Are your old photos lying around everywhere? Or did you neatly paste them into albums years ago? The quality of those prints drops every year, so it's time to digitize them. With Fotoscan – a new app from Google – this can be done very quickly and easily.
Tip 01: Install
Google Photo Scan is free and available for Android and iOS. When you photo scan When you open it for the first time, you get a short introductory video about how it works. Registering or logging in is not necessary, all you need to do is click Scanstart to tap.
Tip 02: Get started
After you've watched the intro video and given Google Photo Scan permission to store photos on your device, you're ready to go. Hold your camera – in landscape or portrait mode – over an old photo (which can be separate, but also in an album) and take a photo. Make sure you take some space around the photo, the edges will be automatically cropped later. You don't have to worry about any glare from lamps or outside light. After you take the photo, the app will ask you to move to the four circles with your device. That is to discover the corners of your photo. It is important to move your smartphone towards the circles while keeping your device straight. If you tilt the device, there is a chance that your results will be less good. After the fourth circle, the photo is processed. You don't have to wait for that. You can immediately get started with the next photo.
Tip 03: Best result
Almost everything is done automatically via Fotoscan. Still, you can improve the results if you keep in mind some simple tips.
- For example, to have the right perspective, it is important that your photo is flat. So rather put your album or individual photo on a table than on your lap.
- A contrasting background is ideal to help Fotoscan detect the edges.
- Are the photos in an album with plastic inserts? Then remove the photo for the best result.
- Do you still suffer from glare from other light sources? Then use the flash to make better scans. To do this, simply tap the icon in the bottom left corner.
- Do you also suffer from reflections with a flash? Then scan the photo in a place with less light, for example further away from a window or not just under a lamp.
- It is best to scan framed photos with protective glass without a flash.
- The quality of the scan also depends on the quality of the camera on your smartphone.
Scan, save, edit and share dozens of photos in minutesTip 04: Crop
You can scan one photo or photograph all the images from an album in succession. As soon as you tap on a thumbnail photo at the far bottom right of the screen, you get an overview of the scanned photos. If you notice that Fotoscan has not fully recognized the corners, you can crop the image manually. Tap the photo and choose corners To adjust. Then you can move each corner separately. Tap on Ready if you are happy with the result. In this window you can also view the photo if you wish To spin or remove. With one touch of the Everythingsavebutton in Photo Scan, the images end up in your camera roll (iPhone) or in Google Photos.
Tip 05: Google Photos
Google Photo Scan is incredibly useful for quickly scanning dozens or hundreds of photos. In combination with Google Photos - another popular app from the same tech giant - you can safely store the images and search them afterwards. This separate app is standard on all Android devices. iOS users can download Google Photos for free from the App Store. Unlike Photoscan, you do need to sign in to Google Photos with a Google account to use the application. Conveniently, you can click through to Google Photos directly from Fotoscan.
Applying standard edits to your photos may come in handy after scanningTip 06: Edit photos
Google Photos is incredibly useful as a backup. After all, the tool allows you to store free and unlimited high-resolution images in the cloud. In addition, it is also possible to apply some edits to your photos, and that can sometimes come in handy after scanning. To do this, simply tap a scanned photo and then tap the pencil at the bottom of the screen. If you don't know anything about photo editing, you can use the automatic adjustments via the Car-knob. Do you prefer to control the result yourself? Then get started with the scroll bars below light, Colour and Stand out. By moving the color slider all the way to the left, you can quickly convert the photo to black and white. If you want you can add another Vignette add. The button with the stars in the center at the bottom allows you to use filters, and you can rotate or crop with the button at the bottom right. Don't forget to click Save tap when you're done.
Tip 07: Find photos
An asset of Google Photos is that you can find images very quickly, without having to tag them. Simply search for 'baby' or 'dog' and you will see all the images of your eyeball or four-legged friend. This search function does not work flawlessly, of course, but in general it works well! Photos taken with your smartphone can even be traced based on time or location. The search options are even more extensive on the computer. Visit //photos.google.com and log in with your Google account. Here it is even possible to go through your photo collection based on facial recognition.
Tip 08: Share
Would you like to share the scanned snapshots with other family members? That is also very easy via Google Photos. Tap the button with the three dots in the top right and choose PhotosSelecting. Select all the photos you want to share, then tap the share button. Choose a way to share the photos – for example via email, a shared link or WhatsApp – and follow the on-screen instructions.
