His Favorite Toy (Part II)

I scan using the “Professional Mode,” as opposed to the Home Mode. I’m not sure how huge of a difference there is because PM is all I’ve ever been taught to use. Hm. I really don’t tinker with the settings too much – I just make sure I scan at no lower than 1200 dpi (but not much higher than that, because I don’t get huge prints made and I’m too impatient to scan at mega-high resolutions!).

After the initial scan, I use the marquee tool to select each frame, click “Zoom” (where the scanner will take a moment to briefly re-scan the selected area) and then I sometimes tinker with the histogram, pulling the ends in or out depending on the reading and/or quality of the shot.

Although, I should note that I do edit all my scans in Photoshop after they’ve been scanned in. I usually don’t color correct film shots unless they’re really wacky, but I am really bad with dust so I clone those out in ACR. And, sometimes, I’ll sharpen and do slight curves adjustments as well, treating it like any other shot, until I’m satisfied with how it looks.

Hope that helps! Scanning surely can be a pain in the ass, but I’ve somehow come to enjoy it these days. :)