# Using a scanner instead of a camera....



## LenKaltman (Dec 23, 2012)

I'm  a professional portrait photographer, and HATE doing any sort of product shots.   So, when I started taking photos of a few pens I made, I was not having any fun.  

I was sitting at my desk and wondered what it would look like if I just tossed my pens on my scanner.  I was pleasantly surprised at the results!   Of course the original was just a pen on a white background.  But, I'm pretty handy with photoshop and some 3d programs, so I silhouetted the pen and put in an interesting background.


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## Rodnall (Dec 23, 2012)

Cool! A levitating pen.


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## Rodnall (Dec 23, 2012)

I'm going to have to try that, but I wonder if I can just tape a picture on to the scanners cover. I'm not so good with any photo programs.


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## navycop (Dec 23, 2012)

Looks cool. Sure save time from taking the picure, uploading it then posting it to IAP.


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## thewishman (Dec 24, 2012)

That is a great looking image!


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## Kretzky (Dec 24, 2012)

It's a lot simpler than setting up a photo session. A jewelry appraiser friend has been scanning items for her catalogues for years. I was surprised at the results she got straight from the scanner.


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## OOPS (Dec 24, 2012)

This is a great idea and it reminds me of an artist my brother told me about after a trip to Hawaii.  Apparently the artist takes items such as flowers, then suspends them over a scanner.  It a completely blackened room, he scans the image on a flatbed scanner.  Because the flowers (or other subject material) are suspended over the bed of the scanner, depth is built into the scan.  The resulting artwork was amazing and it was selling well.  No doubt there is more to it, such as Photoshop, but its a great concept.  Thanks for posting.


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## bradh (Dec 24, 2012)

I used a scanner for pen pictures with my old Umax scanner. It will not work on many scanners because the do not have enough depth-of-field to get the pen in focus.
   I stopped when I could no longer get a driver to run my old scanner and our new scanner/printer does not have enough depth of field.

This scanner image is from 2005.


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## JohnGreco (Dec 24, 2012)

Interesting idea and some neat things you can do with this, but it seems like the pens are lacking definition. Is it just me?


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## BradG (Dec 24, 2012)

just tried it... really bad! possibly my scanner isnt as good as yours, or because my pens are metal creating too much reflection. il stick to my camera, though yours does look good


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## bradh (Dec 24, 2012)

BradG said:


> just tried it... really bad! possibly my scanner isnt as good as yours, or because my pens are metal creating too much reflection. il stick to my camera, though yours does look good



To cut down on reflection, place the pens on a diagonal (45 degrees to the edges of the scanner) on the scanner bed. I can't remember why this helps, but it does.
   There were a few good scanner tip files on the Yahoo Penturners group, likely still there.


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## BradG (Dec 25, 2012)

Thanks Brad il have a play around with it


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## Gary Beasley (Dec 25, 2012)

I've been doing that since day one. never tried dropping a background on it though, looks good!


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## plantman (Dec 25, 2012)

Len; That better be a shark in the water, or your shadow  is going in the wrong direction from the sun. Great idea !! This realy adds a lot of interest to the photo. Jim S


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## LenKaltman (Dec 25, 2012)

plantman said:


> Len; That better be a shark in the water, or your shadow  is going in the wrong direction from the sun. Great idea !! This realy adds a lot of interest to the photo. Jim S



Thanks Jim!    I was trying to find a way to take some product photos that stand out from the norm, and enjoy playing around in Photoshop and various 3d programs (Bryce, Daz Studio, etc)  Actually, the dark shark is a reflection of the pen on the water - not a shadow.


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## LenKaltman (Dec 25, 2012)

OOPS said:


> This is a great idea and it reminds me of an artist my brother told me about after a trip to Hawaii.  Apparently the artist takes items such as flowers, then suspends them over a scanner.  It a completely blackened room, he scans the image on a flatbed scanner.  Because the flowers (or other subject material) are suspended over the bed of the scanner, depth is built into the scan.  The resulting artwork was amazing and it was selling well.  No doubt there is more to it, such as Photoshop, but its a great concept.  Thanks for posting.




Thanks - I've seen the work of several artists who use scanners, and I guess it's just another tool in the creative arsenal.  I basically chose to scan because I was being lazy, (and don't like photographing inanimate objects) and rather than set up my lights and camera, figured I'd just sit at my desk and scan the pen.  It actually turned out better than I thought it would.


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## Rodnall (Dec 29, 2012)

I tried the scanner but my pen looks terrible. The fit is good on the pen, but in the pic it looks like crap.


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## Rodnall (Dec 29, 2012)

Here is the same pen with my cell phone.


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## Rob73 (Dec 29, 2012)

Well you made me curious so I had to try it...  This is on an Epson workforce 545.  I used crafting foam to change BG color.  No luck with focus.  This is a mid-level AIO printer though so I really wasn't expecting high quality scanning


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