Iron oxide and tin oxide have been photodeposited in porous Vycor glass and examined before and after consolidation of the glass. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the iron oxide particles are larger than the tin oxide particles. However, small‐angle x‐ray scattering and Rutherford backscattering show that the glass consolidates about the iron oxide but not about the tin oxide. Photodeposition of tin oxide, which appears to chemically modify the glass surface and to prevent its consolidation, offers a means of producing highly resolved regions of porosity in the otherwise consolidated glass.