INFO NEEDED: Spotting colours/Technigues

Stannie · Feb 21, 2004

Hi,I'm an amature photograph about 3 months into this.At the same time i'm still in highschool, so i have the option of taking classes interelated to photography.The problem i have is that i'm already a whole grade ahead of the ppl in my class (that i had to select because of my grade, 11). The teacher doesn't really want to be bothered to teach me on the side so i have to go at there pace of getting intoduced to teststrips and the enlarger. I, myself, have already made a darkoom in my house, complete with chemicals and enlarger. I use B&W film and use a 50mm camera. I can't seem to find anything on Spotting colours on this forum or even on the web. I need a heads up on what it is and how it works. Even a webpage that have info would be great.

ksmattfish · Feb 21, 2004

I don't know that I've ever heard the term "spotting colors".

I think of "spotting" as correcting small dust marks and imperfections on photos. There are spotting inks and kits available for spotting color, BW, and various toned photos.

tr0gd0o0r · Feb 21, 2004

Im w/ him on this one. But since he didin't go into too much detail, surprisingly heres what I know about spotting. The only kind i've ever seen is black ink. The way to apply it is with a very fine paint brush. The technique is to dip the brush in the ink and then dip it in water. Dipping it in water lightens the color, so you can get the right shade of grey. once you have the right shade of grey for the spot then you "poke" the picture repeatedly until you fill the area. I'm not sure if this all makes sense, if not let us know and someone can do beter.

Face · Feb 22, 2004

yeah it's really hard to get the hang of it and do it perfectly... so practice alot.

oriecat · Feb 22, 2004

I bought a set of spot pens, they are awesome! There are 10 pens, numbered from 1 to 10, one for each zone. They have a fine point, and you just gently touch the spots you need to cover. No messy, inconsistent mixing of the spotting ink.

http://www.adorama.com/CHSPW.html?searchinfo=spot pens&item_no=1

Stannie · Feb 23, 2004

Yeah, thats what i was talking about. I have a set to do it but its kinda old so i didn't really come with any instructions so i had no idea what is was. tanks!

ksmattfish · Feb 23, 2004

The key to spotting is to remember that you can always add more tone/color, but you can't take it away. So build up the tone/color slowly with repeated light spotting, rather than one or two heavy dabs. White cotton darkroom gloves come in handy to keep from getting hand oils on the photograph.

Practice on a spare photo first. It's really easy to get into a situation where "the cure is worse than the disease", meaning the big gob of spotting ink you just smacked down on the photo looks worse than the original dust speck.