How-to video

How to Digitize Old Photos With Your Smartphone

Want to scan old prints with just your phone? A few small habits make a big difference to how clear your scans come out. We cover when a phone fits, setting up the shot, glare, checking your first scan, and what to do with albums and frames.

Video coming October 28, 2026

The steps

Taken from the video. Where we cite a public source, the name is at the end of the step. Anything marked as our suggestion is our own judgment, not a published rule.

1. When does a phone fit?. Choose the method for each item, not for the whole attic. A phone scanning app is a good fit when you want to try a few prints quickly, when you are at a relative's house, or when the item is not flat and does not suit a scanner. A flatbed scanner fits when your prints are flat and in good condition, you have a lot to scan, and you want to control the settings. A scanning service fits when you have a very large collection, or the items are valuable or delicate enough that you would rather someone else do the handling. And if an item is stuck, moldy, rolled, brittle or in pieces, stop, set it aside and ask a conservator. A phone does not change that. Source: Choosing per item is our suggestion. The conservator advice follows the National Archives.
2. An example app, with a date. As an example, checked October 16, 2026, there is Google PhotoScan. Google describes it as creating enhanced scans with automatic edge detection, perspective correction and smart rotation, and it stitches multiple images together to remove glare. This is not a recommendation of that app over any other. Its tips are specific to that app, but our view is that most of them apply to any phone scanning. Apps change, so check the maker's current help page before you rely on any step. Source: Google's published help and product page for PhotoScan. That most tips apply to any phone scanning is our view.
3. Set up the table. Start with a clean, clear space, with food and drink kept away. Wash and dry your hands, and hold prints by the edges. The Library of Congress says to handle photographs with clean hands or clean nitrile gloves, and to avoid touching the image area. Source: Library of Congress and National Archives handling guidance.
4. Frame the shot. Google's help says to place the photo on a flat surface with a contrasting background to help frame it, and to avoid scanning on carpet. A light print goes on a dark surface and a dark print on a light surface, which is our suggestion. Hold the phone level, because Google says not to tilt it while scanning. And match the phone to the photo: for a vertical photo, hold your phone vertically, and for a horizontal photo, hold it horizontally. Source: Google Photos Help. The light-on-dark example is our suggestion.
5. Deal with glare. Google's help says to make sure the flash is turned on, to help remove residual glare and shadows. If there is too much glare, it says to move to a place with less lighting. Google also says the app can scan faster if you turn off glare removal, but then it will not remove glare, so that choice is for matte prints in good light, not glossy ones. If a scan comes out skewed or blurry, check whether the phone was tilted or moving, hold it level and still, and try again. Google says that if you have any issues with a scan, try scanning again. Source: Google Photos Help. The matte versus glossy point, and level and still, are our suggestion.
6. Decide where the files live. Before you start, decide where your master files will live. Google says the app automatically saves each scan to your device, and that you can back up your scans with its photos app. A phone can be lost or broken, so copy your scans to a second place the same day. The short version is the 3-2-1 rule from CISA, the US cybersecurity agency: three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one copy offsite. Source: Google's help for where scans are saved, and CISA for the 3-2-1 rule. Copying the same day is our suggestion.
7. Check scan number one. Scan one print, then look at it on a computer, not only on your phone. Look at the corners and edges: is the whole print there? Look for stripes or smears. Zoom in to one hundred percent on a face or a line of writing. Is it sharp? Is it the right way up? Is the file named the way you meant? If the print has writing on the back, scan the back too and give it the same name as the front. If the first scan is wrong, rescan, and keep the untouched master, making any edits on a copy. Our suggestion.
8. Albums need extra care. The Library of Congress advises avoiding albums with colored, magnetic or sticky self-adhesive pages, and photos that have been in them for decades may be stuck. Google's own help suggests removing photos from sleeves or albums, but our guide takes a more cautious route. Do not pry, heat or use solvents on a stuck photo. If a photo does not lift away with no resistance at all, leave it where it is, and scan or photograph the whole page with the pictures in place. If the album matters to you, ask a conservator. Support the album so it opens only as far as it opens easily, and never press it flat. Name each page file for the album and page so the order is kept, and copy any captions on the page into your log, because the album's own handwriting is part of the record. Source: Library of Congress and Google Photos Help for what each says. Scanning the page in place, the page naming and the caption log are our suggestion, and no source says them.
9. Framed pictures. A framed picture is usually best left framed. If you try a phone scan, Google says to turn on your flash if the photo is in a glass frame. Expect reflections, and test one first. Source: Google Photos Help for the flash advice. Expect reflections and test one first is our suggestion.

The short version: pick the method for each item, use a flat surface with a contrasting background, hold the phone level, handle glare with flash or softer light, check your first scan on a computer, and copy your files the same day. If something is stuck, rolled, moldy or brittle, stop and ask a conservator. Our summary of the steps above.

Where the facts come from

Library of Congress (Preservation and Digital Preservation), National Archives (NARA) family archives guidance, CISA (data backup guidance), and Google's published help for its PhotoScan app, an example tool checked October 16, 2026. Apps change; check the maker's current help page.

General information only, not professional conservation advice. No result is promised.

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