Place a sound print in even light, keep your iPhone square above it and inspect the saved picture before copying more. Fix glare during capture rather than expecting editing to recover a hidden face.
This uses the ordinary iPhone Camera app. It is a separate method from PhotoScan, which combines several views and has different flash guidance.
What you need
An iPhone, one loose and stable print, a clear surface and soft indirect daylight. A secure phone holder can help if you already have one; it must not rest on the photograph or risk falling onto it.
1. Set out the print safely
Choose a plain background that makes its edges easy to see. Keep it out of direct sun and away from drinks. Clean the phone lens before bringing the print into the setup, following the phone maker’s advice.
Never put lens cleaner on a photograph. Do not flatten a curled print, peel it from an album or disturb flaking or stuck material. Leave those objects supported and seek advice instead.
Use suitable handling for the material and avoid touching its image surface. Record where the print came from before changing its position.
2. Use ordinary Photo mode
Open Camera and choose Photo. Use the ordinary view without portrait blur or a creative filter. Begin at 1×, then move the phone rather than using digital zoom.
For current iPhone controls, swipe up from the camera modes or open Camera Controls. Tap Flash until it is set to Flash Off, then tap outside the menu.
This flash-off starting point belongs to the ordinary-camera method. If your controls differ, use Apple’s guide below rather than applying another app’s instructions.
3. Make the light and shape even
Hold the phone above the centre with its back parallel to the print. Include the full picture and a small surrounding border. Opposite edges should look parallel, without one end much wider than the other.
Look for window reflections, your shadow and bright patches across the face or corners. Move the light source or work area while keeping the phone square. Turn off a nearby lamp if it creates a second reflection or a different colour across one side.
Do not darken the whole image merely to hide glare. A reflected white patch can conceal information that a brightness adjustment cannot recover.
4. Focus, capture and inspect
Tap a detailed area on the screen to focus. Hold steady and tap the shutter. Open the saved photograph using the thumbnail, then enlarge a face, an edge and any small writing.
Check that the whole print is present and the detail is sharp enough for your purpose. If everything is soft, improve support or move a little farther away. If only one side is soft, check alignment and natural curvature without forcing the print flat.
Take another trial if needed and compare the saved results. Do not move on to twenty more pictures while judging only the live camera view.
5. Keep the record complete
Keep the satisfactory capture unchanged. Make any crop or colour adjustment on a separate version so the original appearance remains available.
If the print can safely be turned, photograph its writing separately and note which front it belongs to. Record the historical date as unknown or approximate where appropriate; the phone date is the copying date.
Make a checked additional copy of the batch through your normal backup method, and return the physical print to suitable storage.
Check your result
The saved image should have readable detail, complete edges and no reflection hiding important content. Note the phone, lighting and any limitation so you can repeat the setup.
A slightly imperfect record with a known source can still be useful. If glare remains unacceptable, try another copying method on the same safe sample.
Next step
Try one PhotoScan capture and compare the saved result.
Sources and scope
Researched 9 September 2026: Apple Camera controls and photograph care. The setup is editorial guidance, not a hands-on iPhone test.