Why Tintypes?

My husband Josiah and I opened a tintype photography studio here in Peachtree Corners last month. Originating in the 1850's, tintypes are one of the oldest ways to make a photograph. The picture is shot on a piece of metal that is prepared with chemicals and loaded into the camera, then developed before the metal plate dries.  

A lot of people ask us why are we choosing to make photographs this way. Tintypes aren’t convenient or easy. A considerable amount of time, chemicals and effort go into getting one shot. Just one. A shot that can’t be edited or modified, a shot that comes out of the developing solution as good as it’s going to get. So why bother?  

We bother because we don’t want our generation to become known solely by digital selfies taken on a phone camera. Several hundred years from now, how will we be remembered? By our Instagram photos and Twitter feeds? Doubtful. All those iPhone pictures will eventually be lost in a hard drive failure or from your kid throwing your phone in the toilet. People are over documented these days, but not in a meaningful or long lasting way. 

We know tintypes will last, simply because we have beautiful images from the 1800’s that have endured and remain essentially unchanged. Our goal is to craft beautiful images that have longevity. We want to provide you with family pictures and artwork that you can pass down to your children and grandchildren. After all, you're probably not going to take the time to print out all your digital photographs before they are lost forever. 

You can have your tintype made at our studio in Peachtree Corners, or on location at the Norcross Arts Festival on October 5 and 6.