Paper negative

The paper negative process consists of using a negative printed on paper (either photographically or digitally) to create the final print of a photograph, as opposed to using a modern negative on a film base of cellulose acetate. The plastic acetate negative (which is what modern films produce) enables the printing of a very sharp image intended to be as close a representation of the actual subject as is possible. By using a negative based on paper instead, there is the possibility of creating a more ethereal image, simply by using a paper with a very visible grain, or by drawing on the paper, or distressing it in some way.

One of the original forms of photography was based on the paper negative process. Talbot's waxed-paper negative process, which was used to create his work "The Pencil of Nature", used a negative created on paper treated with silver salts, which was exposed in a camera obscura to create the negative and then contact printed on a similar paper to produce a positive image.