![]() ![]() The reacted crystals adhere to the negative throughout development, while the unreacted ones are washed away. Silver halide crystals develop into silver if exposed to sufficient light. Why does underexposure increase graininess? This echoes what we will see below in relation to the effects of underexposure on increased graininess. In other words, the perception of graininess can still vary depending on how underexposed a frame is, given the same film stock. If you think about it, based on the explanation above, as long as there is enough light to activate all the grains, no grain would fall off during development. Using a faster film speed does not necessarily mean rougher grain. The larger these gaps, the greater the impression of grain, as I explained above in relation to what grain really is. The more grains being washed off, the more gaps there are between grains that remained. What you have left are the grains that had been activated by light. This reaction is what it takes for details to be recorded.ĭuring the development process, unreacted grains are washed off the negative. Thus, the higher chance that it is triggered to react to become silver. The larger a circle is, the larger the chance of some light hitting it. The larger circles represent larger grain, and vice versa. Imagine your film emulsion layer being filled with silver halide grains of various sizes, appearing like circles on a 2-D view. The consequence of larger grain particles is a grainier look in resulting photos. Less light is required for larger grains to react, which makes exposure possible for faster shutter speeds. Larger grains have a larger area that can potentially catch light, and are therefore more light-sensitive. Why is fast film grainy?įilms with fast speeds contain grains that are larger on average in their emulsion layers. ![]() ![]() In the below sections, we will look at each factor in greater detail and their relation with graininess. ![]() In general, larger grain particles give rise to an impression of rougher grain. Grain exists inherently in film photos, but common reasons they appear more accentuated than usual include a high film speed, underexposure, push development, high-grain developers and expired films. Usually, grain is the most apparent in darker regions of a frame. If you want to take a closer look at grain, zoom into the shadow areas in a photo. Therefore to be precise, we are seeing the space between the grain clusters, but our brain automatically extrapolates that into the impression of grain. It is the randomly scattered texture formed by alternate areas of whites and blacks.Īlso do bear in mind that the appearance of the granular structure that you see in a film scan is in fact the negative of what is on the negative. See this image below for an example of what we understand to be grain. The larger clumps is what the human eye is able to see as ‘grain’. Grain particles make up clusters of various sizes. Technically, we can’t see grains with our bare eyes each grain is a silver particle. When light is shone through the clusters, we perceive the appearance of grain. Silver crystals clump together to form clusters. Film grains are silver halide crystals embedded in the emulsion layer, which develop into silver if exposed to light. You don’t see the film grain itself, nor the individual grain. The ‘film grain’ that you see in film photos are in fact the gaps between clumps of grains. Shoot me an email/ DM to share your thoughts too.Īlso, Pin this article to your Film Photography boards in Pinterest if you find it helpful! What is film grain? What does film grain look like? If you find this helpful, SUBSCRIBE to my channel via the box on the left to make the most out of my blog! Also, do share it with people who might be interested. Without getting overtly technical, this article walks you through the basic mechanism behind film grain, so that you can make the right decisions to achieve the look that you like in your work. Some are absolutely obsessed, some detest it. Film grain is an inherent characteristic of film photography. ![]()
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