World Anthotype Day – open now!

Anthotype is a photographic process using plant-based emulsions and sunlight. Every year, over 100 artists worldwide share their prints and research. The FIFTH World Anthotype Day will be open on the 1st of August and run until 31st October 2026. Because of very long exposure times, prints made since last year‘s World Anthotype Day are welcome!
The event is free and open to all, from curious beginners to seasoned practitioners. See below how to enter.
Sign up for the Anthotype newsletter for reminders and explore previous year’s anthotype books for inspiration!

The date

The first three World Anthotype Days were held in August, but after feedback from artists needing more time for exposing prints, the event has moved to October. A global survey showed 99% of artists preferred this shift. Since the weather varies worldwide, prints created anytime between the previous and current events are accepted. If you prefer working in August, you’re welcome to do so – just make sure to submit your print by the new deadline: the last Saturday in October.

Why October works better:

• Artists often need more time to expose prints than August allows
• Many are on holiday in August
• Some berries, flowers, and fruits aren’t ripe yet
• Photo festivals are often held during the summer and limit printing time
• World Photography Day (Aug 19) clashed with the event

Need to brush up on your skills?

• Start with the basics in the Anthotype article: Anthotypes – instructions to making a print using plants
• Or the first book on anthotypes: Anthotypes – Make photographs using plants

Ready to dive deeper?

• The book Anthotypes – The Complete Guide to Making Photographs with Plants and Sunlight – builds your skills step by step.
• The books Anthotype Emulsions, Volume 1 , Volume 2 and Volume 3 showcase inspiring entries from previous years.
• Anthotype Notes is a handy notebook that follows the entry format and helps you document your prints.

The mission of World Anthotype Day: Find unusual emulsions

We are looking for UNUSUAL and UNIQUE emulsions. Some have been used several times, so try to find a new one. The point of World Anthotype Day is to grow the database of DIFFERENT emulsions as much as possible. Here are the most common ones (so please find something else):

– Algae, spirulina (Spirulina maxima)
– Beetroot (Beta vulgaris)
– Bird vetch (Vicia cracca)
– Black turtle bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
– Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)
– Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosom)
– Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis)
– Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea)
– Chard, common (Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla)
– Cosmos, garden (Cosmos bipinnatus)
– Dahlia (Dahlia pinnata)
– Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
– Paprika / Red pepper / Chili (Capsicum annuum varietals)
– Pokeberry, common (Phytolacca americana)
– Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
– Raspberry, common (Rubus idaeus)
– Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
– Rocket (Eruca Sativa)
– Saffron crocus / Zaran saffron (Crocus sativus)
– Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)
– Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa)
– Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
– Walnut (Juglans nigra)
– Watercress (Narsturtium officinale)

Using mixes of plants and pigments

Experimenting with plant and pigment mixes is a wonderful way to explore new possibilities – and we absolutely encourage it! However, for World Anthotype Day, please only submit a mix if it truly stands out. Since the database aims to help artists find distinct new emulsions, only send your mix if it offers something exceptional – like noticeably better colour, contrast, or stability. In short: experiment as much as you like, but only share it if it is exceptional.  Using a mix, it should also be something that others can replicate, since the database is to enable others to use the information. Make sure to include an image containing ALL pigments used in one image. 

Details on how to enter – open for entries in August

To submit your entry, read the Terms & Conditions then email us at talk@alternativephotography.com with the following 3 items:

1. A description of your process in the format below.
2. Your anthotype image
3. A photo of the plant used – make sure to take one before you mash it up!

Entries not following these steps may not be accepted. We usually receive 100+ entries and don’t have time to reformat them, so please help make our lives a little easier by following the instructions carefully.

Read through the Terms and Conditions – mandatory!

• Read ALL of the Terms and Conditions here
• By submitting your work, you agree to be bound by the Terms and Conditions on the link above.
• By entering your work for the Anthotype day, your work may be included on our website and book, but we reserve the right not to include it. Submission is no guarantee of publication. There is no guarantee that there will be a printed or digital version of a book; this depends on the response. By entering, you grant permission for your image to be used. There will be no monetary compensation if your work is published; you will receive full credit (and a lot of exposure).

