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Is There An App to Take Photos of Old Photos

One of the better ways to ensure the preservation of old photos is to digitize them. There are a lot of ways to do so, including your phone, scanner, and digitizing services. If you don’t have a lot of photos to scan, you can just use your phone. But how should you do it? Is there an app to take photos of old photos?

Of course, some apps can take photos of old photos. Both paid and free apps help you scan older photos and digitize them. In this way, you can not only preserve them but also edit and share them amongst your dear ones. Some of the best and most popular photo-scanning apps are Google PhotoScan, Microsoft Office Lens, Genius Scan, etc.

Let’s take a look at these apps and what they offer.

Are there any Apps to take photos of old photos: What are they?

As the years go by, printed photos get damaged, faded, and become fragile. So there’s a dire need of preserving them or the memories attached to them will just fade away. The most efficient way of preserving old photos is to scan them, which can be done in multiple ways. Of all the ways of taking photos of old photos, scanning them with a smartphone is the easiest and cheapest.

There are a whole host of apps that scan photos and store them electronically. These include both free and paid apps. Now it has to be noted, despite being the easiest way to take photos of older photos, using apps isn’t the best way to go about it. No matter how much an app costs, it will not provide the best results that professional tools cost.

Even then, using these apps to scan a handful of photos isn’t a bad idea. The best apps to scan old photos are:

Best Free photo scanning apps

Most photo-scanning apps are free of cost. Some of them do have an option for a premium version, which gets rid of ads, gives the users access to additional features, etc. The best apps for scanning photos for free are:

1. Google PhotoScan

One of the most annoying things when it comes to scanning old photos is the glare from various light sources. Google PhotoScan provides the user with a glare-free experience which enhances the quality of the photo. The process of scanning with this app is a bit unusual, but once you get used to it, the app becomes one of the very best free photo-scanning apps you’ll ever use.

2. Adobe Scan

This app isn’t mainly designed for scanning photos, rather it was made to scan documents. Despite that, Adobe Scan has excellent photo-scanning functions. You can apply various filters to the photo that you’ve scanned. But it doesn’t do very well when it comes to lighting as some photos, especially the ones scanned at the beginning.

3. CamScanner

CamScanner is one of the most recognizable scanning apps in the world. Apart from expertly scanning various documents, it can make light work of scanning photos as well. Its AI can automatically crop photos to near perfection, make the photo straight, and get rid of any kind of distortion in the photo, reducing the workload. But unlike Google PhotoScan, it can’t remove any glare.

4. Photomyne

Photomyne is known for making top-notch photo-scanning apps. The app has excellent functions such as the one which straightens the photo along with cropping it. But don’t count on this app removing reflections and glares, which is a common theme among free apps.

5. Swiftscan

One of the simplest and best photo-scanning apps out there, Swiftscan has a lot of features that make it stand out. Despite having an abundance of features, this app is so simple that you won’t ever feel lost while using it. You can either save your scanned photos as a photo or a document file. Like most other apps in this list, the app automatically crops your photos.

Best paid photo scanning apps

Free photo scanning apps largely outnumber the number of paid ones. But there are some excellent paid apps for scanning photos out there that provide excellent services to consumers which makes them attractive options. Some of the top paid apps for scanning photos are:

1. TurboScan

One of the simplest and most effective paid apps for scanning old photos is TurboScan. Although it starts as free, you can only scan 3 photos before you have to make a payment. To scan further, you have to pay $4.99. Once the app is free you can scan photos in a lot of different ways while also being able to edit, enhance and share them.

2. Pic Scanner

Of all the apps that offer to scan more than one photo at a time, Pic Scanner is the first. Launched almost a decade ago, this app not only allows you to scan multiple photos but also ensures you can save various names, the date of the photo taken, the place where it was taken, etc. This not only preserves the photo but helps to preserve as many memories related to the photos as possible.

The best part of Pic Scanner is its high speed, its astounding 19 tools to edit photos, and the function to add captions to each of the photos taken. Available on iOS only, you have to pay $5.99 to avail of its services.

3. Filmbox

Remember when I said photomyne has made a name for itself by making top-quality photo scanning apps? Apart from the aforementioned photomyne app, they also have Filmbox, a paid app that is specifically designed to scan black and white photos alongside white film negatives. Once these photos are scanned, they are automatically transformed into positives.

This app also puts color into the B&W photos, making scanning more fun. You can also edit them as you see fit, ensuring you get the best possible result. To obtain its services, you have to pay $5.99 per month.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Photo Scanning apps

Photo scanning apps have garnered a lot of popularity over the years, which is a testament to their advantages. On the other hand, there are some distinct drawbacks to using these apps as well. These are:

Advantages:

Convenient
Cheaper
Flexible
Can be shared at a moment’s notice

Disadvantages:

Time-consuming
Doesn’t provide the best results when compared to scanners and digitizing services
Most apps can’t remove glares and reflections.

Final Words

When people learn that they can scan older photos with their smartphone instead of hiring a digitizing service, the first thing they ask is ‘Is there an app to take photos of old photos?’ Not only there are apps to do that, but they can also do quite a good job. Yes, there are a few kinks that they need to address, but that doesn’t reduce their importance in any way.

FAQ

1. How do you take pictures of old photos?

There are two ways to take pictures of old photos. First, you can just use your phone’s camera to take a picture of the photo. Although this one serves the purpose, the results aren’t very great. The second way to do this is to scan them using a scanning app, a scanner, or by hiring a digitization service.

2. Is there any way to get actual photos from old photos?

Yes, you can actual photos of older photos by using scanners. The best scanners are flatbed scanners that are specially designed to scan photos. But as they are quite expensive, you can also use a regular flatbed scanner.

3. How do I scan thousands of photos?

You can’t use regular scanners to scan thousands of photos. Technically you can, but it will take an unbelievable amount of time to do so. The best way to scan this amount of photos is to use a bulk photo scanner. The ones that have a top load feeder are the best bulk photo scanners.