DIY Photo Developing

Photo developing is rewarding and a creative way to express yourself.

Photo developing, the process after negative developing, is one of the most rewarding aspects of photography. Unlike film development, which requires strict control, print developing allows you to take creative liberty to craft your print. Darkrooms are usually set up with different sides: a dry side for enlarging and a wet side for print development. Photo developing may seem a daunting challenge with many steps, but once you perform the process a few times, it becomes second nature.

Things You'll Need

• Loupe
• Lightbox
• Enlarger with carrier tray
• Paper easel
• Processed negatives
• Developer
• Stop bath
• Fixer
• Photographic print paper
• Developing trays
• Safelight
• Timer
• Tongs
• Squeegee
• Water source

Instructions

1. Mix the developer, stop bath and fixer as per the manufacturer's instructions. Place the chemicals in the individual trays. Keep your chemicals on the "wet" side of the darkroom.

2. Select a negative for printing. Examine your processed film to identify which negative you will process into a print. You can do this with a loupe and look at a negative on a light box, or from a contact sheet.

3. Remove the negative carrier from the enlarger. Insert the negative into the carrier to ensure the negative is flat. Center it carefully. Ensure that the emulsion, the dull side, is face down when the carrier is replaced into the enlarger.

4. Hold the negative at an angle toward a light source so the light reveals any dust on the negative. Brush it off before placing it in the enlarger.

5. Place the negative carrier into the enlarger. Switch off room lights so the image can be seen clearly for focusing. Keep the lights off from this point on.

6. Turn the safelight on. Remove a sheet of paper from its box. Close the box to keep out any stray light.

7. Open the aperture of the enlarger and adjust the easel for the desired size. Move the enlarger head up and down to get the desired degree of enlargement, then focus again.

8. Take note of which side of the film paper curls up--this is the emulsion side. Slip a piece of paper into the easel, emulsion side up.

9. Set the timer and create a test strip to determine how long to expose the paper. Expose the final print based on the test prints.

10. Develop the print by slipping the exposed paper into the developer tray, ensuring it is fully immersed. Develop as per the manufacturer's recommended times. Agitate the print in the tray gently until the image is developed. Lift the print out of the tray with tongs and drain off the developer.

11. Transfer the print to the stop bath to neutralize the developer and stop development. Agitate gently for up to 15 seconds. Keep developer tongs out of the stop bath tray. Drain off the stop bath.

12. Transfer the print to the fixer tray. Keep it submerged. Agitate the print occasionally while in the fixer for a minute or so. Turn on the lights. Remove the print, wash and squeegee excess water off. Hang the print to dry.

References

• "Photography”; Barbara and John Upton; 1975