We only list the books on alternative photographic processes we truly recommend on the subject. If you buy through the links to Amazon
Experimental Photography: A Handbook of Techniques
Systematically details experimental photographic techniques.
Experimental Photography Workbook: A Manual of Analog Black & White Darkroom Practice
Rated 9,28 – based on 254 votes
- Buy directly from the author ($50 including shipping to the USA) a new edition is on it’s way, with shipping available globally.
- Buy from Amazon.com
Learn about a variety of alternative photographic processes.
A technical book highly recommended both for beginners and pros.
Jill Enfield’s Guide to Photographic Alternative Processes: Popular Historical and Contemporary Techniques
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy direct from Routledge publishers
Covering several techniques and even printing on ceramics.
New Dimensions in Photo Processes
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
Clear instructions in step-by-step to many of the processes.
Photo Imaging – A Complete Visual Guide to Alternative Techniques and Processes
A definite resource for mastering alternative photo-imaging techniques. Out of print.
Photographic Possibilities: The Expressive Use of Concepts, Ideas, Materials, and Processes
A well researched reference book covering many alt. procs.
Spirits of Salts / Alternative Photographic Processes
A Working Guide to Old Photographic Processes.
The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes
Cyanotypes, kallitypes, ambrotypes, anthotypes and more in classroom format.
The Darkroom Cookbook (Alternative Process Photography)
Description of 170 photographic processes.
Coming into Focus
by John Barnier
Practical instructions on 20 processes.
Breaking the Rules. A Photo Media Cookbook
Pinholes, cyanotypes, and more. Out of print.
The Art of Enhanced Photography. Beyond the Photoraphic Image
Centered around interviews with seventeen photographers.
Alternative Photographic Processes: A Working Guide for Image Makers
A classic and an overview of alternative processes.
A guide to early photographic processes
Detailing all the early photograhic processes. Out of print.
Historic Photographic Processes
Extensive research and resources.
Photography’s Antiquarian Avant-Garde: The New Wave in Old Processes
Information on many of the processes.
The Albumen Print: A Practical Guide
Rated 8,5 – based on 4 votes
An artist sharing knowledge of Albumen printing.
Anthotypes – Explore the darkroom in your garden and make photographs using plants
Rated 9,8 – based on 224 votes
- Buy eBook directly from us in PDF format ($16.99 download direct)
- Buy eBook directly from us at Smashwords in ePub format ($19.99 download direct)
- Buy paperback from Lulu ($38 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.com ($38 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.co.uk (£24 + shipping)
- Buy from Book Depository
Make prints using plants – an environmentally safe process!
The most comprehensive resource on Anthotypes.
The Art of Bromoil & Transfer
Rated 9,44 – based on 9 votes
A book on the bromoil and transfer process.
Carbon Transfer Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual, Featuring Contemporary Carbon Printers and Their Creative Practice
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
Reviews the extensive history of carbon transfer and related pigment processes.
Chrysotype: A Contemporary Guide to Photographic Printing in Gold
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy direct from Routledge publishers
An affordable way to produce permanent prints in gold. By using film or digital negatives, striking hand-coated prints can be created.
The Chrysotype Manual: The Science and Practice of Photographic Printing in Gold
Rated 9,9 – based on 12 votes
Intended for advanced practitioners of the photographic arts.
Blueprint to cyanotypes – Exploring a historical alternative photographic process
Rated 9,7 – based on 234 votes
- Buy eBook directly from us ($12.99 download direct)
- Buy paperback from Lulu ($38 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.com ($38 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.co.uk (£24 + shipping)
- Buy from Book Depository
All you need to get started with cyanotypes, full of information, tips and samples from artists.
An excellent beginners’ guide to cyanotypes!
Cyanotype: The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
Contemporary Practices in Alternative Process Photography
Cyanotype toning: Using Botanicals to Tone Blueprints Naturally
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depostory
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
A two-part book including a step-by-step how-to section to achieve a successfully toned print and a part devoted to artists who have explored toning.
Cyanotype: The History, Science and Art of Photographic Printing in Prussian Blue
From Mike Ware chemist and inventor of the Cyanotype II process.
Cyanotypes on Fabric: A blueprint on how to produce … blueprints!
Rated 9,51 – based on 17 votes
Print cyanotypes on fabrics and textiles.
From the expert fabric printer comes a practical and well researched how-to book on cyanotypes.
The Daguerreotype: Nineteenth-Century Technology and Modern Science
What’s wrong with Daguerre?: Reconsidering old and new views on the invention of photography.
Explores the reasons why daguerre and the daguerreotype are often devalued.
