Black and White Film

[765njhd]

Does black and white negative film have a similar exposure latitude to color negative? I know reversal has a very small latitude and color negative has about 7 stops. I would guess that you can get away with some under and over with negative black and white, but I just want to make sure.

 

[765njhd]

I just have a quick side question, when shooting a silhoute or a scene where you underexpose the actor in shade to compensate for a bright background or sunny highlights, as you move in for a close-up/closer shot should you maintain the same f-stop or can you set the stop at key since now the background/highlights are little in frame or non-exsistent. My main concern is will I lose consistency in the look if I'm 1/2 to 1 stop difference between a wide to a close.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

You sort of split the difference, cheat a little light on the close-ups if you change angle enough (not a direct punch in on the same axis.) Just keep some black on one side of the face to maintain some contrast.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't know whether b&w neg has the same latitude as color neg, but my impression is that it's a little higher in contrast.