The art of tintype photography with Guy Bellingham – I got my portrait taken!

tintype
(Image credit: Guy Bellingham)

Tintype photography is one of the very earliest forms of taking photographs, dating from the 1850s. It requires precise chemistry, accurate timing and a traditional large format camera. Despite being a lover of photography, I’ve only recently come to understand the process and how much work it entails thanks to Guy Bellingham (FRPS) – a Bristol-based portrait photographer specializing in the wet plate collodion process.

For the last two years, Guy has been perfecting the technique that is by no means easy. I was lucky enough to be invited to his studio to have my portrait taken and be shown the steps from start to finish. 

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Hannah Rooke
Staff Writer

Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. For the last 3 years Hannah has worked at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With 5 years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.