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How to Photograph Documents with Your Phone (Clear Scans)

Take sharp, readable photos of documents with your phone and combine them into one PDF. Simple tips for lighting, angle and file size.

Lighting and surface

Use daylight or a bright lamp and a flat dark surface. Avoid shadows from your hand or phone.

Hold the phone straight

Keep the phone parallel to the page so the text is not stretched, and make sure all four corners are visible.

Take sharp photos

Tap to focus on the text and hold still. Take a second photo if anything looks blurred.

Make a PDF

Add the pages to the image to PDF tool, put them in order and download one PDF.

If the file is too big

Choose the "Small file" quality, or compress the photos first with the 200KB tool.

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