An Ambrotype is an image where one side of a very clean glass plate is covered with a thin layer of collodion, then dipped in a silver nitrate solution. The plate is exposed to the subject while still wet. The plate is then developed and fixed. The resulting negative, when viewed by reflected light against a black background, appears to be a positive image: the clear areas look black, and the exposed, opaque areas appear light. They are most often mounted in a frame or case and often have a coating of black varnish on either the emulsion side or the back side. Either way, you're looking at a thin layer of material mounted on a plate of glass — which, as you know, can be easily scratched off if you're not careful.

If your ambrotype is embedded in a frame or case, please refer to Scanning Tips — Ferrotypes for the removal of the image. Take special care as some frames may be cemented onto the glass plate. If that's the case, don't remove the frame. The image on the glass plate should be close enough to the scanner bed to produce a clear, focused scan. If your ambrotype was mounted with a piece of blackened (japaned) tin behind it, you will need to include the tin plate with the image when you place it on the scanning bed.

In the image to the left, you can see that I have placed the ambrotype on the scanning bed, emulsion-side down. I did this so that I can ensure that the image is making maximum contact with the scanning bed. Even though the glass the ambrotype is mounted on is thin, scanning it emulsion-side up could cause a slight problem with the sharpness of the final scan. You will also note that I am preparing to place the piece of blackened tin (black-side down) over the top of the ambrotype so that I will be able to obtain a workable image. Without the blackened tin, I would not be able to achieve a workable scan as the dark (clear) areas of the image wouldn't be very visible.

Now that the blackened piece of tin has been placed over the glass plate, the image is ready to be scanned. If you have an ambrotype that lacks the blackened piece of tin or was not given a coat of black varnish, simply find a piece of black paper or some other black-colored object that can be placed over the glass plate to achieve the same effect.

If you have a broken ambrotype, try to piece it together as best you can (sort of like a puzzle). Make sure that all of your pieces are facing the same direction (emulsion-side down). If your ambrotype is missing some pieces, I can do my best to fill in the missing areas via Photoshop. This process would involve cloning as much image information as I can and painting in the areas that cannot be cloned.