A fragile, floating layer of image lifted from film and laid onto almost any surface. This is one of the most enchanting techniques that lives at the intersection of photography and tactile art.
I've been a photographer for years, but there's one technique that never stops feeling like magic: the polaroid emulsion lift. It's the moment a photographic image separates from its film base, becomes something almost alive in warm water, and transforms into an entirely new piece of art on whatever surface you choose to receive it.
Of all the digital downloads and guides I've created, my Creative Guide to Polaroid Emulsion Lifts has become the most downloaded, and honestly, that doesn't surprise me. This technique sits at the exact crossroads of everything I love: photography, texture, the handmade, the unexpected.
If you've been curious about polaroid emulsion lifts, or you've tried it and want to push further, this post is for you.
What Is a Polaroid Emulsion Lift?
A polaroid emulsion lift is a darkroom-adjacent technique that involves separating the thin emulsion layer (the actual image-bearing surface) from the plastic backing of a Polaroid print. Once freed, that paper-thin layer of image can be floated, shaped, and transferred onto watercolor paper, fabric, wood, glass, or virtually any other surface you can dream up.
The results are inherently unique. The image wrinkles, ripples, and shifts as you position it, creating a soft, painterly quality that no digital filter can replicate. Each lift is a one-of-a-kind original.
This is why it resonates so deeply for me as both a photographer and a collage and mixed-media artist. The polaroid emulsion lift doesn't just reproduce a photograph. It transforms it into something new, something with physical presence and history written into its surface.
See It in Motion
The process is mesmerizing to watch. Here's a look at one of my recent reels:
Ready to try it yourself? My Creative Guide to Polaroid Emulsion Lifts walks you through the entire process: from choosing your Polaroid prints to the lift itself to framing and display ideas. It includes step-by-step instructions, tips and tricks I've learned from doing this on real client work, and a supply list to get you started.
Shop My Polaroid Emulsion Lift Supply List
I've put together an Amazon collection with everything I personally use and recommend for polaroid emulsion lifts, from the right Polaroid film to the tools that make the process easier. No guessing, no hunting through listings.
Polaroid Emulsion Lifts from Real Sessions
One of the things I love most about this technique is how it can transform a client photograph into something that feels truly archival, almost like an artifact of a moment in time.
I recently created a polaroid emulsion lift from a boudoir session, and the effect is exactly what you'd hope for: intimate, soft, slightly dreamlike. The image takes on a quality that feels both vulnerable and timeless, like a letter someone kept for decades. As a photographer, being able to offer that to a client as an add-on is something special. It takes a photograph from a beautiful image to a piece of art they can frame, display, or keep close.
Polaroid film is available as an add-on to almost any session, from boudoir to weddings and beyond. Polaroid emulsion lifts are an additional option I offer clients who want to take their images even further, into something truly one-of-a-kind..
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Behind the Scenes at Denver Fashion Week
Another recent lift I'm obsessed with came from behind-the-scenes at Denver Fashion Week. There's something that feels fitting about the emulsion lift technique applied to fashion photography. In this shot, I love the distortion, the sharp edges that mirror the shape of the dress, and the high contrast of the model and background. The editorial and fashion world has always played with image-making as art, and the polaroid emulsion lift fits right into that tradition.
That work is part of a larger body of fashion and editorial photography I've built up over the years. If you're curious to see more of that side of my work, view my portfolio here.
What You Can Do With a Polaroid Emulsion Lift
One thing I always emphasize: embrace the imperfection. The process is unpredictable by nature, and that's exactly what makes it beautiful. No two lifts will ever look the same. The way the emulsion wrinkles, the subtle color shifts, the organic edges. That unpredictability is the art.
One of my personal tips before you even begin: scan your original Polaroid. Because the print is transformed (and sometimes damaged) during the lift, having a high-quality digital copy of the before is something you'll be glad you did. I also love scanning the finished lift once it's fully dried, both to document the process and to preserve the piece digitally over time.
Once you have your lift, the possibilities are wide open. Display it floating in a wooden frame. 10x10 or 12x12 works beautifully. Mat it in an off-white or thrifted frame. Write the year and location beneath it in pencil, the way you might caption an old photograph. Or use the lift as a base for further collage, paint, or mixed-media work. That's where my two worlds, photography and tactile art, really come together.
If you make something, I'd love to see it. Tag me on Instagram, @stephaniemikuls.
Get the Creative Guide to Polaroid Emulsion Lifts . Free to download and packed with everything you need to get started with this technique.