What is done in a photography darkroom?

Question

I'm curious. I've seen them in many movies over the years (i.e. ghostbusters, the paper, etc).

Do photogrophers really use a darkroom or is it just a movie thing?
If it is used, How does it work?
What processes are done?

Answer 1

Film is processed and prints are made in darkrooms.



The darkroom is required because the photographic paper (and film) is light sensitive and must be handled under dark or safelight conditions.

Answer 2

Shooting film is more of a hobby now and most people shoot digital. Shooting film is pretty expensive as you pay for the film and chemicals. Depending on the darkroom, you'll have three to four trays-- Developer, Stop Bath 1, Fixer, and Stop Bath 2.



If the photographer is developing their own film, then they will either remove the film is complete darkness or use a black bag with arm holes that allows the photographer to remove the film in complete darkness. Removing film in light will expose it and ruin it. Then the film is removed from the canister and put onto a film reel. From there it is put into a cylinder with a funnel that is light safe.



The photographer develops the film by pouring in Fixer, Stop Bath, Developer, another does of Stop Bath. The time and amount of agitation depends on how much film is being developed.



From there the developed film is dried and cut into smaller strips. Those go into an englarger and the image is projected onto photosensitive paper. From there the paper is put through the 3 to 4 trays. And that's just a VERY basic runthrough.

Answer 3

A darkroom is to a film photographer what a kitchen is to a chef.



Darkrooms are mainly necessary for making prints, since film can be processed in light-tight tanks. There was a time or two when the power went out on me during a film run where I just moved out onto the sidewalk and kept going. It's just that film is usually processed in the darkroom for convenience.



Printing requires darkness from WHITE light, but is usually conducted with a special lamp called a SAFELIGHT, with an amber filter over the light. If the print is to be processed in a drum, such as with small-scale color printing, the enlarger room need only be as large as a closet. Black and white prints are usually processed in trays, and these trays are usually in the same room as the enlarger for convenience, but it's not necessary.



What IS pure "Holllllllllywood" is when you see the actors moving the prints from one pan to another a couple of seconds apart, or processing film in the dark, or whatever, betraying a complete lack on knowledge of how the process really works.

Answer 4

Until the turn of this century (2000-2001) most professional photographers and the vast majority of amateur photographers used film cameras. Other than Polaroid "instant" cameras which had chemical packets that were included with the film and activated by the camera when it ejected the picture (or the user pulled the picture out of the camera in earlier models) all films had to be developed either by the photographer or a professional processing lab.



To get prints is a multi-step process with two major phases. Both phases are based on a "time and temperature" method to get predictable results.



Phase one is the development of the film into negatives (or positives if it was a "slide" film). This is done by machine or by loading the film into light tight tanks that the processor can pour chemical into and out of without exposing the film to light. The machines or tanks need to be loaded (usually) in total darkness to prevent spoiling the exposed film. The process requires at least two chemical baths (developer and fixer) for black & white (B&W) film. Additional chemicals are often used to improve and speed up the processing. Color films include additional chemical baths between the developer and fixer to add/release dyes, bleach out unused color materials incorporated into the film and so on. Until the film has been processed with the fixer which removes excess light sensitive chemicals the film can be damaged by exposure to light. Film processing requires very accurate timing and chemical temperatures to get acceptable results.



Phase two is the print making process and this is usually what is portrayed in movies and TV shows as the darkroom phase. This involves putting the developed film negative (or slide) into a machine called an enlarger which is a sort of backwards camera or projector. There is a light INSIDE the machine, a holder for the negative and a lens to focus the image onto a sheet of light sensitive photographic paper. The paper is similar to film but much less sensitive to light so it can be handled in darkrooms with special illumination called "safe lights". The photographer or lab technician then exposes a sheet of the paper which is processed in a series of steps similar to the film processing. The exposed paper can be processed manually or by machine. This phase can be monitored visually under a safe light, especially for B&W, if it is done manually. This allows the processor to make judgments on how to adjust the process to get a desired result. Color photographic paper is more light sensitive and susceptible to color shifts if the process is varied so development by inspection is much less commonly attempted. Time and temperature is much less critical for B&W print making but maintaining good controls is necessary to get consistent results.



Commercial processing labs use highly automated machines that allow the operators to work in normal room light for most of the work (including the making of prints) by allowing the operator to evaluate negatives and expose the paper with an optical system that exposes and feeds long rolls of paper to automatic processors.



HTH

Answer 5

Yes, they really do use a darkroom! First you load the film in complete darkness onto some reels, put them into light-tight canisters, then add chemicals in stages to develop the film. Once the film is in the canisters, you can turn on the light. After it's developed, you can safely remove it, and hang it to dry. Then you put the film into a holder of an enlarger, where light will shine through it onto a board below. You mask out the size picture you want, raise or lower the enlarger head to get it the right size, focus it, then turn out the lights and set up your photo paper in the holder to make your exposure using a light shining through the negative onto the paper, timing it carefully for the proper exposure time. Then you remove the paper and put it through a series of chemicals in trays, finally taking it out to hang to dry. Most of the steps are done in complete darkness, or with a safelight.

Answer 6

In addition to developing the film, in the darkroom photographers would also enhance and apply affects to their photos.



Many of the actions seen in modern digital photo processing software are electronic versions of processes film photographers used to do by hand in the darkroom. Those include dodging, burning, sharpening, etc. That is the reason why you will sometimes see software referred to as the digital darkroom.

Answer 7

if you take photo's using a film camera you can not let the film see light. it will wash it out considering a camera does that for you,,, it alows so much light in so you get a picture.

so if you expose the film to a light all your images will be WHITE..

there are chemicals you use while in the dark room to develop the photo's. but with digital camera's there isn't a need for a dark room ...

not sure how it all works but i what i do know is you have to activate the film and wash it off and do some other chemical on it and hang it to dry and then you have a photo...

but with out one you won't get a photo on to paper! if your useing film