Tintype process
Note: The Modern Tintype is a liquid light process, that comes in a kit, much less toxic than the Classic Tintype process and more suited to beginners.
This old process was invented in the late 1800's and was one of the photographic processes that made it possible for the general public to have their portrait taken. Because Tintypes were reproduced on metals, this type of photography was comparatively cheap and photographers started offering street photography whose quick results became very popular. Tintypes were very widespread in America at the time of the American civil war and one can occasionally still find tintypes from that period on flee markets, picturing pioneers that had their photo taken before going off to the Wild West or showing small multiple images that were used by the sitter as a type of early business card.
The Tintype is a positive image on a metal plate. The process is similar to daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, which were positive images on glass that could only be seen if you placed a background such as black velvet behind them, otherwise they were negatives. With most photographic processes the surface you use (in the most conventional way photographic white paper) will be the highlights of your image and the silver emulsion will represent the different shades of black in your image. With a reversal process the support surface has to be painted black first and the light sensitive emulsion that you coat it with will give you the highlights of your image. Because the emulsion has a yellow color the contrast within the image is usually not as strong as with conventional photography (black and yellow as opposed to black and white) and as a result the image looks old and a little faded, however this inherent quality can be one reason to specifically use tintypes. Sometimes the yellowish emulsion turns into different colors ranging from red brown to green and blue, which can create stunningly beautiful effects.
As a brief overview the tintype process involves obtaining suitable metal plates, cleaning and preparing their surface, spraying the plates with black spray paint and then coating them with light sensitive emulsion and subsequently exposing the plate and developing it in special chemistry.
This old process was invented in the late 1800's and was one of the photographic processes that made it possible for the general public to have their portrait taken. Because Tintypes were reproduced on metals, this type of photography was comparatively cheap and photographers started offering street photography whose quick results became very popular. Tintypes were very widespread in America at the time of the American civil war and one can occasionally still find tintypes from that period on flee markets, picturing pioneers that had their photo taken before going off to the Wild West or showing small multiple images that were used by the sitter as a type of early business card.
The Tintype is a positive image on a metal plate. The process is similar to daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, which were positive images on glass that could only be seen if you placed a background such as black velvet behind them, otherwise they were negatives. With most photographic processes the surface you use (in the most conventional way photographic white paper) will be the highlights of your image and the silver emulsion will represent the different shades of black in your image. With a reversal process the support surface has to be painted black first and the light sensitive emulsion that you coat it with will give you the highlights of your image. Because the emulsion has a yellow color the contrast within the image is usually not as strong as with conventional photography (black and yellow as opposed to black and white) and as a result the image looks old and a little faded, however this inherent quality can be one reason to specifically use tintypes. Sometimes the yellowish emulsion turns into different colors ranging from red brown to green and blue, which can create stunningly beautiful effects.
As a brief overview the tintype process involves obtaining suitable metal plates, cleaning and preparing their surface, spraying the plates with black spray paint and then coating them with light sensitive emulsion and subsequently exposing the plate and developing it in special chemistry.
