Using Photoshop for scanned images

[oodya]

Hello all,

I am wondering if someone can help please? I have recently been looking at uploading some photos of my invitation cards to my website. I have looked at using my camera and also my scanner. Now although my camera quality seems to be better, I feel that using a scanner can offer better consistency (as it is much easier to align each invite - which looks much better). However, when I am scanning, some of the products seem to be a bit darker than what I would expect (especially when comparing to my camera). I have tried various settings on my scanner, but cannot seem to improve it. Is there anyway that I would be able to use Photoshop to try and achieve a more realistic colour.

I have attached two images of the same invitation card. One was taken on my camera (which shows a very good colour effect) and the other was scanned (which shows it as being very dark).

What (if any) options would anyone recommend on Photoshop for me to try and get a similar shade as the one on the camera?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Oodya

 

[dv8_fx]

Just fiddling around with what you wanted to achieve....




errrrrr... I'm not that satisfied with it.... .... but its a start.

The problem here is that you can't simply translate into your scan image the hilights and reflections of the sample image. The light source on your sample is coming from far top right off scene. You get a different perspective look if viewed directly from the front. The material's texture as well as gold leaf emboss (which adds to the beauty and visual "feel" of the card) won't be as prominent and the card looks somewhat flat.....

I'll have to give it a go again later. But what I can tell as to what I did - I had to create layered selections of the flap , blue card , Ganesha and ribbon so I can apply hilights with a large soft edge brush as well as play with the mode options on the hilight layers on the gold objects. As well as adjust the shadow....

In fact, it's even better to take product shots of the actual cards in the manner of your sample rather than scan and photoshop them. With proper lighting, you can make the details pop out more..... and use PS to further enhance the product itself.

.... just saying.

 

[PhotoBarney]

The first step is to calibrate your monitor.
Then see if your scanner has any calibration software or settings.
See if any anything HERE helps you.

 

[Tom Mann]

dv8_fx 's comments are right on the mark. The darkness issue is minor, can be easily fixed, and just isn't an important problem.

However, the issues he described having to do with the lack of surface texture and reflective glints when scanned are much, much more difficult to deal with after the fact in Photoshop. As he said, take conventional product shots and then tweak them in PS rather than trying mightily to make a scan look like a well-lit photo.

Tom M

PS - The darkness of the 2nd shot likely arose because you had the scanner set on auto-exposure, whereas truly good scans require manual adjustments in the scanner software. This is entirely analogous to the difference between people who use cameras on "auto exposure" and people who manually adjust the settings on their camera to get the most out of it.