PhotoScan combines several views of a print to help reduce glare. Try one sound photograph, keep the phone level as you follow the dots and inspect the saved result before continuing.
A successful first capture is more useful than a quick run through an album that you later discover is blurred or clipped.
What you need
A phone with Google’s PhotoScan app already installed, one stable print and a clear surface. Check that the app is available for your device before planning the session. Review your photo-library backup settings if the family material is private.
These instructions describe PhotoScan’s guided capture. Its flash advice differs from an ordinary camera photograph because it uses a different process.
1. Prepare a safe sample
Choose one print that rests comfortably on the surface. Use a plain contrasting background so its edges are easy to distinguish.
Do not remove a stuck print from a sleeve or album, even if an app tip suggests doing so. Do not flatten brittle material or dismantle a frame to satisfy the capture process. Use appropriate help when the object cannot be handled safely.
Keep a note of the print’s source and any writing that can be recorded safely. An attractive digital copy is less useful if nobody knows which family album it came from.
2. Open PhotoScan and frame the print
Open PhotoScan. If entering through Google Photos, Google’s current route is Create > Import from other places > PhotoScan under the phone-scanning section.
Hold the phone directly above the photograph without tilting it. Frame the whole print and tap the capture button.
Google recommends flash for this process to help reduce residual glare and shadows. If glare remains excessive, try a location with less light. Do not assume the flash-off advice for ordinary camera copying applies here.
3. Follow the four dots
Move the phone so the on-screen circle covers each of the four dots. Keep its orientation level as you move, rather than tilting it towards each dot.
Wait for processing to finish, then tap the photo thumbnail. The dots are part of the glare-removal process. Turning Glare removal off skips that movement, but also gives up that glare-removal function.
If the process fails, retry the one sample. Avoid repeatedly moving the physical print or working over a crowded pile while learning the movement.
4. Inspect the saved picture
Open the result and check faces, small lettering and all four edges at a useful size. Look for soft detail, remaining reflections, uneven colour and an unexpectedly stretched shape.
Use the result’s rotation or corner adjustment if the detected border is wrong. Check the full picture again afterwards. Do not crop away handwriting or part of a person just to make the edges look neat.
Compare with an ordinary camera copy if you made one. View them at the same size. A brighter result is not automatically a more faithful record, and this guide does not claim one method always gives better quality.
5. Keep the capture and its context
Keep the satisfactory saved capture before further restoration or colour changes. Put edits in a separate version. Record how the front connects to any back image or album-page photograph.
Confirm that you can find the image in your device’s saved photos, rather than only seeing a processing preview. A local save and a cloud upload are separate events; check the library settings for your own device.
Make a checked additional copy through your existing backup method before treating the batch as protected. Keep the physical print too.
Check your result
You should have a complete, readable saved image and a note connecting it to the original. If it remains blurred, distorted or affected by glare, change the setup or method before copying the rest.
Next step
Keep names and stories with your new copies.
Sources and scope
Researched 9 September 2026 from Google’s PhotoScan instructions. Handling and review suggestions are editorial guidance. No PhotoScan quality comparison has been performed for this article.