Darkroom on a shoestring budget
Oh, the smells of fixative, how I have missed you. I went wholly digital in 2002, and have nary set foot in a darkroom since. But if it hadn’t been for dark-rooms and the manual art of processing film, I think I wouldn’t have been nearly as good a photographer today*.
Developing your own film
Did you know that you can develop your own film on a shoestring budget? You can – you need a room that’s completely dark (bathrooms are good, add a bit of black duct tape, and you have a dark room!), a developing tank, reels, and chemicals. Oh, and you need to know how long stuff needs to be processed, of course.
You should be able to buy a dev tank for next to no money – your local photography club will probably have them on loan, or you can buy a kit (including measuring jugs, a temperature meter and chemicals) for very little money. (think £25 / €40 / US$50 or so).
If you feel brave, and are getting the knack of black and white film developing, why not take the next leap and get into the C41 process as well? Yup, it’s colour developing in all its glory. it has advantages, and isn’t that difficult, especially with the good guides that are available out there
After you have developed your film, you can either feed it through a film scanner (or make your own film scanner…), or you can start thinking about doing your own printing as well.
Printing in a darkroom
It’s the most rewarding part of darkroom work (read why in popular photography magazine), but you should also be aware that it’s extremely addictive…
As with so many other things, Photo.net has a fantastic introduction into how to set up and plan for a black and white darkroom, but photogs.com also have a thorough rundown of all the equipment you need – and it also offers tips with budgets in mind! We like these guys. Chris over at Apogee Photo also has a set of 10 tips to setting up a darkroom, again with a tight money-saving angle.
Even in the age of digital this and digital that, the classic darkroom has a place in the hearts of many an aspiring photographer. Understanding the basics of a Real Darkroom™ will help you understand how Adobe Photoshop does its magic, and will also teach you a whole new mindset as to how you can work with photographs.
And of course, there is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing your images appear, as by magic, in the developer.
*) Note that this implies that I’m a good photographer, which obviously ain’t the case
My day job, if it can be called that, is being a writer. I've got one book out there so far and it's awesome, so go ahead and buy a copy! It's available from 
In front of you, five hyperactive men with guitars, drums, and microphones. Behind you, five thousand fans. In your hands, a camera... You're going to need more than just a little bit of good luck to pull this one off. That's where this book comes in.
Take a Canon EOS 450D. Attach a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. Hit the streets of London. See what happens.
Insights, suggestions and comments
I’m thinking of putting a darkroom in my home. Do I need to worry about the smell of the chemicals permiating my house? The room will be vented but I’d like to know if that is enough to prevent the odor. Thanks.
Do u NEED to have an enlarger in the darkroom because ive noticed they are very expensive!?
Enlargers are kind of important if you are planning to print on photosensetive paper but now you can get away with a good neg scanner! Thanks to digital photography enlargers are very cheap now. If you can get one it’s still less expensive to print on “real” photo paper unless you fill your printer cartridges.
Ok time to hang my negs,
Cheers,
Ing
i am really interested in developing my own film.. i am buying a canon rebel 35mm film version and I don’t know anything about film, i just know i like taking pictures and would like to do some work in a darkroom… anyway.. how tangible are my goals??? anyhelp would be awesome thanks!!
email me at jayhendricks@gmail.com if you want! thanks!
I’m thinking of putting a darkroom in my home. Do I need to worry about the smell of the chemicals permiating my house? The room will be vented but I’d like to know if that is enough to prevent the odor. Thanks.
no, you dont need to worry about a thing. the only thing that smells is the stop bath and the fixer. the developer, when very oxyginated, smells fishy, and of course the sepia stinks somethin awful about a perm in someones hair. but just standard b&w… developer, stop, and fixer, you have nothin to worry about except for that one room. and the smell is that of strong vinegar. with color, your bleachfix, stop(optional) and developer smell, but once again, the stuff with the acetic acid is what really stinks. hope this helps :D God bless!
am really interested in developing my own film.. i am buying a canon rebel 35mm film version and I don’t know anything about film, i just know i like taking pictures and would like to do some work in a darkroom… anyway.. how tangible are my goals??? anyhelp would be awesome thanks!!
well, your goals are extremely tangible. if you can afford a rebel, which are AWESOME cameras, you can afford a darkroom. i bought a few kits from freestylphoto.biz, of whom i continue to buy my chemicals and papers from, for about 300 bucks… i bought an enlarger kit, a kit which included the basics such as (3) 8×10 trays, 3 tongs, a thermometer, film developing tank with 2 self loading reels, and the such, and also some color chemicals and paper. EXTREMELY CHEAP. i may always use freestyle, except when i buy each seperate chemical to make batches. that will be a little cheaper.
i m setting up a darkroom in a room 2m x 1,5m.i i’m using chemicals for b&w developing the romm has no ventilation at all. I m thinking to do something to ventilate the room but it has a lot to do.
Is the use of ventilation really necessary to avoid health hazards from chemical evaporation? If yes can i solve the problem with a simple mask with filters?
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