This wikiHow teaches you how to scan photos to a smartphone using the device's built-in camera and a photo scanner app.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Using the Phone's Built-in Camera
Step 1. Place the photo on top of the data surface
If the photo is wrinkled, try smoothing it out using a soft cloth or cotton swab.
Step 2. Open the device camera
On iPhone, the camera app is indicated by a gray icon with a black camera. On Android devices, the camera app is indicated by a camera-shaped icon.
Usually, you can find the camera app icon on your home screen (iPhone) or app drawer (Android)
Step 3. Aim the camera at the photo you want to scan
The photo should be in the center of the camera window.
Make sure the photo is not tilted toward (or away from) the camera so that it doesn't change shape or get damaged
Step 4. Turn off the flash
As it can bleach and damage colors in photos, make sure the flash is turned off before moving on to the next step. To turn off the flash:
- On iPhone: Touch the lightning icon in the upper left corner of the screen, then select “ Off ”.
- On Android devices: Touch the lightning bolt icon in the upper right corner of the screen, then tap the icon that resembles a crossed lightning bolt.
Step 5. Look for the shutter button or "Capture"
This white circle button is usually at the bottom of the screen.
- On iPhone: Make sure the camera is in photo mode by sliding the screen to the right or left until you see the words " PHOTO " above the button.
- On Android devices: If the circle button is red, swipe the screen to the right until you see the shutter button or “Capture” again.
Step 6. Touch the shutter button
The image of the photo you want to scan is captured and saved to the device photo album.
You can view the photos you've taken by tapping the square icon in the lower-left corner of the screen (iPhone) or the circle icon in the lower-right corner of the screen (Android)
Method 2 of 3: Using Google PhotoScan
Step 1. Place the photo on top of the data surface
If the photo is wrinkled, try smoothing it out using a soft cloth or cotton swab.
Step 2. Open PhotoScan
This app is marked by a light gray icon with some blue circles inside. If it's not already available, you can download it for the following platforms:
- iPhone -
- Android -
Step 3. Point the phone camera at the photo
Make sure the photo is in the rectangular scanning frame displayed on the phone screen.
- If this is your first time using PhotoScan, touch “ START SCANNING " and select " OK " or " Allow ” so that the app can use the device's camera before continuing.
- On Android devices, you may need to touch “ SCAN MORE PHOTOS ” before continuing.
Step 4. Touch the shutter button or " Capture"
It's a white and blue circle button at the bottom of the screen.
Step 5. Wait for the four dots to appear
These four white dots are displayed in a square or rectangular pattern.
Step 6. Place one of the dots into the circle on the phone screen
After a while, the dot will scan the photo and the phone will make a camera shutter button sound.
Make sure your phone is parallel to the photo as you follow this step
Step 7. Repeat this process with the other three dots
After all the dots are scanned, the photo will be saved.
Step 8. Touch the circle icon at the bottom right corner of the screen
This button will open the scanned photos page.
Step 9. Touch the scanned photo
After that, the photo will be opened.
Step 10. Touch… (iPhone) or (Android).
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen. Once touched, a pop-up menu will appear.
You can also touch the “ Adjust corners ” below the screen first to crop the photo if necessary.
Step 11. Touch Save to camera roll
It's at the top of the pop-up menu.
Step 12. Touch Save when prompted
The scanned photos are saved to the app or the device's photo album.
You need to touch the button " OK " or " Allow ” so that PhotoScan can access the photos on the device.
Method 3 of 3: Using the Dropbox App
Step 1. Place the photo on top of the data surface
If the photo is wrinkled, try smoothing it out using a soft cloth or cotton swab.
Step 2. Open Dropbox
This app is indicated by a blue open box icon (iPhone) or only blue box (Android). The last tab you opened in Dropbox will be displayed.
If you don't have the Dropbox app, first download it to your iPhone from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dropbox/id327630330?mt=8 or an Android device from https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=com.dropbox.android&hl=en
Step 3. Touch Files
This tab is at the bottom of the screen (iPhone) or in the drop-down menu “ ☰ ” in the upper left corner of the screen (Android).
If Dropbox immediately displays the open file, first tap the " Back " button in the top left corner of the screen
Step 4. Touch +
It's at the bottom of the screen. A pop-up menu will appear after that.
Step 5. Touch Scan Document
This option is at the top of the pop-up menu.
Step 6. Point the phone camera at the photo
To prevent distortion, make sure the photo is not tilted toward (or away from) the camera. The easiest way to keep a photo in position is to place it on a flat surface, with your phone's camera pointing perpendicular to the photo.
Step 7. Wait for a blue outline to appear around the photo
As long as the camera's focus is held on the photo and the photo is in contrast to the background (eg a table), a blue outline will be displayed around the photo.
If the outline doesn't show or looks skewed, readjust the angle of the phone
Step 8. Touch the shutter button
This button is circular and white at the bottom of the screen (iPhone), or appears as a camera icon at the bottom of the screen (Android).
Step 9. Touch "Edit" button
These buttons appear as a group of sliders at the bottom center of the screen (iPhone) or tab “ Adjust ” in the lower left corner of the screen (Android).
Step 10. Touch the Original tab
The color setting of the scanned photo will change from black and white to color.
Step 11. Touch Done (iPhone) or (Android).
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 12. Touch Next (iPhone) or → (Android).
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
You can also touch the " Add " button marked with the symbol “ + ” to scan more photos.
Step 13. Touch Save (iPhone) or (Android).
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen. Scanned photos will be added to Dropbox's " Files " tab as PDF files (default option). You can view the photos on your computer by opening the Dropbox folder on your computer or visiting https://www.dropbox.com/ and logging in with your account email address and password.
You can change the photo name by tapping the " File name " field and typing a new name, or change the file type by tapping “ PNG ” to the right of the "File type" heading.
Tips
- You can send photos taken using your phone to social media, via email or direct message, or to an internet or cloud storage application (eg Google Drive).
- Do not use the flash when taking photos. The flash will blur some of the character of the photo and reduce the appearance of others so that the quality of the photo is much less than desired.
