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    5 min read 5 stepsApril 20, 2026Verified April 2026

    Scan Glossy Printed Photos Without Glare Using Google PhotoScan

    Google PhotoScan captures four overlapping shots and stitches them together to eliminate glare from shiny photo prints — here's how to use it.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Phone & Tablet
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    5 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    PhotoScan
    Google
    scan photos
    glare-free
    digitize

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Download Google PhotoScan
    2. 2.Set up your photo for scanning
    3. 3.Center the photo and take the first shot
    4. 4.Move your phone over each dot
    5. 5.Review and save your scan
    1

    Download Google PhotoScan

    ~18s
    On your iPhone, open the App Store and search for "Google PhotoScan." On Android, open the Google Play Store and search for the same. Tap Get or Install to download the free app. Once installed, open it and sign in with your Google account. Grant the app permission to access your camera and photos when prompted.
    2

    Set up your photo for scanning

    ~36s
    Place the printed photo you want to scan on a flat, stable surface — a table, countertop, or the floor works well. Good, even lighting without harsh shadows helps. Natural light from a window is ideal, but avoid direct sunlight hitting the photo at an angle. Hold your phone directly above the photo, keeping the phone parallel to the surface (do not angle the phone or tilt it). The flatter and more centered you hold your phone, the better the result.

    Quick Tip

    For small or wallet-size photos, sit at a table and rest your elbows on the surface to keep your hands steady while scanning. Even small hand movement can reduce scan quality.

    3

    Center the photo and take the first shot

    ~25s
    In the PhotoScan viewfinder, position the printed photo so it fills most of the frame. A white border outline will appear on screen to help you align the photo. When it looks centered and in focus, tap the large circular scan button at the bottom of the screen. The app takes the first image and then shows four white dots — one in each corner area of the photo you just captured.
    4

    Move your phone over each dot

    ~39s
    Now you need to hover your phone over each of the four dots in sequence. One dot will glow brighter than the others — move your phone slowly toward that dot. When you are positioned correctly over it, the app automatically takes a photo. The dot will turn into a checkmark. Then the next dot will light up. Continue moving your phone to each of the remaining three dots until all four are checked. Keep the printed photo in the frame the entire time.

    Warning

    Do not move the printed photo while you are moving your phone over the dots. If the photo shifts between shots, the app cannot properly stitch the images together and the result will be blurry or distorted.

    5

    Review and save your scan

    ~39s
    After all four dots are checked, PhotoScan processes the images — this takes about 5-10 seconds. The finished scan appears on your screen. Tap on it to see the full result. The scan is automatically saved to your Google Photos library in the cloud. You can also tap the download icon to save the image directly to your phone's camera roll. Review it carefully — zoom in to check for any remaining blur or artifacts before moving on to the next photo.

    Quick Tip

    After you finish scanning a batch of photos, open Google Photos on your computer at photos.google.com to see all your scans. From there you can organize them into albums, share them with family, or download them to your computer for backup.

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    Anyone who has tried to photograph a printed photo with their phone knows the problem: an annoying bright spot or washed-out area appears where the flash or overhead light reflects off the glossy surface of the print. This glare ruins the photo and cannot be easily removed after the fact.

    Google PhotoScan solves this problem with a clever technique. Instead of taking a single photo, it takes four overlapping photos from slightly different angles. The app then automatically combines these images into one final scan that eliminates the glare entirely — because the glare appears in a different spot in each of the four shots, the app can identify and remove it during the stitching process.

    The result is a clean, glare-free digital copy of your printed photo that often looks better than a single phone photo taken without the app. PhotoScan works best on glossy prints from the 1970s onward. It works less well on very dark or heavily damaged photos where the stitching algorithm has trouble finding reference points.

    Google PhotoScan is free and available on both iPhone (from the App Store) and Android (from the Google Play Store). When you complete a scan, the app automatically saves the image to your Google Photos library, where it is backed up to the cloud and accessible from any device. If you do not have a Google account, you will need to create one — it is free.

    The scanning process takes about 10 seconds per photo once you get the hang of it. For a small collection of 50-100 photos, the entire digitization project could take under an hour.

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    PhotoScan
    Google
    scan photos
    glare-free
    digitize

    Official Resources

    Apple Support — iPhoneGoogle Help — AndroidSamsung Support

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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    Scan Glossy Printed Photos Without Glare Using Google PhotoScan — Step-by-Step Guide | TekSure