Dark Room Photography Basics

Although developing film and making prints is not as common as it used to be, it is still a lot of fun to learn how to develop your own prints. There is just something special about seeing an image develop right in front of your eyes that makes it so much fun. So, if you're brand new to darkroom photography here is a basic introduction to help you get started.

We'll skip developing your film and getting supplies for now and just talk about the actual process.

Making Prints with an Enlarger

An enlarger is a machine that turns your film into large printed photos. It does this by projecting light through your film and onto the surface of your photo paper, exposing the light sensitive chemicals buried inside.

In order to make a print, you first have to line up the image frame with your enlarger's light source. You do this by projecting it onto a blank mat (or some blank surface) and focusing the image so it's clear. You want to make sure that you can clearly see the grain of the image. If you're not sure, use a magnifying glass to check. You'll need to mess with the exposure timing to ensure the image comes out right, then you should be good to go.

The Chemicals

Once you've decided on the correct timing and exposed a full photograph, it's time to get your hands dirty. Dark room chemicals will unfortunately ruin any clothing they come in contact with so it's best to wear old clothes or wear an apron to minimize ruined clothes.  The chemical process can be broken down into four steps:

1. Developer

Soak your paper, which will still be completely white, in the developer. The developer will activate the photo paper and in a few minutes you'll be able to see the image come through on the paper. If you don't like the contrast or exposure, just head back to the enlarger and get another piece of photo paper and adjust your timing. Once you have a print you like and it's done developing, move it to the stop bath for a soak.

2. Stop Bath

The stop bath will prevent your image from developing any further by neutralizing the chemicals found in the developer. If you've ever smelled the fumes from a darkroom, the smell you remember is the stop bath. Feel your image to see if you can move on; paper that has been properly stopped will squeak when you rub your fingers on it. This should only take a few minutes.

3. Fixer

While the stop bath will stop the effects of the developer chemicals, your paper will still be sensitive to light exposure. Fixer is the last chemical in the process and is responsible for "fixing the chemicals" on the paper so it can be exposed to light without ruining the photograph. You don't need to soak your prints in fixer for very long- usually about 5-10 minutes depending upon the paper and chemicals.

4. Rinse

Naturally you'll want to rinse your photos of all the harsh chemicals you've soaked in them. Many darkrooms have a sink and a rinsing tub with a continuous flow of water so you can make sure your print is free of chemical residue by rinsing it for a while. This is a good time to print some other shots from your roll!

Once you have enlarged, developed, stopped, fixed and rinsed your prints, place them out to dry in a safe place or use a photo dryer. Don't forget to rinse your prints well because if you don't, your photographs will turn brown over time from the chemical residue left on the print. It's best to place the prints in a heavy book or between blotter pages to keep the images relatively flat otherwise they'll curl.

The darkroom can seem intimidating, but once you have a bearing on the process you will enjoy printing your own images. It's a wonderful creative outlet and gives you a lot more control over your final images then having someone else print them. Just remember to check before turning on the lights or you may just ruin someone's photograph!

More information

Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames and loves taking photos. If you're looking for vintage or antique style ovals, visit our website or call 1-800-780-0699 to get helpful advice and good service.