Magazine scanner reviews compare scans with default settings, perhaps considered a fair way to compare the scanner hardware, or to just make testing easier I suppose. But that is not how you scan, because photos vary drastically, as do our preferences, and the default settings don't test the power and usefulness of the scanner software. The scanner software is very important to our results, it's the tools we have to work with. You really don't need any skill to operate a printer or a monitor, but scanners do require extra effort. The technique described here used with good scanning software will raise your scanning skill level very considerably.
Photos do vary, one from another, and often do have different scanning requirements.
And for the unusual photo, too dark, too light, etc, variations of this same method will work wonders. There are many opinions how to best do this, but this one works. This will possibly be a new concept to many readers, and while it is an easy concept, I think it may require two readings, one for the overview and one for the details.