How to photograph an old photo.
You don’t need a scanner to try a restoration. A careful picture with your phone is a good place to start.
Find a bright spot without direct sun
Place the print on a clean, dry, flat surface near a window. Soft daylight makes it easier to see the photograph without a bright reflection. Turn off your camera’s flash.
Move your phone or the light until your own shadow is out of the picture. If glare remains, try another position or time of day.
Keep the print safe
Handle it gently by the edges. Don’t wet it, rub it, tape down tears or force it flat. Leave photographs attached to an album page or stuck to glass where they are.
If you can easily open a frame without touching or stressing the photograph, removing the glass can reduce reflections. Otherwise, photograph it as it is. For a valuable or delicate original, ask a photograph conservator before attempting any physical treatment.
Hold your phone parallel to the photograph
Use the normal photo mode and the main camera. Position the lens above the centre of the print so its edges look straight rather than slanted. Keep all four corners visible, with a little space around them.
Move closer to fill the picture instead of using digital zoom. Avoid portrait mode, beauty filters and colour effects.
Check the faces before you finish
Tap the photograph on your screen to focus, steady your hands, and take a few pictures. Open the best one and zoom in: can you see the eyes and small details without blur or a white reflection?
Damage and fading are fine to send. Blur introduced by the camera, reflections and missing edges make the restoration harder.
Upload the original camera file
Send the file directly from your phone’s photo library. Avoid a screenshot or a copy sent through a messaging app, which may reduce the detail.
Still Treasured accepts JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF and TIFF files up to 25 MB. The image’s shorter edge must be at least 600 pixels. A sharp, larger original gives us more detail to work with; there’s no need to resize it just to meet that minimum.
If you already have a scan.
Use the original scan if it is clear and includes the whole photograph. There’s no need to photograph a scan displayed on another screen.
What if the photo is in a frame?
Try photographing it in soft light with the flash off. Check carefully for reflections over faces. If glare hides important details and the photograph cannot safely be removed, a local scanning or conservation service may be a better first step.
What happens after I upload?
Your free screen preview is usually ready on the page in a few minutes. We also email a private link so you can return later. You can see how a restoration becomes a framed canvas before deciding to buy.
For more on caring for the original, see the Library of Congress guide to handling photographs.