New
New
Darkroom processes: using an enlarger and developing a print
I understand how to develop a contact sheet and a print in a darkroom using an enlarger.
Lesson 6 of 9
New
New
- Year 10
Darkroom processes: using an enlarger and developing a print
I understand how to develop a contact sheet and a print in a darkroom using an enlarger.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- In film photography, darkrooms are used to develop pictures that are taken on a physical roll of film.
- Photographs are produced using light-sensitive paper that is exposed to light that passes through the negative.
- Chemicals are then used to develop the image.
- Contact sheets can be used to easily see all of the pictures on a roll of film.
- Test strips are used to measure how much exposure each picture should have.
Keywords
Darkroom - a room for developing photographs, in which normal light is excluded
Enlarger - device used to project an image from a negative onto light-sensitive paper
Exposure - act of allowing light to reach photographic paper during printing
Develop - process of combining exposed prints with chemicals to produce an image
Common misconception
The safelight allows any kind of light to be on in the darkroom without damaging prints.
The safelight is not a “free pass” for unlimited light exposure and that all light exposure must be controlled and time-sensitive.
When teaching the process of making test strips, emphasise that this step is not just a formality, it’s a critical tool for quality control.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Darkroom equipment.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Motion in photography refers to the way movement is made by ...
Motion in photography refers to the way movement is made by ...
shutter.
light.
Q2.Eadweard Muybridge, originally from England but working in the United States, became famous for his photographic sequences of ...
Eadweard Muybridge, originally from England but working in the United States, became famous for his photographic sequences of ...
humans and animals in water.
humans and animals in stillness.
Q3.Chronophotography is ...
Chronophotography is ...
layered a single movement into a one image.
layered multiple phases of movement into a multiple images.
Q4.In Japan, the concept of motion in visual culture occurred well after it arrived in Europe during the mid-19th century.
In Japan, the concept of motion in visual culture occurred well after it arrived in Europe during the mid-19th century.
True
Q5.Freezing motion means to capture a moving subject in crisp detail. Match these related concepts.
Freezing motion means to capture a moving subject in crisp detail. Match these related concepts.
Q6.Match these key settings that affect motion capture.
Match these key settings that affect motion capture.