Gum Printing and Other Amazing Contact Printing Processes
Rated 9,89 – based on 234 votes
- Buy directly from the author ($50 including shipping to the USA) An ebook is on it’s way too. Keep your eyes peeled.
- Buy from Amazon.com ($44.50 + shipping)
A Manual of Gum Dichromate and Other Contact Printing Processes.
Packed full of information.
Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
A step-by-step description of the gum printing process and showcases of artists’ works ranging from monochrome to colorful and from subtle to bold.
The Gum Bichromate Book: Non-silver Methods for Photographic Printmaking
Step-by-step guide to gum bichromates.
Gumoil Photographic Printing
Step-by-step guide to gumoils.
Alchemist’s Guide To The Kallitype Print: Printing In Silver
A step-by-step guide to printing kallitypes.
Kallitype: The Processes and the History
An extensive encyclopedia of history and various kallitype processes.
Photographers’ Formulary 07-0080 Van Dyke Printing Kit
This kit will produce 100 4×5-inch or 25 8×10-inch prints.
Vandyke Brown Printing Kit
Makes 100 4″ x 5″ prints or 25 8″ x 10″ prints – great for beginners.
The Master Photographer’s Lith Printing Course: A Definitive Guide to Creating Lith Printing
A step-by-step book on lith printing by an acknowledged master.
The World of Lith Printing: The Best of Traditional Darkroom and Digital Lith Printing Techniques
World-wide collection of lith printing works.
Silver Gelatin: A User’s Guide to Liquid Photographic Emulsions
A practical art book illustrating the use of liquid photographic emulsion.
The Handmade Silver Gelatin Emulsion Print: Creating Your Own Liquid Emulsions for Black & White Paper
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
A cookbook of simple, basic recipes for making black and white printing paper and paper negatives.
Calibration for Alternative Photographic Processes
A 4-part series on getting your alt. proc. prints right.
Become an expert calibrator.
Digital Negatives for palladium and other alternative processes
A complete manual for making high quality digital negatives for contact printing
Digital Negatives with QuadToneRIP: Demystifying QTR for Photographers and Printmakers
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
Fully explores how the QuadToneRIP printer driver can be used to make expert digital negatives.
Making Digital Negatives with an Ink-Jet printer
Rated 8,5 – based on 2 votes
A 20-page downloadable workflow on how to make negatives.
Excellent value.
Precision Digital Negatives for Silver & Other Alternative Photographic Processes
An eBook describing Color Density Range Control.
The Negative (Ansel Adams Photography, Book 2)
Devoted to a discussion of light, film and exposure.
The New Inkjet Negative Companion – Digital Negatives Made Easy
Dan Burkholder shares his methods and techniques.
Polymer Photogravure: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
Clear and easy to understand instructions.
Printmaking in the Sun
Covering the solarprint, or the photopolymer process, an inspiring read!
Copper Plate Photogravure – Demystifying the Process
Step-by-step basic printing procedures for a photogravure plate, complete with trouble shooting information.
The Complete Printmaker
Step by step through the history and techniques of over forty-five print-making methods.
Built From Scratch: Adventures in X-ray film photography with a homemade 11×14 view camera
Rated 9 – based on 3 votes
- Buy eBook directly from the author ($7.99 download direct)
- Buy paperback directly from the author ($55-65 including shipping)
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Learn to build a large format camera.
Exploring simple lenses – An in-depth practical guide to creative image-making
Rated 9,18 – 78 votes
A very practical book.
Excellent value.
From pinhole to print – Inspiration, instructions and insights in less than an hour
Rated 9,46 – based on 182 votes
- Buy eBook directly from us ($8,99 download direct)
- Best paper book option for Europe ($29,50 including shipping to Europe)
- Buy paperback from Lulu ($24 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.com ($24 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.co.uk (£15 + shipping)
- Buy from Book Depository
Learn how to build and use a pinhole camera.
Step by step to a quick and easy way to learn pinholing.
Pinhole Photography, Fourth Edition: From Historic Technique to Digital Application
An inspiring book including ideas and techniques. Not for beginners.
The Pinhole Camera – A Practical How-To Book for Making Pinhole Cameras and Images
The benefits of pinholing, making cameras, material and darkroom skills.
Primitive Photography: A Guide to Making Cameras, Lenses, and Calotypes
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
The entire process from the beginning to end, at advanced level.
Adventures With Pinhole and Home-Made Cameras: From Tin Cans to Precision Engineering
A variety of approaches to pinhole with lots of examples of camera building and technical aspects of building your own.
The Beginner’s Guide to Pinhole Photography
Back to basics, recommended for beginners.
