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Scanning photos for HD or HDV projects
I’m looking for tips on scanning photos to use in high def productions. I’m used to SD, both 4:3 and 16:9. What would be the minimum dimensions I’d need for a photo to fill the frame when I move to high def? And do I as a rule need to scan photos at a higher dpi than around 75, which is the minimum I’d used for SD? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
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4 Replies
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Just scan em big enough to use em in a 1080 AE project. I scan em at 300 dpi for animation use.
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I’m almost always doing moves on scanned stills so I start at least twice as big as will be needed. Depending on what I’m trying to go into or out of in the shot, sometimes 4 or more times bigger. I also find it’s easiest with our scanners to scan at 300 or 400 dpi then run a macro within Photoshop to convert everything to 72 dpi for use in After Effects. That way it’s easy to know that 100% scale shouldn’t be exceeded which would soften the image.
As Grin pointed out, if you’re working in HD the full frame size at 72 dpi is 1920 x 1080 pixels.
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Just throwing it out there, but an alternative option is to lay out all your prints on the floor and shoot them in HD. You can zoom in, pan, twist and do all kinds of creative things and discover results you wouldn’t have had if you scanned them. Only if it’s appropriate of course. And be careful about glare in glossy prints…
Good luck.
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[Rocco Forte] “ay out all your prints on the floor and shoot them in HD”
Hmmm, yes technically you could do this. What I do when it’s not practical to scan (photos in frames for example) is to shoot pics with a DSLR in a classic copy-stand configuration. That’s two lights, one left, one right, at 45 degree angles to prevent glare.
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