shooting slide film?

[huxley]

i have to shoot 8 rolls of slide film for my students, so that i can create portfolios. (for college credit) i will be using an canon elan II w/ fujifilm 100 velvia. I think i will be shooting outside in the morning (9:00) with a black background more than likely in the shade. probably will use my 50mm or 85mm primes at f8.

anyone have some tips about shooting with this film?? should i overexpose a stop or under? i have NEVER shot with this stuff and would greatly appreciate any help from some "seasoned" pre-digital shooters.

thanks
huxley

[Chimper]

Velvia is a HIGH contrast film, so don't expect any shadow details if shot in varied lighting. Velvia will have a bluish cast if shot in the shade as you mentioned. Use warming filters to correct the color. Slide film has low dynamic range, so correct exposure is of the utmost importance. Velvia 50 was considered by most shooters to really be ISO 40. I always reset the camera to ISO 40 when I used it. The 100 speed Velvias seem to truly be 100.

[Cope]

I have never used that particular film, but years ago I was in Scotland for 3 1/2 weeks and I shot 35 or more rolls of Kodak slide film. I didn't do anything except shoot, sun or shade.

[Bruce M. Morris]

The important thing to remember with slide film is that you only have latitudes of maybe 1/3-1/2 of a stop either way. This is the real proving ground of your exposure and lighting because on the slide you dont have any way to alter the final image. Take it slowly, logically in your set up, and you should be fine. If it is possible to shoot a roll to test that would be ideal. Hope this helps.

[Chimper]

Another thing, are you shooting portaits of students? Velvia does not give good skin tones. It is best used for landscape and nature photography.

[huxley]

thanks for the info...

chimper no not of students ... of the students artwork, it will be sent to the ap-collegeboard.... so skintone wont be an issue. i just wanted to know if i should shoot in the shade or in the light. and if overexposing or underexposing is recommended.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Full light is better for velvia slide than the shade, don't shoot on a heavy overcast day!
I agree about shooting with the exposure set right on.
I used to shoot a lot of kodak slides.
Now you can get the slides scanned and then do adjustments but you may have to submit the slides and not digital files.

[huxley]

believe me if i could submit digital files i would!!!!! that i dont have a problem with. so scanning is not an option.
im thinking that i am going to bracket these suckers in order to get what i want... once i get more experience i will know what to do.

[CaptainTom]

I was all set to advise bracketing every shot. The sort of light metering system you use will be important. I recommend an incident reading at the subject ( this meters the amount of light falling onto the subject) vs. reflective reading. I bet someone in your sphere of influence has a basic hand held light meter.
Why Velvia? just curious.

[Nevyn]

2 things:
- Velvia is a very saturated film - I like the effect of the strong colors. You can increase this effect by slightly under exposing (and I mean slightly - like 1/2 a stop max.)
- Others have mentioned that you have to get your exposure right. The other thing is that you only have about 4-5 stops of total exposure range (ie darkest to lightest within the scene) to play with before you start blowing highlights / shadows, so make sure you don't have any direct sunlight falling on the scene if at all possible.

[Rick Waldroup]

If you are shooting artwork,is there any way to do it in a controlled environment, such as using some type of lighting system? If I understand it right, you are going to copy artwork onto slide film to present to a college board. This is the same process you have to use usually to submit photos to photo contests. The judges usually look at slides to determine who makes the cut, etc. If you can do this with lights, the results would be much better. It can be a fairly simple lighting set-up. Two lights to the left and right of the artwork and the camera dead center and as level as you can get it. Also maybe a less saturated film might help in reproducing accurate color and tone of the artwork being copied. Maybe Fuji Provia? Fuji also makes a 64T balanced for tungsten lighting. I still shoot slide film but I shoot the Kodak saturated stuff.

[huxley]

captain tom- i am using velvia to enhance the students work slightly saturation of their work will be in their favor ... better than being dull.

Rick W.- no lighting system at my disposal thats why im going outside to get an evenly lit artwork. id rather have my film exposed outdoors than take my chances with the florecent/outside light combo in my classroom.

[Bruce M. Morris]

To cut back on harsh light from direct sunlight, if you can rig a canopy from even a plain white flat sheet, it should help get even lighting without color shifts.

[reddwarf]

Bracketing is usually a good idea. But I would never bracket with People. Your good exposures might not be the poses you like. The BEST thing to do is Under expose a 1/3, shoot the film, have the lab SNIP the end of the film and procces that piece, get it back and decide if you need the lab to PUSH or PULL the rest of the roll. If you're not sure how far to Push or Pull the film, ask the lab tech.

[josphy]

Slides aren't as scary as they seem. You just have to get the exposure right, so I would meter carefully and then bracket like a 1/2 stop in either direction. Also as others have said Velvia is a very contrasty film and slides have less latitude than negatives anyway, so you will want to shoot in soft, even light. You know, you can have slides made from negatives OR you can even have slides made from digital files. So if you would prefer to shoot digital, you could then send the files to a lab to have slides made -- it's like around $4 per slide usually, so that might get costly if you have a lot you need to do.