Push processing in

photography Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It i ...

, sometimes called uprating, refers to a

film developing Photographic processing or photographic development is the chemical means by which photographic film or paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image. Photographic processing transforms the latent image int ...

technique that increases the effective

sensitivity Sensitivity may refer to: Science and technology Natural sciences * Sensitivity (physiology), the ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli ** Sensory processing sensitivity in humans * Sensitivity and specificity, statisti ...

of the film being processed. Push processing involves developing the film for more time, possibly in combination with a higher temperature, than the manufacturer's recommendations. This technique results in effective overdevelopment of the film, compensating for underexposure in the camera.

Visual characteristics

Push processing allows relatively insensitive films to be used under lighting conditions that would ordinarily be too low for adequate exposure at the required

shutter speed In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time that the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light (that is, when the camera's shutter (photography), shutter is open) when taking a photograph. The am ...

and

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

combination. This technique alters the visual characteristics of the film, such as higher contrast, increased

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legu ...

and lower resolution. Saturated and distorted colours are often visible on

colour film Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only o ...

that has been push processed. ''Pull processing'' involves overexposure and underdevelopment, effectively decreasing the sensitivity of the processed film. It is achieved by developing the film for a shorter time, and possibly at a lower temperature. Film that has been pull processed will display the opposite change in visual characteristics. This may be deliberately exploited for artistic effect.

Exposure index

Cinestill 800Tungsten Xpro C-41 135 film cartridge (01)

When a film's effective sensitivity has been varied, the resulting sensitivity is called the exposure index; the film's speed remains at the manufacturer's indication. For example, an

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Is ...

200/24° film could be push processed to EI 400/27° or pull processed to EI 100/21°.

In cinema

John Alcott John Alcott, BSC (27 November 1930 – 28 July 1986) was an English cinematographer known for his four collaborations with director Stanley Kubrick: '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), for which he took over as lighting cameraman from Geoffrey ...

won an Oscar "for his gorgeous use of natural lighting" in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's 1975 period film ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 Period film, period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel ''The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Ma ...

'', set in the 18th century, where he succeeded in filming scenes lit only by candlelight through the use of special wide-aperture Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 lenses designed for NASA for low-light shooting on moon landings, and push-processing the film stock.

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...

and Michael Bauman used this technique on their 35mm film stock for the 2017 film ''

Phantom Thread ''Phantom Thread'' is a 2017 American historical drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. Set in 1950s London, it stars Day-Lewis as an haute couture dressmaker ...

'', also filling its frames with "theatrical haze" to "dirty up" the look of the film.

References

External links

Push/Pull Processing
at

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

{{Photography Photographic techniques

Visual characteristics

Exposure index

In cinema

See also

References

External links