Photo Fixers for Oops and UgliesUse the easy photo fixers that came with your computer to remove dust, hair and certain other anomalies which may appear while creating no-camera photography. To produce exotic macro photography art, this clean-up is a must. Not sure what to use? You most likely have 'Paint' -- also take a look at your digital camera and printer software. You may find these easier than Photoshop for simple repairs. Whichever photo fixer you select, use it to remove spots, crop your image and make any other changes. If you know Photoshop at any level, use it now.
The Oops!Sometimes, when the photo scanner is in Auto Mode, the image results in something called posterization. (I call it Oops!) These images may look like abstract art or even water color paintings. As a newcomer to the technology, I didn’t realize most photo fixers have "posterization" as an option. While in Auto Mode, it seems to happen randomly. If Oops! happens to you -- without moving your subject -- just scan again. Save all the images, even the Oops. It’s interesting to see your subject in different ways. Sort through the scanography images, you may find something special. (You can purposely create these special effects with many different photo editors.)
Happy Accidents! Some of my favorite early scanner photography images were just that, happy accidents! The leaf shown here is one of my first Oops! experiences.
The UgliesOnce you've scanned and saved your subject, enlarge your images in the photo editor of your choice. Take a very close look at your images. This is where you will find dust, fingerprints and smudges. If you are working with cut flowers or other plant material look for sap, pollen and moisture marks. Sometimes they appear as blurred areas. If you use 'Paint' go up to VIEW, then to ZOOM, then hit LARGE SIZE. Wow, can you see the uglies then! From time to time go back to Normal View to make sure you are taking out the correct ‘spots’. (Other photo editors have similar abilities.) One of my first scanography images was a pepper. I couldn't wait to print it. When the print appeared, I saw a tiny hair on the image (and it showed). Ye gods, I should have seen that in the preview! I was able to remove the hair with 'Paint'. Then my veggie loving brother Tom, laughingly noticed --
That's both the beauty and fault of scanography, you really can see it all!Don't Get Discouraged!The 'Pepper Lesson' is -- take a closer look and use your photo fixers to clean up images before you print.Scanography professionals often spend hours perfecting their art! For more help with getting better results, see the important pages on
Scanner Tips
and
Scanner Cleaning.
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