Item 1. Text information – copy and paste into an email

• COPY and paste the information below into an email, DELETE the example text and fill it out with your own details:
• Common name and Latin name of plant or pigment: For example, Lilac, common (Syringa vulgaris) / Blueberry (Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus)
• “Title” by FirstName Surname: For example: “Summer Hope” by Joanne Smith
• Place, Country: For example: Montreal, Canada / Washington, DC, USA / Staffordshire, UK / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Parts used: Petals / Stem / Powder / Root / Leaves / Anything else, for example
• Amount: A handful for each print / 2 tablespoons / 30 grams, for example
• Extracted by: Mortar / Centrifuge / Soaking / Cooking, for example
• Solvent: Tap water / Distilled water / Alcohol (state which kind), for example
• Application: Brushing / Dipping / Rod coating / Cotton swabs, for example
• Layers: 3, for example
• Substrate: Paper (specify brand and weight if you can “Fabriano artistico, 200 gms” or “Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag, 300 gsm” as an example) / Or anything else you used, for example, card, sketch paper or other
• Created with: Describe in a few words how you created the image, for example: Photogram of petals / Positive on OHP paper (specify brand if you can and if it was printed with inkjet or laser)
• Exposure: 6 hours / 2 days / 4 weeks, for example
• Month, season and year: For example: July, summer 2025
• UV strength: 6-8, for example (optional)
• Temperature: 16-28° Celsius or 65-70° Fahrenheit, for example (optional)
• Humidity: 65-75% for example (optional)
• Contrast: For example: ✘ (Almost none) / ✿ (Low) / ✿✿ (Medium) / ✿✿✿ (High). This is the contrast of the final print, and can be defined as this:
  ✘ (Almost none – little or no difference between the darker and lighter areas of the print.)
  ✿ (Low – slight difference between the darker and lighter areas of the print, not easy to see what it is.)
  ✿✿ (Medium – a good difference between the darker and lighter areas of the print; you can easily see the motif.)
  ✿✿✿ (High – a lot of difference between the darker and lighter areas of the print.)
  (We may edit this on your entry since it’s compared to other entries)
• Challenges or observations: (optional) Can be something you had problems with in your anthotype process, or observed, such as: The purple-blue petals crushed in a mortar and mixed with a little tap water produced a nice golden-toned print in a very short time / or something about exposure, coating, layers, or anything else someone may find useful. Try to reflect on where the difficulties were and how they can be done more easily or result in a better print. This text should focus on the process. Additional images of your process can also be sent if you like.
• Additional information: (optional) This could be information about the plant or pigment you used, for example, if it is toxic or other facts. Or it could be something more general or personal about your process, your anthotype or anything else you think others may find interesting. Try keeping the extra text of “Challenges or observations” and “Additional information” to a total of about 150 words.
• Instagram: (optional, for example:) @alternativephotography_com
• Facebook: (optional, for example:) facebook.com/alternativephotography
• Bluesky: (optional, for example:) @malinfabbri.bsky.social
• Website: (optional) 
• Let us know if you are a Supporting Member, since we will add extra links to your gallery, and so that your work will be posted out for extra exposure, etc.

Item 2. The anthotype print

Create your Anthotype using the anthotype process.

• No nudes or offensive images are allowed.
• Your print must be made within the last 12 months, since the last World Anthotype Day.
• Scan or photograph your print (must clearly represent the work). Recommended size: 2500 pixels on the longest side. Here is how to do this with your phone. If resizing is too difficult, send it anyway.
• Name the file like this:
  “Common Name Of The Plant-Name Surname-Title Of Image.jpg” for example
  “Tulip-Joanne Smith-Summer Bliss.jpg”. 

Item 3. The picture of the plant or emulsion used

• Take a photo of the plant or pigment before it’s processed – how it appears in nature, not chopped or as a liquid.
• DO NOT use images found online.
• Crop the image to a square and resize to at least 1080 pixels. If it’s too difficult to resize, send it anyway.
• Name the file:
  “Common Name Of The Plant-Name Surname.jpg” for example
  “Tulip-Joanne Smith.jpg”.

Ready to send your entry? Here’s how:

Images (mandatory)
Send your images to anthotype@alternativephotography.com (one entry per person):

• By file transfers: WeTransfer, Dropbox (click here to get a free account with extra storage space) or Google Drive (make sure you set permissions to “Anyone with the link can view” or we can’t see it)
• Or, you can also attach the images to an email, but they might get caught in spam – please check that we received them.

and Text (mandatory)

• Send the description as text in the email or include it as a text file in your transfer (copy-paste into the email is easiest).
• You’ll receive a confirmation email once we get your entry. If you don’t hear back within a week, contact us to confirm it wasn’t lost in spam.

Sharing (optional)

• If you’ve added your social media handles, we will try to tag you when we post your work.
• Artists are also welcome to share a 30–60 second video of themselves and their print. See last year’s videos here.

We hope you enjoy making anthotypes and participating in World Anthotype Day!

Share on social media with the hashtags: #worldanthotypeday2026 and tag  @alternativephotography_com in your Instagram posts and stories. Other tag we use are #anthotypeday #worldanthotypeday