Memories Preserved on Metal: Aidan Higginbotham's Tintype Photography

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When most of us think about preserving memories, we think about digital snapshots — thousands of pictures stored on our phones, rarely revisited.

For Nashville-based photographer Aidan Higginbotham, preservation means something more tangible: a metal plate coated with chemicals, exposed in a vintage camera, capturing someone's likeness through a process dating back to the 1850s.

The first time I sat for a tintype portrait with Aidan, I was struck by how different it felt from a typical photoshoot. There was a deliberate slowness to it. A careful consideration. Each step required attention and care, from preparing the metal plate to developing the image.

Tintype of Aidan (by Jess Buckley); Tintype of Sarah & Dewayne (by Aidan Higginbotham)

The result wasn't just a photograph — it was an object. Something you could hold in your hand that might still exist physically a century from now.

But Aidan's journey to becoming a tintype photographer wasn't straightforward. Like many of us, he took some time to find his true calling.

Finding Photography

"My dad was a photographer, and so was his mother,” Aidan explains. “They would photograph weddings, school portraits, and things like that."

Despite the family connection, photography wasn't pushed on Aidan. He grew up primarily with his mother in Nashville, while his father lived in Mississippi.

When Aidan began to show interest in photography as a teenager, though, he discovered a treasure trove of equipment during visits to his father's home.

"I would go see my dad in Mississippi, and I would rummage through a storage container of theirs," Aidan recalls. "They had all this cool old film gear, like really cool Pentax medium format cameras, old tripods, and large format cameras. I felt like a kid in a candy store."

Aidan's initial draw to photography came from a simple desire: to document experiences with friends.

Two of Aidan’s first tintype photographs

"I was traveling a lot and hanging out with friends, and I was like, okay, well, no one else is taking pictures, so maybe I should start taking pictures," he says.

What kept him interested was the unpredictable nature of analog film.

"I liked the uncertainty of what your picture's actually going to look like," he explains. "Getting your photos developed later and seeing the actual photos was nice, instead of just having a digital camera and taking a picture and being like, oh, that sucks."

His passion for analog processes grew at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he gained 24/7 access to a darkroom.

"That's when I really started enjoying it," he says, "because I was able to do this hands-on process of developing all my own film and making prints."

Aidan would often photograph experiences with friends late at night, then head straight to the darkroom at 2 a.m. to develop his film and see what he'd captured.

The Winding Path

Despite this early enthusiasm, Aidan set photography aside for several years. From 2017 to 2022, he "put the camera down" and focused on other pursuits, working in restaurants and painting murals.

Like many of us, Aidan didn't immediately find his professional calling.

"I didn't fall into my passion or what I wanted to do until I was like 27," he shares. "Some of my friends knew at like 16 or 18 exactly what they wanted to do. But sometimes it takes some people a little bit longer to find their passion."

The turning point came during a conversation with a close friend about things that made them happy. This friend, who had been Aidan's roommate in college and witnessed his endeavors in photography, asked a simple question: "Why did you stop?"

"I thought to myself, that's a good question. I don't know," Aidan recalls. "And then I jokingly was like, maybe I should start making tintypes."

That offhand comment sparked something. Aidan had a large format camera his father had given him, though it was broken at the time.

"I just went for it," he says. "I got all the chemicals and everything needed to make tintypes and got that camera fixed."

The Tintype Process

Tintype photography, also known as ferrotype, was popularized in the 1850s and remained common until the early 1900s. The process creates a direct positive image on a thin sheet of metal coated with dark lacquer or enamel.

What makes tintypes special is their physicality and durability. Unlike paper photographs that fade and deteriorate, properly preserved tintypes can last for generations. Museums and archives still hold tintypes from the Civil War era, with images that remain remarkably clear after more than 150 years.

Aidan's process honors this historical technique while incorporating his own style.

"To most people who don't practice this process," Aidan explains, "they would probably look at all of these tintypes and be like, 'Oh, they all look the same.' But to me, they all look so different."

