Cyanotypes were a method used in the late 1800s as a way of making blueprints. The simplest kind of cyanotype print is a photogram which is made by arranging objects on sensitised paper. Fresh or pressed plants/flowers are more commonly used but any solid object will create an image.

English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins was one of the first artists to make “photograms” by placing plant specimens directly onto the surface to create an image. Although Anna Atkins was the first person to use Cyanotypes for photography, it was invented by John Herschel in 1842 in order to reproduce his notes and drawings.

Anna Atkins

Born: March 16, 1799, Tonbridge, United Kingdom

Died: June 9, 1871, 

English botanical artist, collector and photographer Anna Atkins was the first person to illustrate a book with photographic images. Her nineteenth-century cyanotypes used light exposure and a simple chemical process to create impressively detailed blueprints of botanical specimens. 

Anna’s innovative use of new photographic technologies merged art and science, and exemplified the exceptional potential of photography in books.

Anna’s self-published her detailed and meticulous botanical images using the cyanotype photographic process in her 1843 book, Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. With a limited number of copies, it was the first book ever to be printed and illustrated by photography.

How to make a Cyanotype…

1. Place items or a film negative on the cyanotype fabric/paper.
2. Secure with glass and or pins to hold the items still.
3. Expose the Cyanotype to sunlight.
4. Once the Cyanotype paper turns from royal blue to baby blue/white remove from sunlight to stop excess exposure. When exposing your composition to light, watch the paper slowly change from blue to almost white. This should take around 3-5 minutes in full sun but longer if it is cloudy.
5. Place your Cyanotype in water.
6. Then allow it to completely dry.