Negative (photography)

[1] This reversed order occurs because the extremely light-sensitive chemicals a camera film must use to capture an image quickly enough for ordinary picture-taking are darkened, rather than bleached, by exposure to light and subsequent photographic processing.

A negative image is a total inversion, in which light areas appear dark and vice versa.

Film negatives usually have less contrast, but a wider dynamic range, than the final printed positive images.

When negative film images are brought into the digital realm, their contrast may be adjusted at the time of scanning or, more usually, during subsequent post-processing.

[7] Film for cameras that use the 35 mm still format is sold as a long strip of emulsion-coated and perforated plastic spooled in a light-tight cassette.

Medium format cameras use 120 film, which yields a strip of negatives 60 mm wide, and large format cameras capture each image on a single sheet of film which may be as large as 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 inches) or even larger.

Many photographic processes create negative images: the chemicals involved react when exposed to light, so that during development they produce deposits of microscopic dark silver particles or colored dyes in proportion to the amount of exposure.

Color positive picture (A) and negative (B), monochrome positive picture (C) and negative (D)
Picture showing a dust storm during the Dust Bowl period, Texas Panhandle , USA
A negative of the previous image. Curiously, it appears to be the original photo.
A strip of four color negatives on 35 mm film that show some images of what looks like a fire hydrant , street lights etc.
Color positive picture (A); color negative, luminance positive (B); color positive, luminance negative (C); and full negative (D).