What to neg. to expose for?

[Solarize]

I've just processed two rolls of film, they were shot in studio conditions so I bracketed a lot - like 6 exposures for each composed shot.

When printing a contact sheet in the darkroom, how should I decide what negative is the correct one to expose the whole print for - as I cant tell properly just by looking at them which retains the most detail/best tone.

Suggestions?

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[oriecat]

I try to base my contact sheet printing, not on the negatives, but on the sprockets and the edges. The unexposed part of the film should be black and should be close to or equal the color seen through the sprocket holes.

[Solarize]

Cheers for that, i'll give it a go

[Bruno]

If I'm not sure what time to set the exposure for, I usually just cut a strip of developing paper and expose about 1-inch segments over different times. That usually gets me very close to my desired exposure time.

[Solarize]

If I'm not sure what time to set the exposure for, I usually just cut a strip of developing paper and expose about 1-inch segments over different times. That usually gets me very close to my desired exposure time.

Thats what I would normally do but I dont normally bracket exposures. In this case where I have bracketed I didnt know how to determine what neg held the best detail etc. Thanks for the response though, I now have a contact that I am pleased with and have made some nice prints.
If i get my scanner working/replaced i will post them.