How do I get rid of glare and shadows when scanning?
Move the light, then move yourself — side lighting removes your own shadow, and stepping a little off-axis slides a reflection off the page. Only then use brightness and contrast in PDF Scanner to even out what is left. This order matters because a blown-out white patch contains no detail to recover: editing can rescue a dim scan, but nothing rescues information the sensor never captured.
The short version
- Glare comes from a light source reflecting off a glossy surface at a predictable angle, so changing position moves it.
- Shadows on a page are usually cast by the phone or the person holding it, which side lighting avoids.
- Brightness and contrast in PDF Scanner can even out uneven lighting but cannot restore a fully blown-out highlight.
- Laminated cards, glossy photo prints and whiteboards are the surfaces most prone to glare.
- Shooting slightly off-axis is safe because perspective correction squares the page afterwards.
- All adjustment runs on the iPhone; scans are not uploaded.
Step by step
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Find the light source before you frame the shot
Look at where the light is actually coming from — a ceiling fitting, a window, a desk lamp. Everything else follows from that.
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Put the light to one side, not behind you and not overhead
Light directly overhead lands back in the lens off glossy surfaces. Light behind you throws your own shadow onto the page. Side light does neither.
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Watch the preview and step sideways
Move left or right and watch the bright patch slide across the page. Shoot from the position where it sits on empty margin rather than on the text.
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Tilt slightly rather than fighting it
A few degrees off-axis usually clears a stubborn reflection, and perspective fix squares the result, so the tilt costs nothing.
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Prefer indirect daylight
Next to a window but out of direct sun is the most forgiving light for documents. Diffuse light produces neither hard shadows nor hot reflections.
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Even out what remains with brightness and contrast
Use adjustment last, to lift a slightly dim page or deepen faint print — not as a substitute for having lit the page properly.
Frequently asked
- Can editing remove glare after the fact?
- No, not truly. A blown-out area is uniform white with no detail behind it, so there is nothing for an adjustment to bring back. Reducing overall brightness just makes the patch grey. Recapture from a different position instead.
- Which surfaces are worst for glare?
- Laminated ID cards and passport photo pages, glossy photo prints, whiteboards, and any document still inside a plastic sleeve or behind frame glass. Removing the extra layer, where possible, removes half the problem.
- Should I use the flash?
- Generally no. A flash is a bright point source close to the lens, which is the exact recipe for a hot reflection in the middle of the page. Ambient side light is almost always better.
- How do I keep my own shadow off the page?
- Do not stand between the light and the document. Move so the light comes from the side and hold the phone at the edge of the page rather than directly over its centre.
- What about scanning at night with only a ceiling light?
- Move the page rather than the light — a spot beside a lamp, lit from the side, beats the middle of a room lit from directly above. Then lift the result with brightness and contrast.
Last updated 2026-07-28