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This video is from the online course “Master Manual Metering for Film Photography.” It’s one of 50 video lessons on the course comprising over 7 hours of instruction on light metering for analog photography.
You’re watching: “Video 6.1 - Better to Under or Overexpose?”
When learning about light metering and exposure control for film photography, you may come across recommendations to overexpose your film. This includes some “experts” going so far as to say you should “always overexpose by 2 stops” or that you should “rate your 400 ISO film at ISO 160 for best results”. Advice like this is not only nonsensical, but it results in sub-par and unpredictable results. The truth of the matter is more nuanced.
Whether or not it’s better to under- or overexpose your film boils down to film density. To put it plainly: you’re better off with film that’s a little too dense than too thin. And the density of your film is controlled by your exposure settings. With print film, a denser negative is a brighter exposure. With reversal film, a denser negative is a darker exposure. So, that means you’re better off with print film that’s overexposed than underexposed. With reversal film you’re better off with an image that’s underexposed than overexposed.
But don’t let the all-too-common bastardizations and over-simplifications of these fact send you down a path of overexposing all your negatives. Yes, it’s true that you’re better off with an overexposed negative than an underexposed one, but that doesn’t mean you should overexpose all of your negatives!
With good, solid control of your light metering process, there’s no excuse for intentionally deviating from a “correct exposure” so frequently. You can take the guess-work and sloppiness out of your shooting process. All it requires a robust understanding of how to use your light meter.
Whether you shoot 35mm, medium format, or large format, you can learn the Precision Method for Manual Metering covered in this course to get spot-on exposures with precision and predictability. Check out the link above for more details including a course outline and testimonials from past students.
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