rayograph

photography

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

A rayograph, also known as a photogram, is a shadowlike photographic image created without a negative or camera. It is made by placing objects directly onto light-sensitive paper and exposing it to a light source. Opaque objects create a silhouette, while transparent objects or those not in direct contact produce more abstract images.1

The artistic potential of photograms was explored in the 1920s by artists like László Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray. Man Ray, in particular, called his photograms "rayographs" and even applied the technique to filmmaking.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Man Ray
or photograms, which he called rayographs. He made them by placing objects directly on light-sensitive paper, which he exposed to light and developed. In 1922 a book of his collected rayographs, Les Champs délicieux (“The Delightful Fields”), was published, with an introduction by the influential Dada artist Tristan Tzara, who…
Read More
or photograms, which he called rayographs. He made them by placing objects directly on light-sensitive paper, which he exposed to light and developed. In 1922 a book of his collected rayographs, Les Champs délicieux (“The Delightful Fields”), was published, with an introduction by the influential Dada artist Tristan Tzara, who…
Read More

history of photography
Experimental approaches
…artist Man Ray, whose “rayographs,” photographs that appeared as series of swirling abstract shapes, were created without a camera by exposing objects placed on sensitized paper to light.
Read More
…artist Man Ray, whose “rayographs,” photographs that appeared as series of swirling abstract shapes, were created without a camera by exposing objects placed on sensitized paper to light.
Read More

photogram
…Ray, who called his photograms rayographs, applied the contact-exposure technique to motion-picture making as well.
Read More
…Ray, who called his photograms rayographs, applied the contact-exposure technique to motion-picture making as well.
Read More