1
00:00:02,330 --> 00:00:05,441
When it comes to restoring old photographs one of the biggest challenges
2
00:00:05,441 --> 00:00:10,000
that we face is the raw material that we're actually working with.
3
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,770
Obviously in many cases older photographs are going to be faded, or other wise
4
00:00:13,770 --> 00:00:17,410
damaged, and we'll want to address those issues.
5
00:00:17,410 --> 00:00:21,430
But before we even get started with that it's important to give yourself the best
6
00:00:21,430 --> 00:00:25,450
starting point possible. And that means working with the best
7
00:00:25,450 --> 00:00:29,110
source image possible. Obviously, if you had multiple copies of
8
00:00:29,110 --> 00:00:33,170
the same photo, you would choose the one that was in the best condition.
9
00:00:33,170 --> 00:00:36,810
But it's also important to choose the appropriate source.
10
00:00:36,810 --> 00:00:39,640
You want to start with the best original possible.
11
00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,138
And that means not just picking the best version, if you have multiple copies of
12
00:00:43,138 --> 00:00:47,830
an image for example, but that you start with the best source material.
13
00:00:47,830 --> 00:00:51,426
And that means using an original transparency if you're working with
14
00:00:51,426 --> 00:00:57,020
slides, a film negative, or even a glass plate for certain older images.
15
00:00:57,020 --> 00:01:00,901
The last option you'll want to consider is a photographic print.
16
00:01:00,901 --> 00:01:04,681
And that's because a print contains far less information than the original
17
00:01:04,681 --> 00:01:09,750
transparency, generally around 10% of that original information.
18
00:01:09,750 --> 00:01:12,786
Of course in some cases you'll only have the print as an option and if that's your
19
00:01:12,786 --> 00:01:16,958
only option then that's certainly what your going to need to work with.
20
00:01:16,958 --> 00:01:19,902
But bear in mind the better the original the easier your process is going to be
21
00:01:19,902 --> 00:01:23,770
and the better the quality of your final result.
22
00:01:23,770 --> 00:01:27,589
With an analog original, a print, a slide or negative, you're going to need to get
23
00:01:27,589 --> 00:01:31,777
that into the computer. And that means scanning that original in
24
00:01:31,777 --> 00:01:35,653
a way that give you optimal quality, the maximum amount of information with which
25
00:01:35,653 --> 00:01:39,474
to work. Whether you're scanning for yourself or
26
00:01:39,474 --> 00:01:42,440
sending your originals out to someone else to be scanned.
27
00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,640
It's important which settings are actually used for that scanning.
28
00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:48,900
To start with, you'll want to consider resolution.
29
00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:53,652
When we're scanning a transparency, a glass plate, a film negative, or a slide,
30
00:01:53,652 --> 00:01:59,770
you'll want to scan at the maximum optical resolution of the original.
31
00:01:59,770 --> 00:02:03,918
If you only have a print available, then I recommend scanning at around 600 pixels
32
00:02:03,918 --> 00:02:07,343
per inch. This particular image has a number of
33
00:02:07,343 --> 00:02:11,390
problems, including a problem related to resolution.
34
00:02:11,390 --> 00:02:14,083
So, let's explore the various problems with this image.
35
00:02:14,083 --> 00:02:17,203
So that we can get a better sense of what we'll actually want to do when scanning
36
00:02:17,203 --> 00:02:22,237
our originals that we plan to restore. I'll start off by choosing Image, Image
37
00:02:22,237 --> 00:02:26,515
Size from the menu and we can see that this is a relatively small image it was
38
00:02:26,515 --> 00:02:32,422
scanned at 300 pixels per inch. And the original is apparently about 5
39
00:02:32,422 --> 00:02:36,245
inches by 4 inches. That's a very small scan, and it's not
40
00:02:36,245 --> 00:02:39,620
going to give us very much information to work with.
41
00:02:39,620 --> 00:02:44,110
If this had been a print, then we would want to scan it around 600 pixels per inch.
42
00:02:44,110 --> 00:02:47,344
And if it was an original transparency, then we would want to scan at the maximum
43
00:02:47,344 --> 00:02:51,630
optical resolution of the scanner. And for many scanners, that range is
44
00:02:51,630 --> 00:02:55,530
anywhere from around 2000 pixels per inch for a flat bit scanner up Up to around
45
00:02:55,530 --> 00:03:01,150
4000 pixels per inch, for film scanner. But check the specifications for your
46
00:03:01,150 --> 00:03:06,680
scanner, or the service provider that you're using to find out what that value is.
47
00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,870
Next we'll want to consider the mode in which we are actually scanning.
48
00:03:10,870 --> 00:03:13,280
I'll go to the Image menu, and choose mode.
49
00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,290
And you can see that this image was scanned in, in a Gray Scale mode.
50
00:03:17,290 --> 00:03:20,440
And that makes a lot of sense because the original here is in fact gray scale,
51
00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,990
there is not color information in the original.
52
00:03:23,990 --> 00:03:28,140
However, I recommend scanning in the RGB color space.
53
00:03:28,140 --> 00:03:31,550
In most cases, that's not going to provide a huge advantage, and in fact, it
54
00:03:31,550 --> 00:03:35,670
triples the size of your fil. But it can be helpful for images that
55
00:03:35,670 --> 00:03:39,355
have any degree of color shift or fading, because it means that we're getting the
56
00:03:39,355 --> 00:03:44,230
maximum amount of information out of the original.
57
00:03:44,230 --> 00:03:47,714
We also want to consider the bit depth at which we're scanning and you can see that
58
00:03:47,714 --> 00:03:51,730
this image was scanned in at 8 bits per channel.
59
00:03:51,730 --> 00:03:55,456
Whenever possible, I recommend scanning at 16 bits per channel because this gives
60
00:03:55,456 --> 00:03:59,065
us much smoother gradations in our scanned original.
61
00:03:59,065 --> 00:04:03,610
And that gives us much greater flexibility when we're optimizing the image.
62
00:04:03,610 --> 00:04:07,972
And that's especially important when it comes to working with old and faded images.
63
00:04:07,972 --> 00:04:11,300
Because it's quite likely that we're going to need to apply relatively small
64
00:04:11,300 --> 00:04:16,075
adjustments to those images. Your scanner might not offer options that
65
00:04:16,075 --> 00:04:19,740
are referred to as 8 bits per channel or 16 bits per channel.
66
00:04:19,740 --> 00:04:23,880
And that's because, very often, scanners will refer to the final overall bit depth
67
00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:28,174
for an RGB image. An RGB image contains three channels and
68
00:04:28,174 --> 00:04:33,868
therefor, an 8 bit per channel scan would be referred to as a 24 bit scan.
69
00:04:33,868 --> 00:04:39,620
And a 6 bit per channel scan would be referred to as a 48 bit scan.
70
00:04:39,620 --> 00:04:43,154
Regardless, I recommend scanning at the highest bit depth offered by your
71
00:04:43,154 --> 00:04:48,840
scanner, and that's generally going to be 16 bits per channel, or 48 bit.
72
00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:52,726
All of these considerations are aimed at making sure you have the maximum amount
73
00:04:52,726 --> 00:04:56,551
of high quality information in your original scan.
74
00:04:56,551 --> 00:05:01,260
Which will give you maximum flexibility and optimal quality in your final image.