Create Great iPhone Photos

Re-creating the Darkroom Experience

Serious photographers, both pros and amateurs, once took enormous pride in printing their own images. The darkroom was where photos came alive, and to have the chops to call yourself a bona fide photographer, you needed to spend hours upon hours in the darkroom, perfecting your craft. That was then, this is now, and now the darkroom is about as much a relic of a bygone era as eight-track tapes and dial telephones.

Of course, its status as a relic certainly constitutes a big part of the darkroom’s allure and fascination, often among people who never set foot in a darkroom (and never will). So, what is a darkroom, and what did people do in there? Here’s a quick rundown to help you understand the tools and terminology ...