Bromide

You'll remember this from the analog era: The producer needs material for the press quickly, and you deliver a bromide — a black-and-white photograph on glossy paper, developed from a negative or directly exposed. This was the workhorse solution for promotion and press distribution before digital files became the standard. Bromides are made from silver bromide paper — hence the name — and were printed in the lab within hours. No color, no frills, just a robust, reproducible copy.

The bromide was particularly practical because it was durable and stackable. A photographer shot scenes on set, the images went to the lab, and the next day you had a hundred prints in your hand — ideal for press kits, film festivals, cinemas, and magazine editorial offices. The quality was consistent, and the grain of the black-and-white material often gave the images a certain authenticity and hardness that color promotional shots sometimes lacked. For political films or dramatic subjects, bromides were even the first choice — the black-and-white looked more serious, less commercial.

The exciting part: Bromides were not simply enlarged contact prints. A good press photographer — or the lab manager — specifically selected scenes that visually summarized the film, cropped them, and exposed them under controlled conditions. This was its own creative work, not mere reproduction. The borders were often left high-gloss white or minimally cropped to appear clean when printed in newspapers. Sizes varied — A4 was standard, but also 13x18 cm or larger for exhibitions.

Today, archivists and collectors see bromides as historical documents: They show which motifs the production itself considered most important. A stable entry in a film's press materials, even if the name has long since disappeared from everyday vocabulary. Digital press photos replace the function, but the physical durability and the production logic of bromides — fast, reliable, distribution — remain the model.