Your thoughts on this picture, please

perkeleellinen

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This is probably grade 4. Do you think I should try to burn in the top of the head? Worried it might look weird with a halo effect. What do you all think? To burn or not to burn?

 

radiant

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It is a bit hard to see how the photo "white" compares to paper white. You might know that the photo white should be a tint darker than paper, so that the photo has complete borders on paper.

I think it is not hard to burn that top part. Linear gradual burn would probably look good?
 

Sirius Glass

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I agree it needs a little burning on the top of the head. See what happens if you just burn the top edge area with the top of the head first, which would not cause a halo. But he does look like an angel.
 

logan2z

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If burning is difficult without introducing a halo, then perhaps pre-flashing might be worth a shot.
 

Alex Benjamin

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MattKing

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Is it on variable contrast paper?
Can you make grade 2 and grade 4 filtration test strips of the hair portion of the image, and advise us of the exposure times for each segment in the strips?
 

pentaxuser

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If you eventually work out a way to get rid of the intense white at the top of the hair with help from the members then giving us a stage by stage explanation would be extremely instructive for the rest of us, perkelellinen.

Thanks

pentaxuser
 

BobD

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Have you considered cropping it? The white area at the top adds nothing. The eyes are the prize.
 

Don_ih

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I'd say no. The child's eyes draw all the attention. The top of the head doesn't matter.
 

Willyekerslike

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Don Heisz said:
I'd say no. The child's eyes draw all the attention. The top of the head doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement.
One can call out all the technical "faults" that one perceives but I find the photo as it stands an excellent picture and evokes emotions and questions as I view it. WelI done OP.
 

cliveh

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Leave as is.
 

albada

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At grade 4, areas around the boy are blocking to solid white and black, which might be distracting. Yet the boy's face is perfect.
For the fun of it, try printing everything around the boy at grade 0, keeping the boy unchanged at grade 4. Such a mushy background might cause the contrasty boy to stand out, creating a powerful print. No harm trying it...

Mark Overton
 

Alex Benjamin

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My take would be pre-flash, then first exposure on a soft grade, second, shorter exposure on high grade to deepen the blacks and add a little contrast here and there.

But that's if there is any info on the negative. It's a big if, as we see the highlights on his right shoulder also completely blocked.

So, I'd try it, but, in the end, probably would come back to the original you posted. As others have stated, it has nice qualities as is.
 

gone

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I like that shot. I cropped it and gave it more contrast just to see, which seems to have totally changed the feel of it. Lots of dark and light areas dancing around in your pic.
 
OP
OP

perkeleellinen

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I think that crop works well, Momus!

This print was the first bit of B&W printing for over two years, it really seems bright in the darkroom with the safelight if you normally print colour!

Thanks for all the comments, I will give this negative another go or two and try out some ideas. I don't get chance to be in the dark very often and hope that Easter may afford an opportunity. I will report back.

Sirius Glass said:
But he does look like an angel.
Click to expand...

Thanks, his mum liked your comment
 
OP
OP

perkeleellinen

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Oh just to add, I really like the black/white hard contrast around the sofa cushions - that's just the look I chase with black and white.
 

Sirius Glass

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perkeleellinen said:
Oh just to add, I really like the black/white hard contrast around the sofa cushions - that's just the look I chase with black and white.
Click to expand...

Cropping works well for this print. No one will complain about the top of the missing because the composition carries the photograph.
 

Patrick Robert James

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If you can see the difference on the neg between the sky and the hair then you can print it. I'd probably flash it myself. If you can't see the difference then just leave it or crop it if it bothers you.

In other words, I am just repeating what everyone else has already said. Lol.
 
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