Back and expanded due to popular demand, this 2024 Halloween season is the chance to bring home a piece of photographic history. Victorian Photography Studio/Union Tintype and Hellcat Darkroom will be at Lyndhurst mansion ready to take your portrait using 19th-century photographic technology, resulting in a one-of-a-kind tintype portrait. Bring home a special memento of your trip to Lyndhurst during the most exciting time of the year.

As this is a traveling studio, costumes will not be on site to rent, but visitors are welcome to come dressed for the occasion or in your Halloween best!

You will need to reserve your time slot and choose what size portrait you want. Each session can accommodate up to 5 individuals. Groups of 6 and larger should purchase multiple, subsequent time slots. Each slot results in one physical portrait; so choosing two slots for a large group results in TWO images. Timed entry is every 15 minutes. Photography must be reserved ahead of time as there will be no walk-on availability unless there is a no-show.

Collodion, or wet-plate photography as we have come to know it today, was invented in 1851 by a gentleman named Fredrick S. Archer. This process was invented to allow images to be made on glass — multiple copies then could be made from the same plate. In 1856, the tin-type process was added, allowing collodion images to be made on thin sheets of metal.

The unique thing about this process is that the plate must remain wet before being sensitized and exposed. If the plate dries out before the photographer has time to develop the image, it will no longer be light-sensitive and will be completely useless. Hence the name “wet plate” process.

When you have a wet plate done, not only do you receive a beautiful piece of history with your image in it — you also get a short history lesson and witness the process of genuine 19th-century photography.