negatiivikuvista

Negatiivikuvat, often referred to as photographic negatives, are an intermediate stage in the photographic process. They are a reversed image of the original subject, where light and dark areas are swapped, and colors are inverted. This means that areas that were bright in the original scene appear dark on the negative, and areas that were dark appear light. Similarly, colors are represented by their complementary hues. For instance, a red object will appear cyan on the negative.

Negatives are typically created on a transparent or semi-transparent material, most commonly film, which is coated with a light-sensitive emulsion. When exposed to light through a camera lens, this emulsion undergoes a chemical reaction, capturing the image in a latent form. This latent image is then developed using a series of chemical baths, rendering it visible as a negative.

The primary purpose of a negative is to serve as a master copy from which positive prints can be made. When light is shone through a negative onto photographic paper, which is also coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, the process is reversed again. The dark areas of the negative block the light, resulting in light areas on the print, and the transparent areas of the negative allow light to pass through, creating dark areas on the print. This results in a positive image that closely resembles the original scene. Negatives can be used to produce multiple positive prints, and their quality directly influences the final print's appearance.