Fingerprints, scratches, smudges... Okay? Or Intolerable?

[aandr34]

I have been working on an ongoing series for several years that now involves scanning disposable camera prints. It is an extensive series of at least fifty packets of disposables and I do not have the negatives for a lot of them, so I have been scanning the 5x7 prints with my scanner. I wanted an opinion on leaving fingerprints, smudges, and scratches in the final product. Do you think it ADDS to the aesthetic or distracts from the image? Is it perhaps considered cliche or lazy to leave them in? I am torn on this issue and would like some advice on what to do with my hundreds of scanned prints! Thanks!

 

[limr]

You can't do much about scratches and it would be an endless task to try to remove them in PP software. Whether or not it adds to the aesthetic depends on how scratched the image is, where the scratches are, if they complement the image or not... in other words, difficult to define, dependent on the individual photo, and nearly impossible to proclaim without seeing the image.

Not sure what you mean by smudges, but I would absolutely wipe the photos to remove fingerprints. I can't see how they could ever add to an image. Well, not anything positive anyway I would also dust the glass of the scanner (using a dust-free microfiber cloth) and the print very carefully before each scan. Dust residue is also not attractive. I know it makes a big job even bigger, but it's the nature of the beast, I suppose.

 

[Derrel]

If "something" on a photo print can be wiped off with a huff of breath and a wipe or two with a clean microfiber cloth or chamois, I say, "remove the offending bits"...if there are scratches or stains on the prints, well, scan them and deal with those issues later. I also agree with dusting the scanner's glass to keep as much junk off of the scans as possible. It's best to just get the images scanned, then deal with problems.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I've learned to dust the scanner too - much better than dealing with scanned images with dust spots. (I guess if you do that once you learn not to do it again!)

I've never had significant scratches that I can remember or know of a way to repair a scratched photograph. If there were some particular photos that you wanted to restore you could look into photo restoration - Film Rescue International | Revealers Of Lost And Found Treasures is one I'm familiar with but have not used them - or you could try other photo labs or shops.

For fingerprints or smudges of course I try to handle the photos by the edges, but I've still managed to get fingerprints on them sometimes. I turn the photo in good light to check the surface as needed, then I've used a microfiber cloth gently to wipe the photo. If it's a bad fingerprint/smudge I'll sometimes gently breathe on it first - MY DISCLAIMER - I don't know if that's good to do or not (because of the moisture - but Derrel does it too!) but I'd rather get the smudge off the surface and risk losing a little of the glossy sheen than have a photo that looks blurred or smudged.

I have been able to SpotTone dust spots on B&W darkroom prints but it takes mixing the right shade of black and using a dry brush with an extremely small amount of liquid to start (and I mean small!) - I've used I think a round brush size 00 - it's very detailed work. They don't make SpotTone but there is something comparable still made by Marshall's and I think they have photo tints in color too - I don't know how well they'd work to do restoration, but might be an option if you're good at doing detailed work with a brush.

(I take that back, the smallest brush I have and probably used to SpotTone is a sable 00000. Now that's small! And when tinting/correcting spots I'd dab the brush on a paper towel before applying to the photo.)