Capturing images is now easy and quick, thanks to the digital era. Nowadays, people use smartphone cameras to click photos and use loads of editing apps to beautify their pictures. Photographers in today’s times can hardly imagine taking photographs and not seeing them instantly, waiting for days with films dipped in chemicals until they could finally witness their clicks. Today, people can see a photo instantly, and decide whether or not they want to keep it.
But a true photographer knows that only a good camera with the right lens can take the perfect photos. Photography is an art that needs creativity, visualization, and of course, mastery of technical skills. The essence of traditional darkroom photography is something of great value that every student of photography cherishes. And it might sound inconvenient, but learning photography the traditional way, in a pitch-dark room with blackout roller blinds with chain, comes with its unique advantages. Let us explore them in brief.
Learning through trial and error
The focus of darkroom photography is experimentation; it is all about trial and error. Students become conscious that the higher the mistake they make, the higher the chance of getting a bad photograph. It motivates them to work on their techniques quickly so that things can go right at an instance. It brings out the artist and technical expert from the photographer, and they can learn the art in a more profound sense.
Thorough understanding of the step-by-step process
With darkroom photography, students get hands-on experience with photography. There is no better method than learning; students have to follow a step-by-step process for the traditional photography method. It is an extraordinarily technical yet creative procedure that all photographers should know.
Value of patience
Clicking a picture and waiting for days to develop it would improve your patience level. Unlike digital cameras, in darkroom photography, you will not be able to instantly see the results, which, in a way, cultivates patience. Apart from this, students will also learn about various printing methods, which is nostalgic and engrossing. Even though these methods are quite different from digital printing procedures, there is no harm in learning something new.
Sense of establishment
Darkroom photography brings a sense of establishment to the photographers. Its sense of achievement is entirely different from that of digital photography. Many photographers consider darkroom photographs as a piece of art and hang them on the wall.
Lifetime of memories
A lot of effort and technicalities go into darkroom photography. When you develop a picture using this technique, it will give you memories of a lifetime- not only of the image but also of the whole process.
If you wish to learn traditional photography, then trying out darkroom photography at least once can be fruitful. You would indeed have an experience of a lifetime that can be seconded by none. The traditional method will teach you that even mistakes can be incredible, and the result will always stay there with you. If you want to perfect the art of photography, do not miss out on this traditional technique.
