Tintype Essay

Tintype, or melainotype or ferrotype, photography is a created by making a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Tintypes were widely used during the 1860s through the 1870s, but is now coming back into the photography scene as a novelty.

The process was first discovered and described by Adolphe-Alexandre Martin (of France) in 1853. It was patented by Hamilton Smith (of the United States) and William Kloen (of the United Kingdom) in 1856. Their success was partly because they were inexpensive, easy, and quick to make. A photographer could prepare, expose, develop, and varnish a tintype for a customer in just a few minutes. Tintype portraits were at first made in a studio, but later became most commonly made by photographers working in booths at places like carnivals and fairs.

There are two types of tintype photography processes: wet and dry. In a wet process (which preceded the dry process), a collodion emulsion containing suspended silver halide crystals had to be formed on the plate right before it was exposed in the camera while still wet. Chemical treatment then reduced the crystals to tiny particles of metallic silver, resulting in a visible image. The dry process, which was more convenient, was similar but used a gelatin emulsion (instead of collodion) which could be applied to the plate before use and exposed in the camera dry. Both processes result in a very underexposed negative image. The most dense areas (lightest parts of the subject) appeared gray by reflected light. The areas with the least amount of silver (darkest areas of the subject) were basically transparent and appeared black. The image as a whole then appeared to be a dull-toned positive. This ability allowed shorter exposure times to be used, which became a great advantage in portraiture. To obtain as light-toned an image as possible, potassium cyanide (a very dangerous and deadly poison) was used as the photographic fixer. Each tintype is usually a camera original, so the image is usually a mirror image, reversed left to right from reality (although sometimes the camera could be fitted with a mirror or right angle prism so the end result would be right reading).

I picked this image because it's very clear and focused, and the freckles on the girl look cool.

I picked this image because the background really makes the subject pop. 

I picked this image because I love the contrast of the black hair on her pale face.

I picked this image because it's the typical type of photo that pops into your head when you think "tintype" 

I picked this image for the same reason as the 2nd photo, because the dark background makes the man's features stand out.

I picked this image because I like the posing of the couple, and how you can see their entire bodies. 

I chose this image because I like her posing and expression. It makes for a really captivating image.

I picked this image because it's a really nice portrait, and I like how the aperture was so low that her nose is out of focus.  

I chose this image because I like how his posing and expression tell a story. 

I picked this image because I like the contrast of her dark hair and shirt against her light skin and the light(ish) background.

Ideally, I want my tintype to be a portrait, preferably somebody with freckles (because that looks really cool with this process). I'll probably use my friend Vivien, wearing a black, vintage shirt (because it will help make her face pop)