How to turn photos into a PDF (phone and computer)

You don’t need a scanner at home: your phone takes the photo of the document, and your browser turns the photos into a PDF. This guide shows how to do it well, so the PDF comes out readable, in the right order and at a good size to send.

1. Take good photos

The PDF is only as good as the photos. Before shooting:

• Light: near a window, in daylight. Avoid the flash, which leaves a white glare in the middle of the page.
• From above: keep the phone parallel to the paper. A tilted photo makes the text slanted.
• Dark background: white paper on a dark table makes the edges easy to see.
• The whole page: don’t cut the edges, but don’t leave lots of background either.
• Focus: tap the screen on the text before shooting.

Photograph each page separately, in document order. That way you can select the photos in the right order.

2. Build the PDF

1. Open JPG to PDF.
2. Under Page size, keep A4 for documents, forms and printing. Use Same as photo for an album or for viewing on screen.
3. Under Margin, Small is a good default: printers won’t cut the edges.
4. Tap Choose photos and pick your photos. On iPhone, the picker shows your library; on Android, choose your gallery or your files.
5. Check the order in the list. Drag by the handle or use the arrows to fix it.
6. Tap Create PDF, then Download PDF.

iPhone photos (HEIC)

iPhones save photos as HEIC. In Safari, the photo picker usually hands the photo over as a JPG, and everything works. If you copied HEIC photos to a Windows computer, some browsers can’t open that format. In that case, make the PDF in Safari on your iPhone or Mac.

Photos go in the right way

• Upright: the tool reads the rotation stored in the photo, so it goes in the way it looks on your phone.
• A4 portrait or landscape: a portrait photo goes on a portrait page; a landscape photo, on a landscape page.
• Sensible size: each photo is scaled to at most 3,000 pixels on the long side. That’s sharp enough to read and print without creating a huge PDF.
• No hidden data: the location and phone model stored in the photo don’t go into the PDF.

The PDF came out big

A document with many photographed pages may exceed a form’s limit. Run the finished file through compress PDF. For a scan that only needs to be read, strong mode shrinks it a lot. The guide how to make a PDF smaller for email explains both modes.

Merging with other PDFs

Need to send a photo of your ID along with a form that’s already a PDF? Make the photo PDF here, then combine both with merge PDF, in the order the form asks for.

Limits

Up to 50 photos at once, 20 MB each. Photos are prepared one at a time as soon as you pick them, and the list shows a thumbnail of each. A photo that won’t open is flagged and left out of the PDF.

Your photos stay on your device

The PDF is built in your browser. Your photos aren’t uploaded to any server, and closing the page clears everything. That goes for photos of IDs, medical results and any personal paperwork.