The problem
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in my journey with shooting 35mm film has been scanning and inverting my negatives. There’s a wealth of information online showcasing various techniques for this, ranging from software like Silverfast and Vuescan to plugins such as Negative Lab Pro. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming.
Although the software and plugins I’ve mentioned can produce good results, the process of inverting and colorizing images has often been inconsistent. In some cases, the software even fails to invert an image correctly. I’ve even noticed the same issues when having my negatives scanned at the lab.
The issue lies in the way these tools work—they invert and colorize negatives on a pixel-by-pixel basis rather than considering the entire roll. In other words, the software analyzes each individual image and makes adjustments based on that specific image’s histogram. This means that every image on a roll undergoes a unique process. When dealing with images that have extreme color or tonal variations, the results can be less than satisfactory, with some images not rendering properly.
I began to theorize that with 35mm film, the white balance and overall color are essentially ‘baked in’ during the film’s production, determined by the chemicals used by Kodak, Fuji, or other manufacturers. This led me to believe that if I scanned an entire roll of film as a single image, I could then invert it, remove the orange color cast, and set a suitable black/white point with only minor curve adjustments for contrast. This approach would allow the entire roll to be
inverted ‘as Kodak intended’, rather than applying a custom process to each individual image that alters color and tone based on personal preferences.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with using software to process each image individually, I’ve never been able to achieve consistent color across a whole roll using this method. It just didn’t make sense to me that no technique existed to invert and adjust the white balance for the entire roll at once, given that when shooting on film, the only variable should be luminosity.
The solution
The first step was to start with a clean scan of the negatives. I needed them to be scanned exactly as they were, without any adjustments applied during the scanning process. Most scanning software allows this by selecting the ‘Transparency – Positive’ option and choosing ‘Color Slide’ as the film type. The terminology might vary depending on the software, but the key is to instruct the scanner to treat the negatives as if they were color slide film. This approach ensures that the scanner doesn’t apply any additional white balance adjustments, as color slides are already inverted, with the colors embedded in the film.
I’m scanning the film with an Epson Perfection V500 scanner, using Image Capture on macOS with the Epson drivers. Epson Scan is no longer a standalone application; once the drivers are installed, it integrates directly into Image Capture.
I create a marquee around the negative and set the scan resolution to 2400dpi. Make sure that all additional settings, such as Image Correction, Descreening, and Backlight Correction, are set to ‘None’. The goal is to obtain the cleanest scan possible without any extra processing. Select TIFF as a format and press scan.
Process the scan in Lightroom
We’re not going to use any additional plug-ins, just the native Lightroom Classic package. You could use Lightroom CC, but this guide will be referencing classic.
Start by importing your scanned images in to your Catalog. Ensure that Copy is selected, as we don’t want to compress the file by converting it to a DNG.
With the scans now in your Catalog, I break down the process in to 5 steps, that I keep track of with the Lightroom star system.
1. Crop
2. Remove dust
3. Date & Time correction
4. Sharpen / Denoise
5. Color
Let’s go through them one by one. My first step is cropping the image, which starts with me hitting R to bring me in to the Crop Overlay view. I always set my aspect to 2×3 / 4×6 and the proceed to pulling the edge of the frame in to remove any overscan. Rotate the image if needed, and then press 1 to mark with one star.
Next up is removing dust. This is a very tedious part of the process, but necessary. In my experience, I have not yet found a scanner that accurately removes dust without leaving strange artifacts or smudging. If you take a bit of care blowing dust off the negative before you scan, then there aren’t usually too many to remove. Press Q to bring up the Remove panel. If you select Visualize Spots, this makes the process a lot easier. For dust that lies on a generic background I usually use the tool in the heal mode, but if the dust is over something complex I change it to remove and play with the generative AI settings. Once complete, press 2 to increase the star rating.