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Basic Darkroom Techniques: Dodging B&W prints
Sometimes, when you make a print, there are parts of the print that you would like to have lighter, however if you were
to lighten the print, the rest would be too light.
The answer to this dilema is to dodge the area you wish to lighten.
You can make
dodging tools easily enough, or even use your hands.
The idea behind dodging is to reduce the light to one specific area of a print for a period of time. All you do is
block the light from the enlarger over that portion of the print. Remember that as you move the dodging tool (or your
hand) closer to the enlarger, the shadow will be larger, and as you move it closer to the print, it will be smaller,
so you can use a relatively small tool to dodge a large area. This is the opposite of
burning in
where you add exposure to certain areas.
For some areas you might want to make a shading device that is the shape of the area you wish to dodge, but generally
you can use a small circle for almost any shape. If you tilt the circle, it becomes an oval.
Keep the tool moving, so you don't end up with any hard edges.
Whatever you use, remember that there is something holding it there, and it will also be dodging the print. If you
use your hand, your arm is blocking light on the print, that's why I use a
dodging tool
which uses a wire to hold the tool in place. Keep the wire moving so that it doesn't leave a line on the print.
Determining the amount of dodging 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 dodge for. Or you might want to make another test
print in order to calculate the time for dodging.
When you have found the right dodge time, don't forget to record it in your notebook, and on the back of the print
in pencil.
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