Shoot and Scan

Photography and the Computer in the 21^st Century.

- by Larry Fairbanks

I have been interested in photography all my life, and computers almost as long. A friend of mine told me that she had a picture that she had always wanted to have blown up into an 8 by 10. I told her to bring it with her the next time she came over and I would scan it and print it. "Oh yea, I keep forgetting that it is the year 2001 and you can do that." Even a few months ago I would not have had to confidence to claim to create on a printer output, something close to the result of a photo enlargement.

Photography and Art is entering a relationship with the computer similar to the MIDI and MP3 experience with music. My father, a Black and White darkroom photographer for years, gave it up for the computer and printer. "No darkroom, no chemicals to put away, and you can answer the doorbell when it rings." Some artists are even creating oil and watercolor art entirely on computer, and ink jet printing it on canvas or textured paper with archival inks, thus making studio clean-up a snap. Not only that, but when was there ever an oil pallet or water color tray with an "Undo" button?

Digital cameras that deliver high quality images are not yet moderately priced yet, so for the time being, the best option is to shoot 35 mm film, get a single set of prints, and then scan the ones you want to reproduce. The cost of a high resolution photo-printer is within the range of just about everyone, and most home computers can handle 2 to 20 Megabyte files without generating an unacceptable number of program errors. Scanners are available for a pittance. Instead of accepting the over compressed scans from a photo-developer, you can scan just the shots you want, and crop them just the way you want them.

Anyone can easily gain the process control formerly only available to a professional photographer. You can compensate for some of the limitations of an inexpensive camera. If you don't like the result of the automatic exposure, you can lighten or darken it, or enhance the contrast. If you didn't have the Zoom to compose the shot the way you wanted, blow it up and crop it. Cropping on a computer is so simple it is isn't fair. The plethora of color filters for popular cameras may become almost entirely obsolete, as you can manipulate color even better with software. You can experiment with hue and saturation changes, and control them with a flexibility filters just can't give you.

Hardware:

Printer - Many software and hardware components came together to produce this happy result. As with many systems, this one is only as strong as its weakest component. The final hurtle was getting the color output from the printer to match the original picture. I eventually found the "Photo-realistic"mode on the print driver for my Epson 800. That was just what I needed, and the color hues matched perfectly. Before that, the problem was the occasional clogged nozzle. Frequent nozzle cleanings and checks are essential. Use a small magnifying glass to check the print output for lines. You can usually tell which color is at fault as the line is light in that color. If that doesn't work, the nozzle check pattern utility will.

Scanner - This followed the trials of installing my Plustek 1200 scanner. Once the software was loaded, it was relatively easy to use. I was scanning 4 by 6 inch prints from a variety of cameras, disposables, my Discovery Zoom, and a Pentex 35mm. Resolutions above 400 dpi for most pictures, seemed to be overkill, and wasted hard drive space. I typically scan the entire picture, then crop it later. The scan can be optimized by setting the parameters for brightness and contrast, based on the pre-scan. If you change these very much after the first pre-scan, it is often a good idea to do another pre-scan, and tweak that one if needed. Check the histogram of the final scan to make sure the entire contrast range is being used, but nothing is being cut off. This will usually result in the best picture, but let the final product be your guide.

Paper - For the best quality output use photo-glossy paper. Photo-mat paper also produces good pictures, and at about a third of the price. Look for a Brightness rating of 96+. Get a feel for the difference that the image will have on the less expensive paper you will be using for test prints and you will save a lot of photo paper. Contrast and saturation will change markedly, but if you can't see something in the test print, it probably won't be coming out on the glossy paper either. Some brightly colored images do surprisingly well on bright white document paper.

Software:

Retouching - Experiment with several graphics programs until you find one that has the features and ease of use you are looking for. Brightness and contrast are your first priority followed by hue and saturation. Sharpen and soften are useful only on rare occasions. A sharp photo image is mandatory as it is hard or impossible to compensate for a poorly focused subject. Typically, the less digital compensation you try to use, the better. Use it sparingly, like manual retouching. When grosser changes are necessary, try a re-scan to change brightness and contrast rather than trying to compensate with the software.

Projects - Photos can be combined with text in the final output. This can be used to document or comment on the subject, or to create greeting cards with one of the many available software packages. Try several cropped photos on the same page, or one central photo with smaller supporting shots around it. Make sure the software can re-size the photos on the page, or controlling the white space will be a nightmare. You may wish to experiment with different backgrounds or mats. This will make your photos look much better when framed. Conventional ink-jet pictures should be displayed under glass. Remember, water droplets will make the colors run, especially on glossy paper. Get out of the habit of blowing dust off of the output, trust me.

Advanced techniques:

The lost art of View cameras could be revived with innovative software. Some professionals still use these large format cameras. The front of the camera can be tilted with respect to the back, which is connected with a bellows, causing a distortion that improves some photographs. Before being cropped, the resulting image is a trapezoid. When photographing a tall building, this lifts the point of view, and make it look as if the photo is taken from above ground level. I discovered a feature in Picture Publisher by Micrografx that emulates this.

Another advantage of the View camera is that the front can be offset like a parallelogram. This causes a change in the apparent angle of view. When used vertically, this compresses the top more than the bottom, or the other way around. A similar effect can be accomplished by allowing the aspect ratio to change. Stretching some pictures gives a panoramic sense, while squeezing them can give a greater sense of height.

Other Advantages

I always thought that color slides were more difficult because you were stuck with the composition you had when you took the picture. Since using shoot and scan, I often pull back with the zoom so I have a little more context to play with. I experiment more with exposure since I can usually adjust it a stop or so. Not only that, now I have contrast control without a darkroom.

You may be paying as much for an extra set of prints as for the film you started with, and twice that to have them scanned and put on CD. If you spend that money on more film and developing, you will be able to take more shots, bracket more, and experiment more boldly. The whole point is to have fun with photography.

Home Page Home and Leisure Link Index

You are visitor number Place Counter Here

since April 5, 2001 V.Jan.01.a