Pushing color print film, how?

I just want to make sure I know what Pushing is and how to get it developed properly. I usually shoot Fuji Superia X-tra 400 from my Minolta SLR. I've had a good overall experience with it when processed correctly (Wolf Camera usually does a good job). I was wondering on pushing it for use indoors without a flash. That means I just set my light meter to act like there is ISO 800 or 1600 loaded right? Then when I take the film to be developed I tell them it was pushed one stop if exposed at 800 and two if exposed at 1600, right?

Does anyone else have any personal experience with shooting this film pushed? I like it for outdoors, but don't want to have to carry another film better suited to flash-free indoor lighting (like that Kodak 3200 B&W or a grainy 1600 speed film). Thanks for your time.

You got it. You underexpose it, and you tell them by how many stops you underexposed it, and they develop to suit your settings. I would not do it ourdoors, pushing film increases its contrast. A one stop push usually isn't too significant, but a two stop push in harsh light might make the highlights and shadows reach close to unacceptable levels. Depending on your personal threshholds of course.

Just make sure you have someplace to get it developed. One hour labs such as Wolf will not push-process. You'll need to find a pro lab and even then, places that do B&W will not always push color. And find out the costs - some places charge an arm & a leg.

Oh - and pushing increases grain anyway, so for all the hassle I would probably just use Fuji Superia 1600 or Fujicolor Press 1600 instead.

Do you recommend any online labs that I can send my negatives to?

I have pushed a roll or two. I do it with Fuji's 1600 speed film pushed to 3200. The processing was $15 for a 24 exposure roll, mail order from a place in minneapolis called Linhoff Photo. www.linhoff.com

I believe that there are actually some films that aare "made" for being pushed, like the Fuji 1600. I could be mistaken, however.

Some confusion arises due to the fact that some people will rely on print film's inherent wide exposure latitude (good results generally from -2 to +3 stops from correct exposure) to get the shutter speed/aperture combination desired. They'll loosely use the term "push" for rating the film at a higher ISO ("pull" for lower) even though they have it processed normally.

Standard C-41 processing is the same for any film, regardless of the nominal ISO rating: 3 minutes 15 seconds @ 100°F in the first developer. Great for high volume and 1-hour labs since they can throw any film through, whether it's ISO 25 or 1600, without altering settings. To push process the film you add 30 seconds for each stop, eg 3:45 for 1 stop push, 4:15 for 2 stops.

Besides changes in contrast and grain, color balance can change when film is push processed. While many have pushed Fuji films and others and are pleased with the results, only two C-41 films are expressly recommended by their maker for push processing: Kodak's professional series 400 (1 stop) and 800 (up to 2 stops), variously named Supra 400/Portra 400UC/Ultra Color 400UC and Supra 800/Portra 800.

You need to have a custom lab willing to do push processing. Many labs won't, or the staff won't be familiar with it and simply develop normally even if you asked for "push." Some may even be ethically-challenged and charge extra for "push" processing then not do it, instead relying on print film's inherent wide exposure latitude.