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What You Need to Build a Darkroom at Home

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 17Jun2010 Word count: 631 Viewed: 326 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Working in the darkroom is a hallmark of being a photographer, as well as a great way to grab a little personal time to really focus on your craft. Having a locked door can provide you with some quiet uninterrupted time as well as help prevent film or images from being ruined from accidental light exposure. Sadly, we can't all pop down to the local darkroom any time we want, so a better alternative is to build one right in your own home.

Location, Location, Location

Garages, sheds, basements and extra rooms are all great places to have a darkroom. Just remember before choosing a location that you'll need access to running water and that the chemicals are hazardous and smelly. In addition, wherever you choose, you must make sure it is completely free of light so it's best to pick an area with no windows and can be used exclusively as your darkroom. That's why sheds or basements are common darkroom locations because they can be used just for that purpose and have running water and electricity. Extra bathrooms are also good, though limited in space.

Your Darkroom Supplies

Most of what you need for your own darkroom is pretty basic and won't cost you too much. Excluding whatever it takes to lightproof the room you use, you can get by with the following:

-Trays big enough for 8x10 paper

-3 Sets of tongs

-Chemicals (see below)

-Enlarger and timer (see below)

-Easel

-Darkroom light

The only expensive things you need are the enlarger, which you fortunately only need to purchase once, and the chemicals, which will need to be refreshed now and again. You can get an enlarger for around $200 and a basic timer for about $150, and they should last the life of your darkroom.

The chemicals are a bit more complicated. You can get most chemicals in either powder or liquid form. Powders are easier to store but will require mixing and sometimes can become airborne, while liquids are a little easier to deal with but take up more space and are often more expensive.

At the very least, you'll need to invest in some sort of developer, fixer, and stop bath. It's a good idea to purchase or mix small quantities as these chemicals will go bad over time (developers go bad more rapidly than the others), and keep them in dark areas in plastic bottles (your hands are almost always wet in a darkroom and glass isn't a great idea). A darkroom light will help you see while working with your paper but please know that a darkroom light can still ruin undeveloped film so only develop your film in complete darkness.

The Darkroom Setup

Once you have the chemicals sorted and all of your supplies in order, you're good to go. The best darkroom layout will have a dry side and a wet side - do your cutting and enlarging on a workbench or table, then have another bench or table with your developer, stop bath, and fixer laid out and ready to go. If you have the budget, it's best if you can have a special darkroom sink that is "always running, always full" so you can make sure that your prints are fully clean from chemicals. I would also highly recommend a lock for the door to prevent friends and family from accidentally ruining your work, but be sure it is easy to open from the inside in case of a fire.

Darkroom developing and printing can be done in any room that is protected from light, so once you have all of the supplies you can really set it up however your space allows. Figure out what works for you and soon enough you'll be printing your own photos in no time.

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