Each tintype photographer develops their own aesthetic through choices of chemicals, lighting techniques, and lenses. These subtle differences create distinctive visual signatures recognizable to others in the craft.

Finding His Purpose

For Aidan, tintype photography was the first artistic medium where he truly felt confident in his abilities.

"I think it's the first type of photography where I felt like, 'Oh, I'm good at this,'" he said. "It really meshes well with me, and I really enjoy it, and I understand it.”

He started by practicing on friends, developing his technique through trial and error.

"It was a lot of just having friends come over to my house and photographing them for free, obviously, because I had no idea what I was doing at the time," Aidan recalls.

As he grew more comfortable with the process, he began offering portrait sessions to the public. What started as a way to "make a little bit of money" gradually evolved into something more significant.

"I started setting up at events … and I had more and more people reach out to me," he explained. "Eventually, I realized that if I do this enough, and promote and market myself enough, I could make this my full-time thing. And now here we are."

Building Connections

One of the most rewarding aspects of Aidan's work is the connections he forms with the people he photographs.

"It allows for room to create a relationship, which is really cool," he says. "I can't say that everybody that I photograph becomes my friend, but it is really fun, especially traveling, to collect friendships in a way."

Transitioning from photographing friends to working with strangers required adjustment. Aidan learned that rushing through portrait sessions resulted in tense, uncomfortable photos. Now he usually allocates 30 minutes for each tintype portrait, even though the actual process takes less time.

"Having a little more time to communicate and talk to your subject allows for a good picture," he explains. "The best way to make somebody feel comfortable is just asking questions … because people can almost always talk about themselves."

And his experience working in restaurants helped prepare him for the social aspects of portrait photography.

"Something that I always really liked about working in restaurants was the aspect of meeting people and talking to people," he says.

Last summer, Aidan traveled to Maine, photographing strangers. He stays in touch with many of the people he’s photographed.

"Some of those people I keep in contact with," he says. "People will send me things on Instagram or send me a text message … maybe they'll see that I'm in a new city or state and they're like, 'Oh, you should go check this out if you haven't.'"

One of Aidan’s more memorable experiences came during a trip with his father to the Olympic Mountains in Washington state.

"We'd go out camping, I'd bring a camera, and we'd take pictures or do some long exposures while we were up in the forest," Aidan recalls.

These shared moments with his father, connecting through their shared love for photography, created lasting memories.

The Power of Physical Memories

The permanence of tintypes gives Aidan's work additional significance. He's creating artifacts that could potentially outlive him by centuries.

"It's pretty cool to think about — hey, I took this photo and potentially it could be around for another hundred years if cared for correctly," he reflects.

With that longevity in mind, Aidan has started signing and dating the backs of his tintypes.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll be dead,” he ponders. “But in however many years, if those photos are still floating around somewhere, someone can look at the back and see, 'This was taken at this location, on this day.’”

This appreciation for physical mementos extends to objects in Aidan's own life. Little things with way more emotional value than any other kind of value — rocks his father gave him as a child and a steel toy truck from the 1920s. These tangible connections to the past hold special meaning for him.

In an era where most of our memories exist as digital files, easily lost when technology changes, Aidan's work offers something different: a physical record that can be held, displayed, and passed down through generations.

"It's there in its form," Aidan says of the tintype.

There’s no need to scan it, digitize it, or back it up in the cloud.

"It is what it is. You can just observe it."

A Journey of Connection

Aidan's story reminds me that finding our path can take time and unexpected turns. What began for him as a casual interest in documenting experiences with friends has evolved into a fulfilling career preserving moments in metal.

Through his work, Aidan creates not just photographs, but connections — between himself and his subjects, between people and their memories, between the present and the future.

"I really, really, really appreciate what it can do," Aidan reflects, "making those little connections throughout everything I do photographically."

In a world where so much is ephemeral, there's something profoundly meaningful about creating something designed to last.

Each tintype Aidan creates isn't just a portrait — it's a potential heirloom, a memory made tangible, a moment preserved in metal for future generations to discover.

To visit Aidan’s portfolio website, click here.

To visit his Instagram, click here.