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There are many apps for smart phones that allow the camera to act as a scanner for photos. One of the easiest and most efficient is Google’s PhotoScan. In this post will show how to use PhotoScan to scan photos with your phone.
How to get it
First, open the AppStore on an iPhone or Google Store on an Android phone. (AppStore shown here)
Click on Get, to download the app to your phone for free. This will be where “Open” is in the example photos below.
Click in the search box and type Scan Google
Then find the icon for the app on the phone and tap on the icon to open the app.
setup
The first screen will step quickly through a video describing the way the app works.
It will then leave you on the setup splash screen. Hit the blue get started button to set the app up.
Since this is the first time using the app, it will ask for permission to access the camera and the photo library. The camera and photo access are required for the app to function properly.
The app will also ask to send Notifications. This is optional and unnecessary.
How to use it
Position the camera over the document and click on center button to start scanning.
When positioning the camera over the photo, these dots will appear. The empty circle in the center needs to be dragged with a finger until it is over one of the white circles in the corners. Hold the phone as steady as possible.
After the first corner, move the empty circle to the next white circle and so on until all four corners are identified. The white dots will disappear as they are matched.
The app will process the photos it has taken and transform them into a single JPG photo file.
Sending Scanned Photos
This will allow you to share it on any app that can send the file.
This photo will also be put into the photo library automatically.
After selecting a photo in the documents list, either press on it or hit the share button on the top right.
More information about PhotoScan can be found at Google.com. If you’d like to learn more about scanning documents you can read our blog posts Three Ways to Scan Documents with Your iPhone and How to Scan a Document with Your Phone Using Genius Scan.
If you have specific questions about how to scan photos with your phone, or if our terminology isn’t clear, please use our contact form to send us a message, or give us a call and make an appointment.
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