Dark Shadows Tintype Portraits 2025

New this year! During our Dark Shadows Weekend, Hellcat Darkroom will be on site ready to take your portrait using 19th-century photographic technology, resulting in a one-of-a-kind tintype portrait. Bring home a special memento of your trip to Lyndhurst. As this is a traveling studio, costumes will not be on site to rent, but visitors are welcome to come dressed for the occasion or in your Dark Shadows best!

You will need to reserve your time slot and choose what size portrait you will be having taken. Each session can accommodate up to 5 individuals. Large groups should purchase multiple time slots. Each slot results in one physical portrait. Timed entry is every 20 minutes from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Collodion, or wet-plate photography as we have come to know it today, was invented in 1851 by a gentleman named Fredrick S. Archer. This process was invented to allow images to be made on glass — multiple copies then could be made from the same plate. In 1856, the tin-type process was added, allowing collodion images to be made on thin sheets of metal.

The unique thing about this process is that the plate must remain wet prior to being sensitized and exposed. If the plate dries out before the photographer has time to develop the image, it will no longer be light-sensitive and will be completely useless. Hence the name “wet plate” process.

When you have a wet plate done, not only do you receive a beautiful piece of history with your image in it — you also get a short history lesson and witness the process of genuine 19th-century photography.

Important Information, Please Read:

• Check-in at the Welcome Center.


• A limited number of timed entry tickets are available, and time slots do sell out. 


• Groups larger than 5 people need to book more than one time slot!


• Please arrive 20 minutes before your time slot to give you time to check-in and walk up to the mansion where the photography will take place.


• All ticket purchases are non-refundable.


• A Grounds Pass is not needed if you already have an Event Ticket. 


• Ticket includes access to the Grounds and the Mansion.

Lyndhurst's Season Presented by: