Film Photography Tips: Scanning Instant Film (without Newton Rings)

[@PublicEnemyMinusOne]

I just want you to know, 7 years later your video is still helping people out! I know there are adapters and such but for the time being I'm gonna do this method. Thank you very much!

[@incorporeal3793]

I found a Polaroid 1000 a while back my parents must have bought in the 80's. Its sat in a cupboard for decades and is in dire need of a good clean. I think its time to pull the finger out and get it done then slap some film in it and hope it works.

[@brianfraher499]

This is a game changer if you don't care about the aesthetic of scanning the full border. I just did a little bit of playing with a Fuji Instax cartridge and you can do something similar. The pressure plate on the Instax system relies on the camera door applying pressure so the cartridge "spring" alone isn't enough to keep the film flat Like the Polaroids. When you start the film pack save the dark slide. When you finish the pack carefully pry the pressure plate side of the cartridge off at the seam. Then place your print in the exposure side of the cartridge face down, layer the dark slide on top, and put something low-profile with a little weight (I used a small folding box cutter for my test) on top of the dark slide with a little weight to keep the film flat. The rest is just like this video.

[@Luudite]

Looks like I showed up super late to this party. Just cruised on by to say thanks, this worked a treat for scanning. Though if I had a bunch it might be more worthwhile to make a holder for several at a time as opposed to just the one

[@nickcarverphoto]

Glad to hear it.

[@Studio55dotca]

Great tip !! I'll try that, as I have dozens of Polaroids to scan. For the white border, I discovered Lightroom's "Contact Sheet" function, in the Develop module. I tweak it and set it to 1 image per page and change the page size to 4x5 (smallest it'll go). It allows me to select background colour, stroke around the image, and offset the exact image area (and print area) so that it resembles very closely to the original Polaroid. The great thing about it, once you scan only the image part of all your images, you can export all your files in jpg at once. You can save the preset and even have some for larger sizes.

[@martagonzalesfineart3605]

Thanks for the great tutorial. I just rescanned my Salvation Mt. polaroid and can really see the difference now. Never really understood Newton Rings but very obvious when comparing scans side to side. Love your work and videos :)

[@EricBryan]

That's a nifty trick! Nothing like shooting a Polaroid. They are my favorite camera when I feel like I've gotten into a creative slump.

[@nickcarverphoto]

Eric Bryan dude we are always on the same page. I've been in a hard creative slump lately. Then I got my Polaroid SX-70 back from repairs and it snapped me right out of it. Didn't realize the power of Polaroid until that happened.

[@AustinMattison]

Good show. Love those shots. Amazing how well Polaroid was able to knock off the Amaro Instagram filter.

[@nickcarverphoto]

Austin Mattison haha! Yeah lots of stuff in the 70's and 80's took their design cues from iPhone apps. Fascinating. Just fascinating.

[@harmanstechhelp]

I love your videos Nick! Keep up the good work. Can't wait for your next videos!

[@nickcarverphoto]

Harman Singh thank you!

[@ReviewTubeChannel]

I just finished watching (literally) all of you travel and printing videos and I love them! One of the things that you always cut out of the videos because they're "boring" are the dust removal and editing of the photos. I think those are some very important things that many of us would benefit from learning how to to them. If you ever have time please include those in your videos, or make separate tutorials, they don't have to be in depth as much but any new info is good!

[@nickcarverphoto]

ReviewTube good to know. I'll put together a video on that someday. Thank you!

[@ReviewTubeChannel]

Thank you! I don't want this to seem like I'm "demanding" videos but just want you to know that even the things that are easy/normal/boring for you, you've learned somewhere and that we need to do the same. And if we learn those things from someone as experienced as you, even better! And again, thanks for everything.

[@nickcarverphoto]

ReviewTube I love to hear video requests! It's hard to know sometimes what people need help with.

[@SANDERVANDERVEEN_]

You can also use the negative of a instant film! The part you peel of with the wet stuff, rinse it with bleech so the negative comes visable! Great to scan also

[@nickcarverphoto]

SANDER VANDER VEEN I've been thinking about that recently. Never done it though and I'm scared I'll ruin my shots! I should just man up and do it.

[@dirtywater5336]

You got me thinking now. If the scanner works with the lid open, why not adhere the polaroid to the white backing with an non-damaging tape like photo friendly scotch tape and lay it down on the glass with a couple quarters to lift the backing foam to avoid newton rings. That way you don't have to fool around with laying the first image over the second image to make it look like a polaroid

[@nickcarverphoto]

That's a good idea.

[@heikokrause1573]

What about the color managment? How do you make it, to get out the colors right the way they are?

[@inkaststudio]

Awesome! Thank you for this amazing tip! I was just about ready to spend $50 for an adapter! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@adamtruelove9684]

Another awesome tips Nick! Thank you!

[@nickcarverphoto]

Adam Pamungkas thanks for watching!

[@ianthomas465]

Hi Nick. Thanks a lot. Gorgeous idea. I imediately used it and the results are top. Best regards

[@stephenlloydco]

Another great video, Nick. Quality not quantity :-)

[@nickcarverphoto]

Stephen Lloyd thank you, sir! That's been my mantra and I'm glad it comes across that way.

[@BobEstremera]

What are the differences between scanning the Polaroid print versus shooting it with a macro lens on a copy stand?

[@brineb58]

That is a pretty cool idea ... gonna try it!!!

[@Rocking_J_Studio]

I've recently started shooting instant film with an old Polaroid Land 330 & Fuji 100 film. I'll play with scanning it and let you know what happens. It will be awhile though because right now my studio is in shambles and my scanner isn't even hooked up and usable.

[@nickcarverphoto]

John Wilkinson gotta get that studio back up and running! Scanning is surprisingly enjoyable (for me anyway).

[@bigfontbrandon]

love the sarcasm

[@nickcarverphoto]

Brandon Lavergne glad to hear it. Wait, then again, your comment might be sarcastic! Ah, damn I don't know...

[@bigfontbrandon]

Nick Carver, I guess we'll just never know.

[@250157andyw]

Polaroid do a phone app to auto detect and capture polaroid photos to the phone photos library (probably not the same quality as Nick's scanning method).

[@robbonavco1610]

Hello, I'm scanning my polaroids on an Epson V600. I want to keep the detail of the border, but it's blowing it out to the point it will be difficult to recover even in photoshop. Can you recommend a technique to also keep the detail of the border?

[@Johno530]

Even though I don't shoot any film I still find your videos super interesting to watch. What monitors are you running now? No more Apple Cinema displays?

[@nickcarverphoto]

Johno I'm glad to hear that! Thank you! Yeah those old cinema displays were great but were starting to show their age. Got these dual ASUS PB278Q displays. They are so damn good.

[@Big.D.]

Hey @nickcarver, can you do a video about transparency scanning? I'm amazed at the quality you get out of the v700!

[@bengunski]

This is so obvious I feel dumb for not thinking of doing it this way already. Here I was looking for a way to hold instant film, forgetting entirely that it comes in a film holder when you buy it...

[@therealjasonbueno]

Good stuff! Although I'm doing this and part of the photos are coming out burry... Anyone else had this issue? I'm using a Canon and scanning at 600dpi.

[@jonasosa5126]

Question, when you are about to start the initial Scan what are the options you are using? Are you scanning the film as a document? Because I have a canoscan 8800f I believe and I don’t have the option of scanning it they way you’re showing. It has a default of 75dpi to 600dpi. This scanner can go 9k but I won’t do that. Just want to know how you are scanning thank you

[@blakeaghili5033]

hmm good trick for Impossible Project ones... What DIY trick do you have for Peel Apart Fuji FP-100 films ? I wanna scan those

[@okcilla]

where can I find these cartridges? I have an instax mini 9.

[@fgj4990]

superb idea - many thanks for it!

[@marcof7499]

Fantastic!

[@jonlouis2582]

Very cool, thank you!

[@jeriuswilliams5911]

Great work. Just curious, since Polaroid announced in March the end of their instant film production, are there other sources that you know of?

[@nickcarverphoto]

Where did you hear that? I couldn’t find anything about them ending production of instant film.

[@jeriuswilliams5911]

@@nickcarverphoto Saw it on a Wired.com article. See below: www.wired.com/2008/02/polaroid-ends-i/

[@jeriuswilliams5911]

also Petapixel: petapixel.com/2019/10/03/polaroid-originals-announces-the-end-of-spectra-instant-film/

[@nickcarverphoto]

That wired article is from 2008 and the PetaPixel article is only about the discontinuation of Spectra film. Standard Polaroid is going strong. In fact they just released a Mandalorian-themed special edition film and camera today.

[@jeriuswilliams5911]

@@nickcarverphoto that is good news for the standard Polaroid users...not so much for the Minolta InstantPro which uses the spectra film. Keep up the classic shooting and informative videos.

[@royfochtman4193]

best tip ever!

[@nickcarverphoto]

Roy Fochtman glad you liked it!

[@patrickmeehan336]

great help, thanks

[@nickcarverphoto]

patrick meehan thanks for watching.

[@Firlefranz014]

Great Tips, great Videos ..... this 1 Dislike is from Mr. Newton, i think. ;)

[@monmioamio]

... if you can’t post it on IG, what’s the point? ... You say it like you mean it. Haha. I use Google’s PhotoScan app on my iPhone. Probably not as good as your scanner, but handy and almost instant. Do check out Instax. There is a new instax wide monochrome film out. Eagerly awaiting a student lending an instax camera to you.

[@josephgarcia3767]

Sweet.

[@monicac5678]

lifesaver

[@SopotKrzyn]

Thank You ;-)

[@christianmartinez8700]

Dude said fantastico

[@lilblingking1491]

If you still have pack film, you can just recover the negatives :p

[@nickcarverphoto]

lilblingking1491 true true. It's a shame that film has gone the way of the dodo.

[@Mark_R_Tho]

hahahahaha I love you.

[@nickcarverphoto]

Mark Ross haha! Thanks man

[@kierancarter3693]

U need a 3d printer my friend

[@aquariuslady777]

Insta-who? lol