On Photographing Chemigrams

There’s no escaping the digital workflow, even in an analog photo world—ironically.

I’ve been photographing my silver gelatin chemigrams lately, chasing the most accurate color and detail possible. For lighting, I use a “sandwich” setup—two medium softboxes facing each other—to eliminate reflections on glossy fiber paper. A 150mm lens at f/9, tethered capture in Capture One, and white balance locked in keeps everything sharp and consistent.

It’s surprisingly efficient: a pair of prints takes about a minute to photograph, though leveling, keystone correction, and dust cleanup still await. Magnets in the corners hold the prints flat (a small but satisfying hack).

Digitizing 71 prints took about five hours, setup and teardown included. Not exactly my favorite way to spend time with technology—but the irony of photographing camera-less silver gelatin chemigrams isn’t lost on me. And then end result is the digital versions can be used for marketing the work, producing books, and sharing on social media.