be neutral in terms of it colour balance. From the spec sheets, it looks to me that NPS160 might be a better solution, but, in the end, only you know what you want and what you are prepared to give up, as no film is ever going to be perfect.

By the way, large attachments in posts are a real problem for us poor souls that must suffer a dial-up Internet connection.

Sorry about that. I have used broadband for so long that I forget.

Out of gamut as defined by photoshop highlighting to me the areas that the printer cannot handle.

The scanned negatives show up much better than the prints. The prints were done at a photolab (costco) on Fujui Crystal Archive. On the prints, the red appeared as indistinct super saturated blobs of red.

I think your choice of film is fine - I personally would have used Velvia (a much more highly saturated film). I think your real problem is the lighting. I think the reason you are having so much problems with the red is because all of your other colors are pretty washed out (especially the greens). Try shooting in better lighting conditions, perhaps early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I think once you get all the rest of your colors in balance the reds will fall in place.

A less saturated film might help with the over-saturated reds - tulips can have very saturated colours, which can easily overload a saturated film. A different manufacturer might also help with the greens, which IMO is the great weakness of all Fuji films: I have not yet seen a natural-looking green from any of them.

If the neg has detail, why not try printing it on another paper or by a more professional lab if the picture is important.

You could try making a contrast reducing mask to print with, assuming you are doing it in the darkroom. If you have a good film scanner you should be able to do the same thing digitally and then have the file printed. If you have the chance to redo the picture I would try to go back in the morning or evening when the light is less harsh.

You may also need a new profile for your printer. Some are very bad and compress the gamut. Others for the same printer are much wider. I noticed this with my Epson 2200 and several sets of profiles. This will cause colors to block up.