Photogram

Historical context

Tate defines a photogram as a photographic print made by laying objects onto photographic paper and exposing it to light. Cameraless images go back to the beginning of photography. William Henry Fox Talbot made what he called "photogenic drawings" of leaves and lace on sensitised paper. In 1843 Anna Atkins began publishing British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, a book of photograms of seaweed made with Sir John Herschel's cyanotype process. In 1918 Christian Schad made photograms from discarded tickets and receipts, and in the early 1920s Man Ray's versions became known as "rayographs", while László Moholy-Nagy was experimenting in the same period (Wikipedia, citing the published books; Tate).

Because the technique is so old and so widely rediscovered, no single inventor is credited here and no single year is given.

What it is and how it differs

• A silver gelatin photogram is made in a darkroom on ordinary black-and-white enlarging paper, with no negative and no camera.
• Where an object blocks the light the paper stays white after processing; open paper goes black; translucent objects give grey tones.
• It uses the same safelight, developer, stop bath and fixer as a normal print, so it is the simplest way to learn paper handling.
• The other cameraless processes on this site, such as lumen prints and chemigrams, use different materials or room light.

Materials and chemistry

• Black-and-white enlarging paper. Ilford's guide uses Multigrade IV RC, a resin-coated paper that processes and dries quickly. Fibre-based paper needs more careful processing and washing.
• An enlarger as the light source. Ilford sets the aperture to give an exposure of about 10 seconds, because shorter times are hard to time accurately and longer ones tedious.
• Three dishes marked developer, stop and fix, two pairs of tongs, a thermometer and a timer.
• A safelight at least 1.2 m from the developer dish (Ilford). Use the safelight filter recommended for your paper.
• Objects: leaves, lace, wire, glass and other things that block or partly pass light. Tate and Wikipedia mention leaves, lace and found paper objects.

Ilford's process summary for Multigrade IV RC DeLuxe, at 20 °C:

These times are for that RC paper and those products. For other papers follow the paper's data sheet.

Safety

The table shows common ingredients: hydroquinone is found in many paper developers, acetic acid is a typical stop bath ingredient and sodium thiosulfate is a typical fixer ingredient. Check the actual data sheet for the products you use, because manufacturers differ. Pour used solutions away as your local rules direct; Ilford says to pour used developer down the drain after your session, so check what your own area permits.

Procedure

1. Set up. Mix chemistry at about 23 °C so it cools to 20 °C, +/- 1 °C (Ilford). Lay out the three dishes with tongs and a clock.
2. Arrange your objects on the paper in a safelit room. Ilford places the paper emulsion side up (shiny side up for its RC paper).
3. Make a test strip. Ilford's method: expose the whole sheet for 2 seconds, then cover a quarter with card and give another 2 seconds, then cover half for 4 more, then three-quarters for 8 more. That gives strips of 2, 4, 8 and 16 seconds. Our suggestion is to leave the objects in place for the test; Ilford's text describes ordinary negative printing.
4. Develop. Slide the paper in without air bubbles and rock the dish continuously. Lift out at the end of the time and drain.
5. Stop and fix. Ilford's step-by-step text rocks the print in the stop bath for about 30 seconds, though its summary table gives 10 seconds. Follow your paper's data sheet, then into fixer, rocking.
6. Wash and dry. Wash in running water, then hang or lay flat to dry.
7. Judge. Pick the strip showing true black and clean whites, then expose your final sheet for that time. Ilford's rule for test strips: if all strips are too light open up two stops; if all too dark, close down one stop.

Good darkroom habits

These come from Ilford's leaflet and apply to every silver gelatin print.

• Use a different coloured or clearly labelled dish for each solution. A trace of fixer or stop bath in the developer gives inconsistent results or blank prints.
• Use one pair of tongs for the developer and a separate pair for the stop and fix.
• Stop bath and fixer can be near 20 °C but preferably no warmer than 24 °C and no cooler than 18 °C.
• Do not leave prints in the fixer for minutes on end. If you cannot wash straight away, hold prints in clean water.
• Fix times for fresh solution are for RC paper; fibre-based paper needs more careful processing and washing, as Ilford notes.
• Reseal the paper packet each time you take a sheet.

Variations

• Use translucent materials (tracing paper, glass) to get grey tones rather than pure white shapes.
• For a low-contrast or high-contrast result with variable-contrast paper, change the filter: yellow lowers contrast, magenta raises it (Ilford).
• Make the same kind of image on another process: Atkins's photograms were cyanotypes. See the cyanotype guide.
• Tone the finished print. Ilford says Multigrade papers respond well to toning, and recommends its Warmtone papers for it; ask your dealer about toning kits.

Troubleshooting

Further reading

Tate's art terms entry gives a short history and examples. For process control, Ilford's "Making your first black and white print" leaflet is a good companion.

Sources

• Photogram, Tate
• Photogram, Wikipedia
• Making your first black and white print, Ilford Photo
• Acetic acid substance information, ECHA
• Hydroquinone substance information, ECHA