Polaroid Manipulation Explained Step by Step.
The manual manipulation of Polaroid images is for me a vary fulfilling creative process. There is only one type of film available that will allow for this and you will also need the right camera for this film. (Any working version of the iconic Polaroid SX-70 camera and TZ Artistic Film which is still available if you search around).
You will also need some basic craft tools for the manipulation process as well as somewhere to keep the film warm while you are working on it, along with a flatbed scanner to create a digital negative of your image.
I do not profess to be an expert on this process but have experimented enough now to pass on some basic advice to others looking to work this way. So this is what you do:
First take a few images of the subject you want to create a manipulated image of, pay attention to composition and keep it simple also pick a subject with colours that suit the warm colours of this film I have found purples, greens and reds not to be as suitable yellows, browns etc. As you can on the example image the green foliage has taken quiet a brown tone. Once you have the shots you want you do not need to rush with them. I have read very different information on when to start working on these imagesfrom before they have even developed them fully through to allowing at least 2 hours for them to fully develop ... so start when you are ready ..the next day if you want. You will need to warm the film up to make it flexible again by putting it in a warm place and then keep reheating until you have finished the manipulation. Cooling or freezing the developed film allows you to work on it later if you haven't finished and need more time. One suggestion I have for you is to scan the film often during the creation process, then if you go too far in terms of manipulation you still have a scanned version to show for your efforts before this point.
What I generally do is to allow the image to start developing and then place it on firm surface with some coarse glass paper under it, then taking a large blunt tool I go around the corners of the image thereby creating and softening the edge of the image. I then would remove the glass paper having just a smooth surface to work on. 
Next I will work the detail I want lifting out of the image .... starting with the larger surfaces and using large smooth tools to create some shape to these generally lighten the parts of the image the pressure is applied to. I find plastic or wood the best tools for this part of the process.I then progress to using the sharper tools usually metal or plastic to edge and feather selected parts of the image. The more the pressure applied the line that is create is likely to turn through white to gray to black ... I think it depends on the subject as to how many black lines you will have. On this example I used very few strong lines favouring lighter pressure on these indents. Finally I have some very sharp small metal tools which are dentists probes to scratch into the surface of the film giving it some texture.
The next bit is optional ...but I have now started removing the front surface layer of the film, using a sharp modeling knife as I like the exposed edges formed when this is done.
You can totally remove the image layer for further manipulation if you wish, but I think this is about as far as I want to go for now. The thing to remember when you are separating the film layers is like with peel apart Polaroid film the chemicals between these layers are hazardous so proceed with care.
When you have worked the image to point that you are happy with it. The next thing is to do the final scan. Try and scan your image as large as you can, so that you will have a sizable image to print later. Also one tip with scanning is to avoid pressure on the surface of your image going directly on to the scanner's glass bed, this will course "Newton's Rings" ruining your scan ...one way I have found to avoid this is to keep some of the less successful images you have taken to place around the image you are scanning to reduce this pressure. You can then if you wish then further enhance this image, using digital editing software such as Photoshop, but although I like using Photoshop for the removal of dust from the scan, I am economic with the digital "polishing" process in most cases, because to me the creative work has already been done with the film. But this is a personal preference and some manipulates image can be even further developed digitally with some amazing results.
I hope you have found this short Blog article useful, and if you have please keep coming back there will be more to follow.Labels: polaroid manipulation sx-70 tz artistic instant film how it is done marc byram photographic tips techiques
