Create a digital copy of your old paper photos by scanning them using your smartphone.
Saving old film photographs by scanning them can be time consuming and tedious. You must already have a scanner, know how to use it, and have the patience to resize the area to be scanned for each photo to be saved, especially if you plan to scan old photos.
However, there is a much simpler solution, and just as effective: use your smartphone. Using a dedicated application, such as Photoscan, an application from Google, you can scan all your paper photos in seconds to keep an easy-to-share digital copy on your smartphone.
1. Download Google PhotoScan
Start by downloading the PhotoScan application on your smartphone. Available for free on iOS and Android, this Google application allows you to perform good quality scans using your smartphone’s photo sensor and some algorithms capable of automatically cropping the image and removing unwanted reflections.
- Download PhotoScan for Android (Free)
- Download PhotoScan for iPhone (Free)
2. Frame the image
Open PhotoScan on your smartphone and place it over the photo to be scanned, making sure to place it in the frame displayed on the screen.
3. Start scanning
Then press the shutter button as when taking a picture. A white circle is displayed in the center of the image as well as in the four corners of the photo.
Follow the direction indicated by the arrow and move your smartphone to overlay the circle displayed in the center with one of the four white dots displayed at the ends. Wait while the blue cursor is displayed around it.
Repeat for each of the other three white dots in the order indicated by the application.
To scan an image, PhotoScan must actually take 5 snapshots of the photo: one of the entire photo, and the other four of the four parts of the image. By combining all the photos taken, the application is able to offer a quality final image, perfectly framed and devoid of unwanted reflections.
The scanned photo is automatically added to the film integrated into PhotoScan, and is also saved in the film of the smartphone.