Vanity Tintype is a woman owned and operated commercial tintype studio located in Philadelphia’s historic Fishtown neighborhood.

Our image making process is, thoughtful, considered and unique to each client. We offer a range of packages that are reflective of the time and commitment we take with our clients. Vanity Tintype’s portrait scissions blend 19th technology and contemporary life for an unforgettable collaborative experience.

The wet plate process was the predominant image-making technology of the nineteenth century.

The wet plate process involves coating a sheet of tin (Tintype) or glass (Ambrotype) with a sticky substance called collodion. The tacky collodion and sub-strait is then submerged in a bath of silver nitrate to create film that is then expose to light, then developed, stopped and fixing process. Clients experience the magic of the blue negative turn into a black and white positive. Once washed and dried, the plate is coated with a layer of shellac and is ready to be taken home. The resulting image is a one-of-a-kind modern heirloom.