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Scanning from Prints or Negatives

  • 24-07-2007 7:32pm
    #1
    rahtkennades
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 615 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    Before I continue, possible Dumb Question Alert!!

    I've decided to scan in a whole load of photos I have from my days of film photography. I already have a scanner that I've had for a couple of years (HP Scanjet 3970), with a slot to take 35mm negatives as well.

    My question though is about trying to somehow calibrate it to get colours coming out truer. All of the photos scan in (to Photoshop Elements 2) looking washed out and faded.

    I can do some post-processing to increase the saturation etc, but I'd much prefer to do that to enhance the original, not get it back to where it came from.

    Does anybody have any tips, pointers, directions to places to start?

    Thanks

    des


Comments

  • #2
    leinsterman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭leinsterman


    I'm not sure you will have any choice but to post process ... your scan may have some automated functions for enhancing as it scans but what you see is what you get generally ...

    I'd definitely try scanning the negatives rather than the originals ...

    What file formats does your scanner support ? You could try scanning direct into photoshop (to create a psd file rather than a JPEG) ... this gives you a bit more flexibility ...

    Can you explain what you mean by "enhance the original" ? No matter what you do you will not be working with any original ... that only really exists in the negatives (or it could be argued that it only existed at the moment the shutter was pressed) ... even the prints have had some sort of processing applied to them ... if you were to get them printed again today you would see differences ...


  • #3
    rahtkennades
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 615 ✭✭✭rahtkennades


    leinsterman wrote:
    I'm not sure you will have any choice but to post process ... your scan may have some automated functions for enhancing as it scans but what you see is what you get generally ...

    I'd definitely try scanning the negatives rather than the originals ...

    What file formats does your scanner support ? You could try scanning direct into photoshop (to create a psd file rather than a JPEG) ... this gives you a bit more flexibility ...

    Can you explain what you mean by "enhance the original" ? No matter what you do you will not be working with any original ... that only really exists in the negatives (or it could be argued that it only existed at the moment the shutter was pressed) ... even the prints have had some sort of processing applied to them ... if you were to get them printed again today you would see differences ...

    Thanks Leinsterman.

    That's just the problem, I don't really get what I see, the colours are much less vibrant in the scanned versions than on the prints. But I see what you mean about each print being different from the last.

    I'll give it another go with the negatives. I'm not sure if one of the problems is that most of the prints are on glossy paper, so there may be some reflection back into the scanner causing it to wash out.

    I'm already scanning directly to photoshop, so it's much easier to manipulate them at least.

    Anyway, I still have the originals to compare to, so it's not too bad.

    Cheers


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