What is a negative?

A negative is an image that is an inversion of the original. The colors are reversed and areas of the photograph that were light now appear dark, and vice versa.

Negatives are used to make positive prints on photographic paper by means of projecting the negative onto the paper with a photographic enlarger or through a contact print. The light exposure and colors in the resulting print are quite literally the opposite of the original photo, hence the name "negative."

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