Matching black & white paper contrast grade to the negative. It's no trick to get a satisfactory black and white print from a nicely balanced negative; black and white paper of normal grade will duplicate the negative tonal gradation exactly. But an assortment of contrast grades comes in handy when the not-so-nicely balanced negatives must be black and white printed. Lack of contrast - usually from underexposure - is the most common problem. The silver image is so faint that no part of it is much denser than any other part, and even the densest parts are too thin to block all light from passing through. The resulting black and white print will have an overall gray muddiness - unless high-contrast black and white paper is used to increase the difference between tones and to exaggerate the extremes. A similar grade of black and white paper will also improve the black and white print from a negative shot outdoors on an overcast day. Excessive contrast, generally from harsh lighting or overdevelopment, is remedied by low-contrast black and white paper. To judge the tonal qualities of a negative, look at it against a uniformly lighted white background - a white wall or a sheet of black and white paper, not a bare bulb. Examining the tones in a test black and white print also helps suggest which black and white paper will produce a final black and white print of the desired contrast. Co Rentmeester's dense negative of an army camp in Vietnam, black and white photographed at dawn, is so overexposed that highlights and shadows seem similar tone. But grade 6, contrasty, black and white paper creates a scene in which night and day appear dramatically opposed.