Workshop: Ambrotype

Ambrotype is an early 19th-century photographic process in which the image is made directly on a glass plate. It was most widespread in the 1850s–1860s, especially for portraits.

It is a wet collodion process:

  1. The glass plate is coated with collodion
  2. Sensitised in silver nitrate
  3. Exposed in the camera while the plate is still wet
  4. Developed and fixed

We go through the theory of the process and all the technical details of preparing, shooting and processing the plate. We set up a large format camera and shoot together.

You can shoot up to 3 plates and take them home. If you have questions, message us on Instagram: @berliner.strasse.lab