By the end of the two and a half  hours, each participant will have made a contact sheet of their roll, selected a favorite frame, and produced a properly exposed, dodged-and-burned final print. Participants who complete the tutorial and demonstrate safe, competent darkroom practice become eligible to book solo darkroom time going forward.

Who This Is For

• Photographers who have already shot a roll of black-and-white film
• Negatives must already be developed (Film developing tutorials are also available).
• No prior darkroom printing experience required
• Comfortable working in low light / total darkness for short stretches

What to bring:

• Developed black-and-white negatives (35mm or medium format), cut into strips and sleeved if possible
• A notebook or phone for notes (no phone use in the darkroom during printing)
• Optional: an old shirt or apron — chemistry stains

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the basic darkroom workflow, from negative to finished print
2. Safely handle and use an enlarger, safelight, and printing chemistry
3. Produce a contact sheet from a strip of negatives
4. Read a contact sheet to select a strong image for printing
5. Use test strips to determine correct exposure
6. Make basic dodging and burning adjustments
7. Process a print through developer, stop, and fixer, and understand proper washing
8. Understand the safety rules and competencies required to book solo darkroom time