Trying to find best personal exposure T-MAX, can you help me decide which one it is?

[markbarendt]

... Adequate exposure of a scene gives faint density in the shadows.

This statement is true but the scene is artificially lit, there's not enough ambient light on the OP's set to fill the shadows on the film, the ambient exposure "falls" somewhere down at the bottom of the film's toe.

With artificial light a few inches to or from the source can make a difference of a full stop.

In the OP's box speed shot the fan is in the right spot, the floor is simply farther away so everything on the floor gets less light per square inch from the strobe and because of that those subjects fall at darker points on the film curve.

Raising flash power does provide more light to the floor and gets those floor subjects up off the toe, the problem is that it also moves the placement of the OP's black card (which is indicative of the portrait sitter's black hair or shirt) to right on the film curve. The most important black point in a portrait is being forced up into a mid-tone grey in order to get detail on the floor.

That strategy can create a usable negative but that negative would require burn and dodge to fix the print.

In the OP's case one fix is probably a large white reflector (bed sheet) hung on the opposite side from the strobe to bounce light back in and fill the dark areas, along with that moving the main light back away from the subject may help too.

More options include adding more ambient light or using a longer shutter time so that ambient light has a bigger effect.

 

[markbarendt]

So moodlover, how did things work out?

 

[alanrockwood]

I like the look of the +2 or +3 pictures.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Old thread... he's probably an old pro now.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Unless there is something really off with either your method or equipment the box speed should be fine. The latitude of most film is from 4-1/2 stops under to 1 stop over exposure. The fine folks at Kodak have already figured this out for us. They have the equipment and expertise to do this correctly.

If you look at the latitude you will not that it is better to slightly over expose film rather than under expose it.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Unless there is something really off with either your method or equipment the box speed should be fine. The latitude of most film is from 4-1/2 stops under to 1 stop over exposure. The fine folks at Kodak have already figured this out for us. They have the equipment and expertise to do this correctly.

If you look at the latitude you will not that it is better to slightly over expose film rather than under expose it.

It has been pointed out to me that there is an error in this post #30. The latitude of most film is from 4-1/2 stops over to 1 stop under exposure. Thanks Bill!

 

[paul ron]

Id say the first 3 are fine.
BUT... yeah 2 years ago, he was just a high school senior.
Hes making million$ by now.

.

 

[WilmarcoImaging]

The results in the original post have different renderings. I see this as an aesthetic question only the photographer, or client, can answer. I shoot black and white film for portraits at box speed or a half stop slower (more exposure). Developing time for me has been iterated over the years. It is usually D-76 1+2 for 14 minutes at 68F. Strobe output + lens opening + development time = asethetic rendering, which is up to you.

The images in the original post are all good, none are bad or wrong. Which one is best, or "right", is subjective.

Regarding C-41 film, it is completely different than black and white film such as a T-Max variant. For C-41, I expose at box speed and process normally in Flexicolor chemistry. Camera settings are again an aesthetic decision. I shoot portraits with strobe at f/8 or f/11, I like them a bit sharper.