Emotive photography is all about tonality. Tones are what we use to describe three dimensional reflectances on two dimensional targets, reflective and transmissive. Careful consideration and manipulation of these tones is what separates images from the masters of the medium (like Ansel Adams) from the merely technically acceptable rendering.
There are several sets of tones to keep in mind when making the emotive visual communication. Of major importance is the number of tones your target (reflective or transmissive) can visually render. If we were shooting traditional black and white, imagine that you had only grade 5 paper. Would you make a negative that fit grade 2 paper? Probably not. Also important is the number of tones needed to actually shoot the scene in front of your camera which is dictated by the relative range of brightness of the objects that make up the scene. There is the number of tones you create with your lighting; lighting is the vehicle you use to craft the style of how your audience perceives your intended rendering of the scene you're shooting. There is the number of tones your camera captures, some cameras always output the total number of tones the camera can capture, some cameras allow you to dictate a density range (total number of tones) that the image file contains; this allows you to craft the lighting for the scene with the desired total number of tones appropriate to the target.
The total number of tones is important, as is the progression of tones used to describe emotion in sections of your image. The total number of tones dictate a potential compromise in your image; too many tones and the image is pastel at best, and flat, lacking saturation at worst. Not enough tones and the image is perhaps overly saturated at best and choppy (even banding) at worst. How many tones do you need? Control of this important facet of professional photography has always been required; in the old days we would craft this in the lighting of our Polaroid and expect to see in in our film.
There is yet another number of tones that is important to your image; how the tones progress in the description of reflectances you deem to be important. This number progression relates to sections of adjacent contrast that describe important parts of the objects you’re trying to render and this progression is made more or less difficult in the presence of too many or too few tones in the image file. Consider that attempting to enhance contrast in a file that has 11 stops of dynamic range is very difficult for a paper target that will render fewer than three stops (newsprint, for example). With too many tones the subtle curve in an important shape is lost, flattened by a lack of local contrast. If you have too few tones the transitions are hard, sometimes brittle (see this effect most pronounced in the highlights). This control of adjacent contrast is just as important as the overall contrast in the successful image. What do you suppose is the best way to control this number and progression of tones?
So what is shooting for your target? What does that mean? Is it setting hightlight, midtone, and shadow using a store bought, two dimensional step wedge? Certainly not. Shooting for your target manages several attributes of the successful image (at least technically, the vision is up to you and here, you’re on you own). The successful image file has firstly, an appropriate placement of highlight, shadow, and midtone. The successful file also has the appropriate density range relative to the target your image will render to. It has a neutral rendering of known neutral reflectances; not just where you click balance, but from highlight-to-shadow, crossovers are not acceptable in the shadow simply because you balanced on a very light gray. The file must contain enough local contrast to render your lighting intentions on your target; this means different contrasts in the highlight and shadow, you’ll need aggressive contrast in the shadows and smooth tonality in the highlights.
How many tones do you need for a given target? The easiest way to know is to measure it. Spectrophotometers and densitometers are capable of meauring a D Log value that can be entered into MegaVision’s software. This entering of density range into the software can effectively endow the file with the proper number of tones for the target; this allows you to far more effectively light your scene (losing the lighting you craft on set to a later remap isn’t necessary). In fact, if you have to remap more than 5% it is very possible you didn’t shoot it right in the first place. If you don’t have access to a meauring tool you can try shooting files with varying density ranges to visually evaluate how they render. I would guess that all of us have trial and error evaluation skills somewhere in our past, this could be an appropriate time to revisit them if you don’t have access to measuring tools. Be aware that any service bureau will probably make the measurement for you at no charge. To make the measurement, choose Density as the measuring value for the instrument you’re using. Measure the whitest white on the paper you’re intending to measure and jot down the value (you can zero the white measurement on most devices). Next, measure the blackest black and jot down its value. Subtract the white measurement from the black measurement; this is the Density range of the paper. As an example a sheetfed press I measured not too long ago measured .11 on paper base white and 1.87 for max black. 1.87 minus .11 equals 1.76 which is the appropriate value to enter into the density range dialog for that paper target.
After you measure the the target, how do you know how to place highlight and shadow? Try sending a file that includes a gray scale to evaluate what the paper will render for minimum and maximum dot. Make the scale so it includes 1 percent changes (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, thru 10% and 100-90%) so you can see what is the minimun dot the paper renders. Choose the appriate value for judging placements. When you make this eval, don’t scrutinize at extended length what you can see and cannot see, choose a safe, easy to discern difference (you are looking for an at-a-glance visibly discernable difference) in the white-to-first density and black-to-separable low value.
These endpoints can be entered into MegaVision’s Photoshoot software as important points on the Color Coded Light Metering.
Don’t forget to consider the size of the light source when you shoot for targets that don’t have alot of tones renderable, the more penetrating light can be of value in separation of subtle tones (cordura would be an example where harder light can help). You may find that shooting for your target is the very best way to get your intentions, unaltered and uncompromised, on press.