As you may agree, the best way to scan photos is by using a High Speed Photo Scanner, especially; if you have tons of printed photos and you want to achive good results.
However, if you only have a few photos and do not want to buy a Photo Scanner, you can hope to achieve good enough results, using your iPhone as a Photo Scanner.
Scan Photos on iPhone
You can find below the steps to scan photos by using the Rear Camera of your iPhone and also by using Notes and the PhotoScan App by Google Photos.
1. Scan Photos Using Camera App
As you must have already tried it, the simplest way to scan any photo on iPhone is by taking a snap of the photo using the Rear-camera of your iPhone.
Once the printed photo has been captured by the camera of your iPhone, you can crop, rotate, edit and enhance the photo using basic editing functions as available within the Photos App.
For best results, it is better to scan photos in natural light or bright white artificial light. Also, consider where the source of light is placed and whether it is causing glare or casting shadows.
Also make sure that you keep the printed photo on a Flat Surface, align your iPhone parallel to the photo and take the photo using the regular Photo Mode.
2. Scan Photos Using Notes App
The Notes App on iPhone comes with a built-in scan function that can be used to scan photos.
1. Open the Notes App on your iPhone > tap on New Note Icon located in the bottom-menu.
2. On the next screen, tap on the Camera Icon (bottom menu) and select Scan Documents option.
Note: If bottom menu is not available, tap anywhere within the body of the Note to activate the bottom menu.
3. Position your iPhone properly over the Photo that you want to scan and tap on the Shutter icon.
4. Use the Circles to Crop the Photo (as required) > once you are happy, tap on Keep Scan.
5. Finally, tap on Save to save the scanned Photo in the Notes App.
3. Scan Photos Using PhotoScan by Google Photos
PhotoScan is a Free Photo Scanning App offered by Google Photos that allows you to scan old photos using the built-in camera of your iPhone or iPad.
Specifically built for scanning photos, the PhotoScan App automatically crops photos, enhances scanned photos and even provides a toggle for removing the glare from photos.
The App also features, perspective correction, edge detection, smart rotation and saves the final photo to Google Photos.
You can Download & Install the “PhotoScan” app on your iPhone from the App Store and it will provide you with the instructions to Scan Photos using the Camera of your iPhone.