Enlarging Your Favourite Photos: A Fun Darkroom Guide

Now that we’ve mastered making contact sheets (check out that article if you missed it), it’s time to take things up a notch and create enlargements of our favourite images!

Let’s dive into the process and get those stunning shots ready for display.

Key Terms to Know

• Darkroom: This is our creative space where we develop photos, kept dark except for a red light.

• Enlargement: A larger print of one of your negatives.

• Contact Sheet: A sheet that displays all your negatives together.

• Negatives: The actual images captured on your film.

• Negative Carrier: The part of the enlarger where you place your negatives for printing.

• Enlarger: The projector we use to enlarge our negatives onto photographic paper.

What You’ll Need

• Your negatives

• A darkroom

• Your contact sheet or a light projector to preview negatives

• A viewfinder

• Darkroom chemicals

• Developing tray

• Extra drying tray or drying machine (optional)

• Sink

• Darkroom photographic paper

• Darkroom easel (with adjustable blades)

Step-by-Step Process

1. Pick Your Negative: Choose a negative from your contact sheet that you want to enlarge. Place it emulsion side down (that’s the dull side) into the negative carrier. Adjust the size of the carrier’s opening using the yellow switches on the enlarger.

2. Light Control: Make sure to keep the light off while you’re setting everything up to protect your photographic paper. Only turn it on when the negative carrier is in place!

3. Adjust Brightness: You can tweak the brightness levels to help determine your exposure. Once you have the right brightness and size set—adjust the elevation knob on the back of the enlarger, but don’t forget to release the locking screw first!

4. Create a Test Strip: Before going for the final print, make a test strip. Cut up a piece of photographic paper (or use leftovers from your contact sheet if you have them).

5. Exposure Testing: Cover sections of the test strip with cardboard, then expose each section to light for about five seconds. Move the cardboard each time to reveal a new part of the paper. Keep going until you’ve exposed the entire strip.

6. Develop Your Test Strip: Place the exposed paper in the developer tray for two minutes, gently rocking the tray and using tongs to keep the paper submerged.

7. Stop Bath Time: After developing, let the excess developer drip off, then transfer the paper to the stop bath tray and agitate for thirty seconds.

8. Fix It: Next, put the paper in the fix tray for five minutes before rinsing it in cold water for at least ten minutes.

9. Determine Exposure Time: Now check your test strip to see how much exposure you need. For example, you might find that twenty seconds and a few clicks down on brightness works best for you.

10. Final Confirmation: Set the timer for your chosen exposure time and do another test strip to confirm. Once you’re happy with the exposure, you’re ready for your final enlargement!

11. Set Up the Easel: Adjust the blades of the darkroom easel to create a nice border around your image. Use the viewfinder to ensure the image looks sharp and grain-free.

12. Make the Enlargement: Place a larger piece of photographic paper under the easel blades and expose it to the enlarger light. Develop it just like you did with the test strips, then rinse in cold water and dry.

13. Repeat and Display: Keep repeating these steps for any other negatives you want to enlarge. Once they’re all done, hang your beautiful images up in your room!

And there you go! You’re well on your way to creating amazing enlargements of your favourite shots. Enjoy the process and happy printing!