Darkroom, Tuition & Studio Portraits

Black Hill Studio & Darkroom is based at Sculpture Lounge in Holmbridge, in a generous, light-filled space with high ceilings and loads of industrial character. The shooting area is fully equipped with a range of flash lighting, large modifiers, grip and reflectors, plus a choice of neutral seamless backgrounds, hand-painted canvas & coloured paper rolls. It handles everything from simple portrait setups to more crafted, layered lighting arrangements.

The adjoining darkroom is compact but carefully laid out, equipped for both black & white and colour work, ready for silver gelatin printing and processing. It is a practical, hands-on workspace used for teaching, testing ideas and producing finished prints.

Sessions are led by David Fulford, a photographer working across commercial, portrait and fine art practice, with a particular focus on analogue processes and large format work – davidfulford.com David brings a mix of technical knowledge and practical experience from studio assignments, long-term documentary projects and his own darkroom-based practice. His teaching is hands-on, calm and supportive, with an emphasis on creativity, experimentation and enjoying the process rather than chasing a single correct way of working.

From this space David offers tuition in analogue photography and studio lighting. Drawing on experience with both traditional and experimental techniques, he provides practical guidance in silver gelatin darkroom printing, manual camera operation and creative lighting setups. Sessions are tailored to individuals or small groups, with a focus on confidence-building, experimentation and a deeper understanding of photographic process and visual storytelling.

In addition we offer more light-hearted “classic” portrait sessions that make great gift experiences.