Dean Eppen Photography

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”   Pablo Picasso

Most of you probably have a flatbed scanner connected to your computer. It’s used mostly for scanning documents and photographs. But did you realize that it can also be a useful tool in the creative process and that it can be used as a high quality digital camera for scanning objects? Many photographers and artists are using an ordinary flatbed scanner for doing macro or close-up photography of a wide range of subjects. The process goes by various names such as ’scanner photography’, ‘no-camera photography’, ’scanner art’ and ’scanography’. Not only does it yield good results, but it can be quite fun and can really spark the creative inspirations. I’ll share with you some of the results of my experimentation in this medium.

First of all, it isn’t necessary to have a top of the line, expensive scanner to do this. Almost any flatbed scanner will do. I used an old, out of date Epson Perfection 1200 Photo scanner for all the images shown here.

Different people use different techniques for scanning objects. I will only share what I have found works best for me after a lot of trial and error. Almost any object that can be put on the scanner will work.  Make sure that when you place the objects on the scanner glass that it is done carefully so as not to scratch the surface. Something clear, such as a sheet of acetate, can be put on the scanner glass to protect it. I leave the scanner lid open and place a shoebox lined with black construction paper over the object. Some artists drape cloth and other things of various colors and textures for different backgrounds. I prefer to change the background in the computer. The point is to block extraneous light from degrading the image. I always scan at 300 dpi which is the optimum resolution for printing. I usually set the output size so it will roughly make an 8.5 x 11 print without resizing.  The dimensions, of course, will vary depending on the proportions of the scan area that is selected.

As with photos taken with a digital camera, images that are scanned usually need some optimization after being brought into the computer. I use Photoshop as my photo editing software, but others will work just as well. I usually find that the contrast needs to be increased as the raw scans tend to look a little flat. Most of the time, the color balance also needs to be tweaked. These are personal preferences, of course, and everyone will make adjustments according to the look that they are trying to achieve.

Using the above method, I now have the subject isolated on a black background as in the examples above.  This makes it easy to extract the subject in Photoshop and put it on any background that I choose, as in the examples below where I changed the background color to blue.

The possibilities are endless.  Different objects can be assembled into a collage or other pleasing artistic arrangements on any background.

The objects also don’t necesarily have to sit directly on the scanner glass.  For more delicate subjects such as flowers, the objects can be suspended just above the surface.  For the picture of the dried straw flower below, I suspended it inside the black lined shoe box using a wire and small clamp so it was just above, but not quite touching, the scanner glass.  When spring arrives, I hope to do more scanning with fresh wild flowers.

If scanography interests you can get more information by following this link to a site called Scanner Magic.  Make sure you check out the section entitled “Scanner Artists” to see some of the amazing things others are doing in this medium.  I’m sure you’ll find it inspirational.  In my next post, I’m going to share some examples of going even closer up into scanned objects.

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