Tintype Photos From an Old License Plate

One of my favorite people loves old-timey and old-fashioned things. She's always binge-watching those period costume dramas on TV and she appreciates every kind of antique. So, I knew I wanted to give her something suitably ancient for her recent birthday, but what should it be?!

Inspiration struck as I laid eyes on the grimy, expired license plate hanging on my garage wall. Unlike older, stamped license plates with raised letters and numbers, this one was just a flat sheet of metal. My vehicle's license number had simply been printed on, leaving the expanse of metal on the back of the plate wide open—the perfect canvas for a faux tintype photo!

I did end up 1) shooting an old-timey-inspired portrait of my friend and her family, 2) digitally manipulating the image, and 3) transferring the result to a specially prepared, distressed-looking portion of my old license plate. (She loved it!!!)

But the tintypes you see here are funny/weird self-portraits which I made so I could show you the full process and all that is possible with this project.

A LITTLE ABOUT TINTYPES & DAGUERREOTYPES IN GENERAL

• Daguerreotype photos were printed on silver-coated copper sheeting and first came on the scene in 1839.
• Tintypes were printed on iron plates and have been around since 1856. (Personally, I think tintypes are a little darker or clearer-looking than daguerreotypes.)
• There are also some old photos which appear on glass, but we're just talking about metal things for now.

Incidentally, the exposure times for both of these photographic methods were super lengthy! Subjects had to remain still for many, many minutes at a time or else their images would be blurry. That's why you rarely see people smiling or looking very natural in these old photos. Instead, most of them look rather frown-y and glum. This aspect—coupled with the amazing old clothing and hairdos—is what draws me to real tintype photos.

EVEN IF YOU DON'T PLAN TO MAKE YOUR OWN TINTYPES. . .

Don't plan to turn yourself into a tintype? That's OK. A few things you might get from this Instructable anyway:

1. Tips for making new photos look old with digital editing
2. Quick intro to a free design resource that I love—Canva.com
3. Simple metalworking how-tos
4. Method for transferring laser printed images onto metal, wood, clay—just about anything!

Tintypes (and daguerreotypes) came in several rough sizes. (See chart in this section.)

I made the examples for this Instructable roughly the "quarter plate" size. In part, the photo size you use will depend on the metal you salvage for the photo plate. For instance, I think the flat, round lids from canned soup, fruits, or veggies could work very well as gem-sized tintypes. (You would clean and dry the metal well first and then cut it down to a one-inch-by-one-inch square.)

Larger, 20-ounce can lids and the tops of sardine cans could be cut into "ninth plate" size or maybe even a little bigger.

And, of course, when it comes to image size, license plates afford lots of flexibility. But I also have a pile of old ductwork (galvanized metal pipes) that could be cut open, flattened, and transformed in a pinch.

RAW MATERIALS

• license plate, olive oil can, or other sheet of scrap metal
• laser printed photo(s) to be transferred
• Mod Podge Photo Transfer medium
• matte black acrylic paint
• cooking oil/olive oil

MISC. TOOLS

• digital camera or smartphone with built-in camera
• scissors
• tin snips
• metal file
• sandpaper in a few different fine grits—I used 220, 400, and 500.
• paintbrush/sponge-on-a-stick
• wax or parchment paper
• ruler/tape measure
• pen or pencil
• sponge and small dish
• some old rags/towels

Finally, for Step 2, you will need access to an Internet-connected computer, as well as a digital, laser printer/copier.

Although the original photos you take will be in color and the clothes you have on hand are probably more modern than anything you'll see in a real tintype, don't fret! I'm sure there's something in your closet that'll work. (And, besides, in the next step, you'll be digitally editing the image in a few simple ways that are guaranteed to add centuries to your look.)

If you have a certain time period in mind, examine tintypes from that era. Otherwise, I encourage you to just look at a lot of old tintypes from different decades for inspiration. I included two samples for you with this step, but you can see many more here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tintypes.

Some suggestions as you assemble your look:

• Your clothing colors don’t really matter and don't have to match.
• Clothing layers—especially items with interesting textures—can be made to look pretty old.
• Consider wearing some garments backwards in order to hide fancy buttons or modern-looking zippers.
• Bow ties (and neckties tied creatively) can be pretty convincing
• Hats are a great way to hide hairstyles that are a little too modern. (I wore the bonnet in my tintype samples to hide my long bangs. I also left my modern eyeglasses off.)

When posing, stand or sit as rigidly as possible. Bonus points if you can keep your facial expression neutral (or maybe even a little severe.)

Use as plain a background as you can, so that the viewer focuses on you. If you can't find a good backdrop, try posing in front of some trees. (After all, nature is timeless!)

Also, take lots of photos until you get one that seems just right.

I don't have any fancy digital editing software. I made changes to my images in Apple "Preview" and online via Canva.com.

Here are the steps I took.

CONVERT SIZE AND COLOR

1. Resample image from 72 dots per inch to 300 dots per inch.
2. Change image height to 4.25" (or whatever size your final tintype will be.)
3. Adjust levels as needed.
4. Convert image from color to grayscale/black and white.
5. Increase the exposure if needed.
6. Increase the contrast if needed.
7. Save as .jpg file.

ADD COLOR FILTER AND TWEAK PORTRAIT IMAGE

1. Begin a new 8.5" x 11" design in Canva.com.
2. Import the new .jpg into Canva.
3. Place .jpg image on Canva page; size image so that it is 4.25" high (or whatever size your final tintype will be.) I also further adjusted image warmth and contrast at this point.
4. Click the "Edit image" option. Choose "The blues" filter and adjust its intensity level as needed.

