Lumen Print Activity Kit

Lumen Prints are a beautiful solution for those who want to experience analogue photography techniques without the need for chemistry or a darkroom.

To produce a lumen print, you need three key components; photographic paper, water, and most importantly, sunshine (though we’ve thrown in a few extras for the best results!).

Photographic paper is light sensitive, which is why people usually work with it under a red safe light. We use a red or amber safe light in the darkroom because the colour filtration stops any blue light reaching our paper and exposing it before it’s ready. For a lumen print - we don’t need a darkroom, this makes the process accessible and easy to do at home.

The magic of a lumen print happens when an object is placed on the paper, blocking the sunlight from exposing areas where the object is in contact with the sheet. This is when a silhouette will start to form and, depending on the opacity of the overlaid objects, you can achieve some really stunning results. The thing we love most about lumen prints, is that without the role of chemistry to fix the image in place, the tonality and colour of your print will continue to change – essentially giving you a live photograph. We advise that you keep it out of direct sunlight and try documenting how the print changes for an extra bit of fun!