OCTOBER 2019 PCWorld 111What does seem to affect the image,
however, is the lighting. I shot the same
photograph inside in an unlit, draped room,
using my phone’s light to illuminate the
image. I then went outside and
photographed the same print in the
afternoon shade, with marked
differences in color. The outdoor one
looked a bit more washed-out in
places, though the color also
appeared to be more true to life. It
might be worth experimenting to
determine what works best. Note that
there’s a “magic wand” icon to turn on
or off PhotoScan’s ability to
compensate for the camera’s flash.
PhotoScan also appears to cut
down the resolution. Though I shot the
photo using a 12.2MP camera on the
Google Pixel 3, the scanned photo
saved in 3,000 x 2,000 resolution.
Third, post-processing. Just
kidding! There is no step three, at least
in the PhotoScan app. PhotoScan
saves the photo on your phone, which
allows it to be backed up automatically
into Google Photos, Microsoft
OneDrive, or Apple’s iCloud. Any
post-processing—adjusting the
contrast, color, or red-eye—must be
done using an app like Windows 10’s
Photos app, Google Photos,
Lightroom, or something similar.
That’s it, though. PhotoScan is
designed to be simple and intuitive, and it is.
Give it a try yourself, using an old photo. The
results may surprise you—and be good
enough that you can save some money on
future photo shoots.Scanning your photo using natural light or the artificial
light of your camera can produce differences. The bottom
photo, shot indoors using the camera flash, looks brighter.
However, the turquoise isn’t as close to the true color of
the photo, shot under natural light in the first frame.