DIGITALLY "DISTRESS" WITH BACKGROUND AND OVERLAY

1. Download this background (or a similar one you like) from Freepik.com. Upload it into Canva, and add behind your portrait. Adjust the background's warmth and brightness, so that it looks less warm—closer to black and white.
2. Adjust the transparency level of your portrait to about 69.
3. Flip the orientation of the image, so that it is a mirror image of the original.
4. Search Freepik.com for "metal textures with dust scratches," pick one you like, download, and then upload it into Canva.
5. Place dust scratches texture over your portrait. Adjust its exposure, contrast, and transparency levels until you are satisfied with the end result.

PREPARE FILE FOR LASER PRINTING/COPYING

1. Group the background, portrait, and overlay. Copy this and paste multiples of your finished portrait on the 8.5" x 11" design page. (This way, you'll get more than just one image when you make your laser printed copy.)
2. Choose to download a print-quality PDF of your design page from Canva. (This is the file you will want to have printed with laser printer/copier.)

I took my file to an office supply retailer that also offered laser printing/copying service. (NOTE: Ink jet-printed images will not transfer. You need laser printed images created with dry toner.) So that my image transfer would look its best, I asked them to:

• run the thinnest paper through the printer that they were able to
• use the maximum amount of toner to produce my images
• print my images as a color file rather than as black and white

Got your paper copies in hand? Set them aside for now. The metal work comes next.

Ideally, you should wear gloves and a mask when working with metal. (You don't want to inhale metal dust, nor do you want to get metal dust in any cuts you might have on your hands!)

My old license plate was pretty dirty. For best results, your metal should be clean, dry, and slightly roughed-up.

PREPARING THE TINTYPE PLATE

1. Wash it with warm, soapy water and rinse.
2. Dry with an old towel.
3. Sand the surface on which you plan to transfer your image. (I started with 220 grit and then skipped to 400 and 500 grit because that's what I happened to have on hand.) Small, circular motions work best.

MEASURING AND CUTTING

1. Measure your photo and then measure the corresponding part of your metal plate.
2. Use your pen or pencil to mark cut lines. (Don't worry. You won't see these lines when your project is complete.)
3. Cut along your lines with tin snips. Be careful not to snag your skin on the resulting sharp edges.
4. File any sharp edges down and follow with sandpaper. (You should be able to handle your finished tintype without cutting yourself!)

OPTIONAL STEPS

I have noticed that many tintypes have uneven or cut corners, while others' corners are perfectly intact. I happen to like the look of the trimmed-off corners, so I went ahead and cut mine. Then, I used my file and sandpaper to smooth away any sharp bits.

Many tintypes also have at least two black borders—usually along their right and left sides. But, again, I encourage you to examine as many real tintypes as you can to get a sense of their general look and feel. This will help you decide how you want to present your own tintype versions. Anyway, you can either add some black borders digitally or add them with black paint. (Or both! Or neither!)

OPTIONAL STEPS

1. Lightly paint the entire tintype plate surface with a coat of black acrylic paint. Allow to dry completely.
2. Add a second light coat of paint and allow to dry completely.
3. Very lightly sand (with 500/very fine grit) the plate's surface using small circular motions.

This may take some of the paint off but leaves the plate's background looking somewhat distressed. If your image transfer goes really well, you probably won't see much, if any, of this background. But, if something does go wrong, seeing this dark/distressed background peeking through is preferable to the plate's naturally bright-and-shiny surface.

That said, though, I tried some tintypes with this painted-background method and some without. Both turned out just fine. Have fun, experiment, and see what you like best.

To transfer my photo to my tintype plate, I used Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium. (But there are many other image transfer products and methods you could use that work just as well.)

1. Cut out the printed copy of your portrait image to be transferred.
2. Place photo cut-out on wax or parchment paper and apply a generous amount of photo transfer medium onto the face of your image. (You shouldn't be able to see the photo very well at all after you've finished with this.
3. Carefully pick up your photo by its edges. Flip it over so that you can place it onto the tintype plate. (At this point, your photo will be face-down on the metal plate.)
4. Use your fingers to smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles—all portions of the photo should make firm contact with the tintype plate. (You can also use a credit card or squeegee of some kind for this purpose.)

Now for the hardest part—wait 24 hours before proceeding! If you try to finish the image transfer too soon, it usually gets messed up. (See next step for details.)

1. After 24 hours has passed, take a wet sponge and soak the front of your tintype.
2. Wait a couple of minutes for the water to soak into the paper.
3. Then, either using the sponge or your finger, very lightly rub the paper surface. Small bits of paper will begin to peel away, leaving you with just the printed toner on the metal plate.
4. Continue to gently rub until all—or at least most—of the paper is gone.

There comes a point when you may still see little bits of paper clinging to the surface, but, if you rub too much, you'll wear a hole through the toner. Depending on where this happens in relation to your image, this may be a feature, rather than a bug. (A slight hole or tear along an edge or corner might make your tintype look more worn and authentic. But a hole over your face? Not so good.)

So, knowing when to stop rubbing is something you’ll have to get a feel for, and it just takes practice.

FINISHING TOUCHES

The good news is that even if you do see some little paper fibers hanging on to the surface of your metal plate, you can make them disappear with a small amount of cooking or olive oil.

1. Simply rub a small amount of oil very lightly over the photo surface with your finger.
2. Wait a couple of minutes and then blot with tissue or a clean towel.
3. Repeat this process two or three more times as needed.

Finally, I like to finish with a little more black paint.

1. Carefully apply a small amount of black paint along one or more sides of your tintype. (I usually opt for the right and left sides, since that's how many real tintypes look out in the wild.)
2. After the paint has dried, use your fingers or very fine sandpaper to just barely rough up the newly painted sides.

Voila! Your tintype should look pretty close to the real thing—as if it has been handled and admired from one generation to the next and the next and the next. . .