Local Photo RestoreHow to Photograph Old Prints with Your iPhone
Lay the print flat in soft, indirect light, hold your iPhone parallel to it, tap to focus, and take several shots. Keep the sharpest one without reflections, then enhance that copy. The capture sets the ceiling: Local Photo Restore does not remove glare or repair physical damage.
Set up the print before opening an editor
Place the photograph flat on a clean, matte surface in soft, even light. Daylight from a window, without direct sun, works well. Avoid a direct flash or a bright lamp reflected in glossy paper.
Keep the original safe. Don’t flatten a fragile or curled photograph by force. If it can’t be handled safely, use a specialist scanning service.
Move the light or your position until bright patches disappear. A reflection replaces the visible picture with a white patch; increasing contrast afterward will not recover the image hidden by that reflection.
Capture the whole picture, then check the details
- Hold the iPhone parallel to the print so its edges look straight rather than trapezoidal. Turning on the camera grid (Settings → Camera → Grid) helps.
- Frame the whole image with a little space around it. Avoid digital zoom; move the phone closer instead.
- Tap the picture to focus and hold still while taking several captures.
- Open the captures in Photos and zoom in on eyes, lettering, and fine edges. Choose the sharpest frame with the least reflection.
- Crop away the table in Photos, keeping a copy of the complete capture for your archive.
You can also use Scan a Printed Photo inside Local Photo Restore, which opens the camera directly. Cropping and straightening still happen in Photos; the app doesn’t auto-crop.
Enhance the capture on your device
Open Local Photo Restore and choose the saved picture. Run Enhance for clarity and resolution, then compare with the original. Use Remove Yellow Tint and Restore Contrast only if the image needs them. Make a small adjustment, compare, and stop before skin tones or familiar colors look unnatural.
The app saves a separate copy. Keep the untouched capture alongside it so you can revisit your choices. Don’t replace your only archive copy with a processed version.
When a scan is the better starting point
If you already have a clear, high-resolution scan, use that instead of photographing a screen or a small printed copy. For an important print, a flatbed scanner gives more consistent framing and lighting and avoids reflections entirely. Enhancement improves a digital copy; it doesn’t make every capture equally detailed.
Before sharing the finished copy
Check the exported image at full size and label edited versions clearly in your archive. Ask family members before posting recognizable people publicly. If you need to cover selected faces or identifying details, the separate Safe Little Faces guide explains that workflow. Both apps are made by David Balderston.
Local Photo Restore costs $3.99 once in the U.S. App Store, with no subscription or in-app purchases. iPhone and iPad, iOS or iPadOS 18.2 or later.