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Basic Darkroom Techniques: Burning in B&W prints
When you make a print there are sometimes when you would like part of the print to be darker (receive more exposure) than
the rest of the print. However if you increased exposure for the whole print you would end up with too much exposure for
most of the print.
The answer to this dilema is called burning in.
You can make
burn-in tools or use your hands.
The basic idea is to shade all of the print, except for the area you want to give extra exposure, for a period of time.
This is the opposite of
dodging where you reduce exposure in certain areas.
To burn an area in, you expose normally, then block the light from the enlarger, and expose again, this time allowing
only those areas you wish to darken receive more light.
Remember to keep the burning tool moving, so you don't leave hard lines on the print.
Determining the amount of burning to do can be tricky, since it is dependant upon your overall exposure time.
You might want to go back to the test print, and see how much exposure is needed for the area you are burning. You can
then subtract one time from the other to figure how long you have to burn-in for. Or you might want to make another test
print in order to calculate the time for burning.
When you have found the right burn-in time, don't forget to record it in your notebook, and on the back of the print
in pencil.
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