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How to Edit Film Photos

The advent of digital technology has not only changed the way we take and store pictures, it has also significantly changed the way we edit pictures. Before photographers were uploading and editing pictures on computers in well-lit studios, they had to work in darkrooms that could sometimes be very cramped and work with different chemicals. The type of editing that can be accomplished with digital pictures is significantly more advanced than film editing. In film days you were able to crop the picture and alter the exposure by "dodging" or "burning" different sections of the picture.

Things You'll Need

Photographic darkroom
Three trays used for developer, stop and fix baths
Enlarger
Photographic paper

Instructions

- 1
  Insert the negative you want print into negative carrier of the enlarger you are working with.
- 2
  Turn the enlarger on and view the picture on the easel below. Adjust the height of the enlarger to remove or "crop" the portion of the picture you don't want to print. During this step you will want to identify sections of the image that will need "dodging." Dodging is using your hand or paper to prevent certain parts of the negative from being exposed on the paper for the entire time. These areas tend to be darker and do not need as much time to be printed. You should also be looking for parts of the photograph that will need extra time to be printed; this process is called "burning."
- 3
  Turn the enlarger off. Place a piece of photographic paper in the easel, turn the enlarger on and allow it to run the amount of time needed to produce the print. Use your hand or paper to "dodge" the areas you determined would not need as much exposure.
- 4
  Turn the enlarger on again and use your hands to block all of the image other than the areas you determined needed to be "burned" in.
- 5
  Remove the photographic paper from the easel and process the paper through the developer, stop and fix baths as per the instructions for the paper you are using.

Photography