Was perspective correction done in the darkroom when making prints?
Asked 9/30/2019
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Could darkroom printers correct converging verticals or other perspective issues during enlargement by tilting the negative carrier or enlarger setup, similar to tilt/shift movements on a camera? If so, was this a common practice, and were there any limits or tradeoffs such as focus problems?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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This perspective correction was done all the time. It's very effective.
BUT,
It can throw off the focus of the image on the easel. Stopping down can help with the focus if the "correction" isn't too severe.
What to do?
Small corrections in the negative holder can be used to tilt it in much the same way as a view camera uses shifts and tilts of the lens board to much the same thing.
Here's more about it with some illustrations from the "Printer's Attic".
Originally by user21789. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user21789
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. Darkroom perspective correction was a real and commonly used technique for printing architectural or similar images.
The basic idea was to introduce a small tilt in the negative holder or enlarger alignment so the projected image compensated for keystoning, then crop the print as needed. This is conceptually similar to using camera movements on a view camera or tilt/shift lens.
The main limitation is focus: once the projection is no longer perfectly parallel to the paper, sharp focus can become uneven across the print. For modest corrections, stopping down the enlarging lens helps increase depth of focus and keep the print acceptably sharp. Severe corrections are harder to do well and may require compromise.
So: yes, it was practiced, it worked, and it was especially suitable for small to moderate corrections.
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