Is it possible to scan photo negatives

First, place the lid over the transparency module. Again, you will put on your gloves. For example, if you are scanning both a small stamp and an 8x10 print at dpi, the 8x10 print will look beautiful while the small stamp will not turn out so good. Once you have your similar sized prints, you will place them upside down onto the scanning bed.

After you place the lid down, you will go into the scanning software and select preview. Now, this is where we get a lot of calls and questions.

People call in saying that they are getting an error on their scanner. If you notice on the holder itself, there is a small cutout on the bottom edge. To fix this, move the print up and leave a small space for the calibration to happen. It's important to note that if you have thousands of negatives, slides and prints, separating out the best images will save you a lot of time.

When you look through your images, you'll find that your negatives will be hard to see. In some cases, there will be prints that came from those negatives.

When you look through the prints and find the one you like, you should be able to easily match up the print with the negative.

Since a negative is a first-generation scan, it has more detail than the print and is the better option when deciding which to scan. When people went to the photo lab in the old days, they would get doubles or triples of the same image.

Even when taking the photo, people would capture more than one of the same scene to make sure they got at least one good photo. It's safe to say, there might be duplicate images that you will have to sort out and choose between.

Now let's talk about the slides. These are the slides you use to put into the slide projector on family evenings and would sit down to watch. Since slides are so small, we have a couple of tools to use to see the images more clearly. One important tool we have is a loupe.

When you place the loupe up to the slide in the light, you can really see the detail in the photograph. With the loupe, you will be able to determine which slides are worth scanning and which are not. Want more photography techniques, camera reviews, and inspiration? Sign up for Popular Photography's newsletter and join the club. How to scan negatives using a standard scanner Everyday flatbed scanners don't work to scan slides and negatives because they need to be backlit — but with just a bit of cardboard, you can redirect some light, and make it happen.

A sample slide of a dancing dog. Only for iOS devices. Color negative scanned with the Filmory app. The image was lightly edited in-app. Note how clearly you can now see the background, which was not visible in the print version.

Live preview of a black and white negative being scanned with the Filmory app. Black and white negative scanned with the Film Scanner Pro app.

Like Completely free Basic editing tools included. Film Scanner Pro preview of a black and white negative scan. Color negative scanned with the Film Scanner Pro app. This is a full-size image. Black and white negative scanned with the Filmbox by Photomyne app. Cons Automatic cropping is irritating Limited free account; must purchase a subscription for unlimited scans and other features.

Color negative scanned by Filmbox, lightly edited in-app. Black and white image that has been colorized with the Filmbox app.

Filmbox preview of a black and white negative scan. Black and white negative scanned with the FilmLab app. Cons Disappointing results for positives and color negatives. Editing tools in the FilmLab app.

Color negative scanned with the FilmLab app. Black and white negative scanned with the Kodak Mobile Film Scanner app. Pros Completely free to use Scans negatives and positives Live preview of your scan High-resolution images Lots of editing tools included Available for iOS and Android. Cons Disappointing results for color scans. Editing tools are available in the Kodak Mobile Film Scanner app. Color negative scanned with the Kodak Mobile Film Scanner app.

Like this: Like Loading Previous Previous. Next Continue. Similar Posts. Thank you so much, Rhonda! I enjoyed your article, as well, and I appreciate the link very much! It was my pleasure, Linda! Thank you for this great post! I am inspired to dive into doing some scanning!

I hope you enjoy your newly scanned images! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Home Blog Expand child menu Expand. Flatbed scanners are common among household technology, but will they work to scan photo negatives?

The hack is to use a piece of silver cardstock to redirect the light of the flatbed scanner. The internet offers a number of shapes and patterns that will work on different sizes of photo negatives. Working on a miniature science project and engineering a backlight can be an adventure!