Wet Plate Workshops

If you want an amazing, creative experience learning how to make images like the Victorian photographic pioneers, using similar equipment and genuine 19th century lenses, then book yourself onto one of our workshops: Contact us

Introduction to wet plate collodion (half day, £150pp)

Dip a toe in the silver nitrate with a full 3½ hours of making tintypes and ambrotypes. It will be hands-on from the start, setting up your shots, lighting, composition, the ins and outs of large format cameras and lenses. You’ll have a safety briefing and a demonstration before you get stuck into preparing, coating and sensitising your own plates, taking the shot and developing the images. Within minutes you’ll be able to see the results of your labour: amazing glass and tin plate photographs, which you will be able to keep and treasure, or gift to loved ones.

Wet plate collodion in deep (full day, £250pp)

Includes everything in the introductory course (above) plus a whole afternoon of making more plates and learning the other essential steps needed to be able to undertake the process independently: cutting glass, varnishing plates, mixing chemicals and care of the silver nitrate solution. This includes a comprehensive Teddington Tintype Handbook of wet plate collodion photography, with full written instructions to remind you how to do everything for yourself.

Still life photography with wet plate collodion (full day, £250)

A day to focus on the deeply satisfying process of still life photography using wet plate collodion, large format cameras and vintage lenses. The emphasis is on creating beautiful still life compositions, so bring your own ideas and objects to photograph (or it will be old cameras!). You will experience the whole wet plate process, as per the introductory course, but this is more about the creative aspects, and what can be achieved by exploiting the unique qualities of tintypes and ambrotypes.