THIS PRODUCT PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE RECORDING - YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD.
Scanography with Sharon Garner — The Full Series (Recording)
A three-part series on making painterly flower portraits with a flatbed scanner, no camera required. All three sessions, recorded and ready to watch.
About the series
We are used to looking through a lens. But what happens when you remove the camera entirely, and let a flatbed scanner do the seeing?
Sharon Garner is a scanographer. She lays flowers directly onto scanner glass to create intimate portraits of them, so rich in texture and shadow that they look painted by an Old Master rather than captured by a machine. Over three relaxed sessions, Sharon takes you from your very first scan all the way through to finished, framed-worthy art.
It needs no expensive kit and no lens, just a scanner and a new way of seeing light and texture. And as with everything on Camversation, the whole series is recorded, so you can watch and rewatch at your own pace.
Who this is for
Anyone curious about a beautiful new creative medium, with no photography experience needed. Whether you have a scanner gathering dust in a cupboard, or you simply want to learn a completely new way of seeing, this series is a joy to work through.
What you will need
A flatbed scanner, even a basic all-in-one printer or scanner works well. For the editing session you will also want a photo editor that handles layers, such as Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Affinity Photo. If you do not have a scanner yet, you will know exactly what to look for by the end of the first session.
What is covered
Part 1: The Foundations Back to basics. Understanding the tools, choosing the right flowers and why some work far better than others, and setting up your scanner for the best light and detail.
Part 2: Composition and Complexity Moving beyond the single bloom. Building more complex, creative setups, using props and backgrounds in inventive ways, from reflections to a silk scarf as a backdrop, and bringing depth and a real sense of story to a flat scan. Sharon also shares simple tricks for positioning delicate flowers, and her advice on choosing and combining flowers, dried ones included.
Part 3: The Polish Taking a raw scan through to a finished piece. Sharon starts right at the basics of cleaning the black background, with a simple method for straightforward images and the Select and Mask approach for flowers with fuzzy stems and wispy petals. From there she covers extending the background, bringing out colour and texture, sharpening, tidying up stray bits, combining several scans into one new composition, and finishing with a little hand colouring.
Two optional guides
Sharon has also very kindly put together two written guides to go alongside the series, so you can follow along step by step. The first covers the tools she uses and how to set yourself up. The second walks through her editing process in detail. All profits from both guides go to Cancer Research UK, a cause close to Sharon's heart, so they are a lovely way to pick up something useful and do a little good at the same time. Both are entirely optional.
Tools for Scanography:
https://www.camversation.co.uk/product-page/slides-tools-for-scanography-a-guide-by-sharon-garner
Editing the Scanned Image: https://www.camversation.co.uk/product-page/guide-editing-the-scanned-image-with-sharon-garner
Our sharing page
Throughout the series we ran a sharing page where everyone could post their own scans and see what others were making. It is a lovely, inspiring place to browse, and to add your own work to. The link and the password are inside Sharon's guides, so once you have a guide you will find your way straight in.
About Sharon
Sharon Garner is a fine-art photographer and scanographer whose work has been exhibited internationally, including Karlsruhe in Germany and the Matsumoto Museum in Japan. She describes herself as a visual, audible and edible artist, working across photography, graphic design, jazz vocals and cake design, and inspired by everything that touches her senses. You can see more of her work at sharongarnerphotography.com
From Mark
I first noticed Sharon's wonderful work when she joined Stephanie Johnson's Intentional Creative Moments series, and she blew us away. When we chatted, her enthusiasm for making things was infectious, and it carried right through all three sessions. What came across most was how much Sharon loves teaching this, and how generous she is with every step of it. Whether you have a scanner gathering dust or you just want to learn a completely new way of seeing, this series is a real treat.
What people said
Danelle: "Being here with Mark and Sharon is my happy place."
Jan: "A fascinating set of three presentations. I thoroughly enjoyed them all, and I will definitely be having a go at this type of photography myself."
Maryellen: "You have given us another way to show the beauty in the world, whatever we choose to scan. There is no limit."
Lucy: "This was my first session live, but I had watched the previous two and they were fabulous."
Caroline: "Beautiful results, from the scan right through to the final edits. Something to aspire to."
Gina: "Another wonderful session, full of creativity and inspiration that will work for so many images."
Access
The full series - £18 Watch all three recorded sessions, with access for one month.
Recordings are streamed on our website and are not downloadable.
