Many folks
have prints without negatives, mainly family photos from generations past, but
there are also collectors and museums who have tintypes, albumen prints and
even daguerreotypes. The quality of these items varies considerably, often showing
signs of age due to fading, paper support deterioration and glitches in the
emulsion surface. Scanning paper and other materials that support images is a
fairly straightforward affair, and getting like copies is not difficult. The
challenge comes in when you go to revivify, if you will, the image, a task that
has been made easier with software retouching.
I am always amazed at the quality of very old prints that have been toned, and even black and whites that have been stored even under non-archival conditions. This carte de visite (about 5x7") was probably made in 1880s or so and was found in great condition. I scanned it in color to retain the sepia tone color and then did some minor retouching in software.
The success
the job was heavily dependent on the original print condition and what I could
do in the darkroom, and at times the results were more interpretations than
true to the original image. At times the person bringing the image in for work
would supply what details they had, such as eye and hair color and skin tone,
and the artist would hand color the print. While the final look was at times
more sketch-like than photographic, it still kept a treasured memory alive for
future generations to come.
There was a time when I did a lot of hand coloring, adding photo oils to black and white prints. While the negative of this image is still in my files the only way to copy this unique treatment was scanning the print itself. The print is 8x10" so there was no problem handling it in one pass on the flatbed scanner. Image copyright George Schaub
Naturally a
flatbed scanner is used for scanning prints. Most of these that are not pro
units offer letter size (8.5x11”) as the maximum scanning size. You can scan
sections and merge larger prints later. You can also scan numerous snapshot
size prints in one pass, then crop from the full scan to make corrections
later. Some scanners/software can even ID individual snaps for you and create a
file for each separate print; either way works fine, as you will not be
sacrificing resolution whether you batch or scan individually.
There isn’t
much to say about edits, as you can, with most scanners, get a virtual copy of
the color and contrast of the print, and the only batch sorting you might want
to do is between color and black and white and by print size.
This is not a mistake in the way I scanned this photo I found in an old album at a flea market. The print image had gone full tilt and was very close to disappearing altogether. I scanned it first "as is."
To bring it back to life so that I could actually see the individuals in this group shot I made a simple adjustment when scanning to enhance the contrast, something I could as easily have done later in image processing software. The point is to not become discouraged when you find a poor quality print, as there are many ways to enhance and improve the image. If need be an image like this could be handed off to a pro retoucher but for me this result is mission accomplished.
Each of us
has our own editing “eye” and that is certainly a personal matter. However, I
could suggest that you begin the scanning process by working with projects. For
example, you might want to start sorting into sections such as family, nature,
florals, artwork, etc. or whatever makes sense to you. This way you can learn
as you go and not feel overwhelmed by having to edit everything in your film
and print files all at once. Harvest images selectively rather than trying to
edit a lot of work at once.
Editing is
an ongoing process (and by editing I mean dividing work into keepers, and
maybes and outs) that will take time. But keep in mind that it is the most
time-consuming part of this whole process, as it should be. Once you do your
edits you’ll find that scanning is quite mechanical (after you learn the
workflow) and easy. Scanning is an important creative process, and editing is
at its heart.
How many
images should you decide upon before you first begin scanning? That’s up to you
and just how many images there are in your collection. I suggest that you begin
with about 100, including good and not so good quality images.
You can
make this your test run to become familiar with the scanner, the software and
the best workflow. By working with a select group you will begin to see what
you can and cannot accomplish and how you can or cannot salvage marginal
images, and this will in turn feed back into your editing procedures and
decisions.
To sum up:
Scanning
itself is a mechanical process; although you can be creative in certain choices
you make it is often best to simply scan to gain all the information you can
from the material and then interpret as you will later. Scanning involves a set
of decisions and commands that will affect the outcome, and each step is quite
clear in its implications.
Editing is
a creative process, where you make decisions about what images are meaningful
to you. Editing is an emotional and aesthetic process. It becomes refined as
you work through your images, and in itself is a wonderful way to revisit
images you may not have looked at for many years.
There’s art
in the science and science in the art of scanning, just like in photography
itself.
Next posting: How a Scanner Works
