Response to Thin Negatives: Wash that will revive contrast?

The best way is usually to start simple. One function of a good teacher is to help students learn from their mitakes. With low contrast, thin negs, and a beginning photographer, it is usually either improper exposure and/or improper development. Ask your teacher to let you look at either properly exposed/developed negatives, or find some pictures in a basic photo text. Next, see which of the "horrible examples" YOUR negs look most like, and see what the book says caused it. Then investigate the developer. How many hundred rolls have been processed before yours? Has some bright spark been filling it with water? It's truly amazing what improvement fresh developer used properly will make in negative quality. Usually by this time, your negatives will be progressing towards pleasing, but if not, again, that is what teachers are for. It's also a reason to use only one film and developer till you can make it do what you want before changing something. Have fun! CC

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