The DARKROOM COOKBOOK, Third Edition

Photographic Reduction
and Intensifi cation
What if I used a meter and the darn thing broke on me when I was out making
photographs? Then what would I do?
—Brett Weston
Most photographers have, at one time or another, created masterpieces of over- or underexposure,
over- or underdevelopment, and sometimes both! Not all negatives can be saved,
but the techniques of reduction and intensifi cation may prove to be just the tonic to reclaim
what, undoubtedly, would have been the best photograph ever created. Even if the negative is
printable, reduction and intensifi cation techniques can often improve slight miscalculations
in exposure or development.
NEGATIVE REDUCTION
Negative reducers are used to subtract density from completely processed fi lm that has been
overexposed or overdeveloped. Reduction is not a controlled process and requires experience
to achieve the correct negative densities. Nor is it a onetime, all-or-nothing process.
Thus, a negative can be reduced slightly, dried, a print made, and then the negative further
reduced if necessary. Therefore, always err on the side of not enough reduction.
Reducers are classifi ed into three general types:
1. Cutting, or subtractive, reducers act fi rst on the shadow areas and then on the midrange and
highlights. They are used for clearing fi lm fog and for reducing prints. Kodak R-4a Farmer’s
Cutting Reducer for Overexposed Negatives is the most commonly used and easiest to control.
2. Proportional reducers decrease the image density throughout the fi lm in proportion to the
amount of silver already deposited. The effect is similar to giving the fi lm less development.
Kodak R-4b Farmer’s Proportional Reducer for Overdeveloped Negative is most commonly used.
3. Super-proportional reducers have a considerable effect on highlight areas but a negligible effect
on shadow densities. They are the most unpredictable and should be used with appropriate caution.
Super-proportional reducers are used when a greater reduction in contrast is desired than
can be achieved with cutting reducers. Kodak R-15 for extreme overdevelopment is an example
of a super-proportional reducer.
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