Platinotype: Making Photographs in Platinum and Palladium with the Contemporary Printing-out Process
- Buy directly from Routledge, the publisher
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
Describes the mechanisms and chemistry of platinum/palladium printing in safe and practical ways.
The Old Made New: Richard Eugene Puckett’s Dry Print-Out Processes with Gold, Palladium, and Platinum
Rated 9 – based on 2 votes
More about the book.
Recommended.
The Platinum Printing Workshop: Platinum/Palladium Printing Made Easy
Workshop guide and walk-through of the process.
Salted Paper Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists
- Buy from Amazon.com
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
- Buy directly from Routledge publishers
The history and the process: from beginner to intermediate level, with step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting.
The Salt Print Manual
Rated 9 – based on 2 votes
- Buy directly from the author ($59 including shipping)
- Buy from Amazon.com ($45 + shipping)
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£30 + shipping)
- Buy from Book Depository
Learn how to make salt prints.
A practical manual in clear and jargon-free language.
Acrylic Transfer Printing
Make large-scale acrylic transfer prints for exhibition or private use.
Photographer’s Guide to Polaroid Transfer: Step-By-Step
Tutorials from the winner of the Nikon Certificate of Excellence.
Polaroid Manipulations: A Complete Visual Guide to Creating SX-70, Transfer and Digital Prints
Detailed hands-on instructions and step-by-step procedures.
Spice Up Your Photos: Creative photography techniques to put a spark in your photos
Creative photography techniques to put a spark in your photos.
Watercolor Portrait Photography: The Art of Manipulating Polaroid SX-70 Images
The art and techniques of SX-70s.
Creative Sunprinting; Early Photographic Printing Processes Rediscovered
A cookbook of various processes. Out of print.
Making Monotypes Using a Gelatin Plate
Includes a section on temperaprints.
Chemical Pictures The Wet Plate Collodion Book: Making Ambrotypes, Tintypes & Alumitypes
- Buy paperback from Amazon.com
- Buy Kindle from Amazon.com
- Buy paperback from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy Kindle from Amazon.co.uk
- Buy from Book Depository
Covers everything you need to know about wet-plate collodion photography.
Making the Sliding Box Camera: For Wet Plate Collodion or Daguerreotype Photography
Learn how to construct a camera in wood, dating back to the daguerreotype era.
Making the Traditional Wet Plate Camera: Suitable for Wet Plate Collodion, Dry Plate, or Daguerreotype Photography
From the basics to more advanced techniques on building a historically-correct bellows camera for plate photography.
The Ambrotype: A Practical Guide
Rated 8,0 – based on 6 votes
A step-by-step practical guide to ambrotypes.
The Wet Collodion Plate: 16 Steps To Making The Plates
Rated 9,2 – based on 26 votes
- Will sadly passed away in April 2021 so this book is no longer for sale here.
The veteran of collodion demonstrates in easy steps how to make plates.
Toning and Handcoloring Photographs
More inspirational than technical.
Framing Photography (Library of Professional Picture Framing, Volume 6)
For the professional framer.
Mechanisms of Image Deterioration in Early Photographs: The Sensitivity to Light of W.H.F. Talbot’s Halide-fixed Images 1834-1844
Very well researched.
Alternate Processes in Photography: Technique, History, and Creative Potential
A practitioner’s perspective on the history and practice of photographic processes. Out of print.
Brought to Light: Photography and the Invisible, 1840-1900
Scientific experimentation blend with stories of showmanship to reveal how developments in 19th-century technology could enlighten as well as frighten and amaze.
Gold in Photography: The History and Art of Chrysotype
Rated 9,83 – based on 6 votes
An indispensable insight into early photography
Seizing the Light: A Social & Aesthetic History of Photography
Alternative Photography: Art and Artists, Edition I
Rated 9,97 – based on 257 votes
- Buy eBook directly from us ($15,99 download direct)
- Buy paperback from Lulu ($69 + shipping)
- Buy hardcover from Lulu ($84 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.com ($59 + shipping)
- Buy paperback from Amazon.co.uk (£37 + shipping)
- Buy from Book Depository
115 artists working with alternative photographic processes.
Get inspired!
Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography
A number of artists using camera-less photography.
Sun Gardens: Victorian Photograms
A replica of the first photographic book published with cyanotypes, expensive and hard to get hold of.
The Story Behind The Images
Rated 9,5 – based on 2 votes
- Buy directly from the author ($6.99 for eBook, 45-55 for printed book including shipping)
- Buy from Book Depository
Art and instructions by Scott Wittenburg.
Transformational Imagemaking: Handmade Photography Since 1960
The art of experimental photographers.