Brûlage
A darkroom technique in which a photographic negative is heated or burned so the emulsion melts and distorts. Raoul Ubac developed it in the late 1930s, using it for Surrealist, dissolving figures.
Spot it
- 01Melted emulsion swirls
- 02Cracked, bubbled texture
- 03Dissolving dark figures
Why it happens
Heat makes the gelatin emulsion soften, shrink and flow, rearranging silver grains into reticulated patterns that print as warped, grainy tones.
Recreate it in Pixio
Image edit prompt“Transform this image into a brûlage print: the negative appears heated and melted, with the emulsion reticulated into swirling bubbled grain, cracked gelatin texture, dissolving and warped shapes, harsh black-and-white contrast and gritty silver tones as if scorched. Surrealist and eerie. Keep the original subject and composition.”
Open PixioUpload your image and pick an image-edit model.