All you need to know about anthotypes – NOW AVAILABLE BOTH AS PAPERBACK, COILBOUND PAPERBACK and EBOOK! – expands the original publication into a more complete technical and educational reference. Building on several years of continued testing, teaching, and revision, this edition addresses chemical, material, and process-related questions that could not be fully covered in an introductory format.
“I’ve seen how invaluable this book is to artists and experimenters alike, and this new edition builds beautifully on that legacy – an inspiring guide to one of photography’s most magical processes.”
Sue Wright, Chair, the Royal Photographic Society, Women in Photography.
| $28 | Download eBook (PDF) directly. | |
| $40 | Best paperback option. | Buy from Lulu Print quality is better than Amazon. ($40 / €34 / 64 AUD / £32 / 56 CAD) |
| $45 | Coilbound paperback – good for laying flat on table! | Buy from Lulu Print quality is better than Amazon. ($45 / €37 / 68 AUD / £35 / 60 CAD) |
| $44 | Paperback from Amazon. | Buy paperback from Amazon.com or as Kindle eBook More marketplaces: Australia Belgium Canada France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Poland Spain Sweden UK |
Why get the anthotype book?
Learn this eco-friendly photographic process in the definitive, step-by-step guide – from selecting and preparing plants to creating and preserving beautiful prints made with sunlight. Discover how to make emulsions from pigments in plants, fruits, and flowers, choose the best papers, and print in vibrant colours in the sun. Includes tips on toning and permanence. For beginners and experienced artists.
What edition 2 offers:
- Expanded technical and chemical explanations
- Greater depth across all existing sections
- Variables affecting exposure, colour, and permanence
- Revised structure based on teaching use and reader feedback
- An extended emulsion plant section
Edition 2 is an expansion of Edition 1. While Edition 1 remains in use as teaching material and an introduction to the process, Edition 2 is for artists seeking a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of anthotypes.
Learn to make prints using plants – an environmentally safe process in this book dedicated to anthotypes. Includes a comprehensive reference section on plants.
- Formats: Paperback and Coilbound paperback, 170 pages, full colour
- Printed by: Lulu (ISBN: 9781291922370) and Amazon (ISBN: 9798298981590)
- Publisher: AlternativePhotography.com (January 2026)
“Malin Fabbri has done so much work to build the information in the book; it’s a treasure trove.”
– Rosie Horn, artist.
Table of Contents
- Artists in this book
About AlternativePhotography.com - Introduction
What is an anthotype? - The history of anthotypes and the people behind it
- Basic chemistry
- Safety
Plants to watch
Setting up the workspace - The anthotype process
- Finding plants, pigments and dyes
- Emulsions to start with
Emulsions by colour - Making up emulsion
Flowers and petals
Berries and fruits
Vegetables
Leaves, green plants, weeds and grass
Juices and fluids
Nuts, shells and seeds
Powdered spices and dyes
Turmeric prints - Solvents
- Papers as the chosen substrate
Texture – smooth or rough
Weight – the thickness
Sizing and absorption
Buffering – pH and permanence
Printing on fabric, wood and other surfaces - Coating the paper
- Photograms
- Digital positives and negatives
Making a positive on transparency film
Emulsions that may need a negative (not a positive)
Oiling or waxing paper to make a positive - Choosing a frame for contact printing
- Exposing the print
- Unable to get straight to work?
- Changing colour with pH
- Image permanence
Protective coating
Storing prints and minimising UV exposure
Changing the pH
Colourfast pigments
Fixing green chlorophyll prints with copper sulphate
Scanning and printing - World Anthotype Day
- Anthotypes on the go
- Emulsion Recipes and Plant Index
Flowers and petals
Berries and fruits
Vegetables
Leaves, green plants, weeds and grass
Juices and fluids
Nuts, shells and seeds
Powdered spices and dyes - References
Look inside the book
From Malin Fabbri
Anthotypes will make you look at plants in a whole new light. Learn this eco-friendly photographic process in the definitive, step-by-step guide – from selecting and preparing plants to creating and preserving beautiful prints made with sunlight. Discover how to make emulsions from pigments in plants, fruits, and flowers, choose the best papers, and print in vibrant colours in the sun.
Create prints from objects, plants, or digital photographs. The book also offers methods on how to tone prints to different colours and insights into the permanence of your images. Perfect for both beginners and experienced artists.
Rich with artist examples, scientific insights, practical advice, and inspiring examples from artists worldwide, Anthotypes connects 19th-century photographic discovery with 21st-century eco-friendly creativity.
About the author
Malin Fabbri grew up in Sweden and moved to London in her early twenties to study. She earned an M.A. in Design at Central St. Martin’s School of Design, but publishing her thesis felt more like a beginning than an end. Malin decided to combine her academic and practical experience and started AlternativePhotography.com in 2000. The website still maintains its origins as a source of information and research on alternative photographic processes and now represents almost 400 artists. Malin actively manages the expansion of the site as editor. She researches alternative photographic processes, makes prints, and runs workshops.
Malin has also worked professionally with major media names such as Time magazine and CNBC Europe. She is the co-author of From Pinhole to Print and the editor of the alternative photography art book Alternative Photography: Art and Artists, Edition 1, which features 115 artists working in alternative photographic processes. Alternative Photography: Art and Artists, Edition 2 was launched for the 25th anniversary of AlternativePhotography.com in 2025. To show the creative width of alternative processes, the book Pure Inspiration was also written in two editions.
Apart from writing Anthotypes – Explore the Darkroom in Your Garden and Make Photographs Using Plants, which is the first book dedicated to the anthotype process, and the expanded version Anthotypes – The Complete Guide to Making Photographs with Plants and Sunlight. She has also authored Blueprint to Cyanotypes – Exploring a Historical Alternative Photographic Process. Malin launched World Anthotype Day, a global event where artists collectively research anthotype emulsions, in 2022 and from there compiled Anthotype Emulsions, Volumes 1-3 – the collective research from photographers on World Anthotype Day 2022–2024, each featuring contributions from hundreds of artists.
Malin has a strong passion for alternative processes. She now lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden, with her two sons, Maximillian and Ruben.
Said about the book “Anthotypes – The Complete Guide to Making Photographs with Plants and Sunlight”
“Malin Fabbri’s Anthotypes captures the poetry of making photographs with light and living colour. It reminds us that photography can be fragile, playful, and deeply connected to nature – an alchemy of time and transformation. Having worked with the first edition, I’ve seen how invaluable this book is to artists and experimenters alike, and this new edition builds beautifully on that legacy – an inspiring guide to one of photography’s most magical processes.”
Artists included in the anthotype book
- Nancy Breslin
- Hans de Bruijn
- Beverly Conway
- Dan Estabrook
- Malin Fabbri
- Carol Golemboski
- Silvino Gonzàlez
- Jake Groenhof
- Teresa Guxens
- Katherine M. Hill
- Rosemary Horn
- Katja Krajnc
- Nicole Lawrence
- Sarah Lycksten
- Scott McMahon
- Ko Oosterwijk
- Fabio Pasquarella
- Jalo Porkkala
- Martin Helmut Reis
- Francis Schanberger
- Nicky Thompson MA
- Sarah Van Keuren
- Marydorsey Wanless
- Jen Perena
World Anthotype Day
World Cyanotype Day
Hello Liz,
The coilbound is available from Lulu and they ship everwhere:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/malin-fabbri/anthotypes/paperback/product-gjp2qzz.html?page=1&pageSize=4
Hello! Where can I get a spiral bound version of your book Anthotypes – The Complete Guide to Making Photographs with Plants and Sunlight (V2) in the UK please?