quickbread answer — the how has to do with the printing more than with the taking. Film does matter, but paper matters more; is the print. The color negative is part of a process. That process of negative+positive has been broken most of this century. We don’t have a single research and manufacturing firm making aligned negatives and positives. No film made is made as perfect match to color paper. C-41 doesn’t match RA-4. We have industrial mismatch. Most, naïvely thinking that Color science has come to the rescue –all roads leading to the same place , when really all roads just lead to someplace .

So, the print is the resultant. And, we have only one maker, Fujifilm. Control of print values means understanding Crystal Archive’s renders.

Alter Chemistry is one pathway. Another is mask the color-negative.

Likely you, if new to darkroom, won’t understand the above sentence. So, the main, boldline is: do what you know, but learn more. Do more.