How to Combine Photos and Scans into One PDF

When you need images as a PDF

Application portals, landlords, employers, insurers and schools often ask for documents as a single PDF: an ID front and back, several pages of a form, receipts for an expense claim, or proof-of-address letters. Sending one tidy PDF instead of a dozen photos is easier for the recipient and often required by upload forms.

Photograph documents so they're readable

• Flat and square: lay the page on a contrasting surface and hold the phone directly above it, parallel to the page, so text isn't skewed.
• Even light: daylight from a window works best. Avoid the flash (it causes glare) and your own shadow.
• Fill the frame: get close enough that the page fills most of the photo, then crop the rest off.
• Sharp focus: tap on the text to focus and hold still. Check by zooming in before moving on.
• One page per photo: it keeps the PDF in a sensible reading order.

Prepare the images

1. Crop each photo to the edges of the page with the Image Cropper.
2. Resize very large photos with the Image Resizer. Around 2000 px on the long side keeps text clearly readable while cutting file size dramatically.
3. Compress if the upload has a size limit: the Image Compressor at 80–85% quality keeps text crisp.
4. Redact anything the recipient doesn't need — see our guide to blurring sensitive details.

Build the PDF

1. Open the Image to PDF tool.
2. Add images in the order you want the pages to appear. You can select several at once and use Add More Images for the rest.
3. Remove any unwanted image with the ✕ button.
4. Click Build PDF, then Download PDF.

Each image is placed on its own A4 page, portrait or landscape to match its shape, scaled to fit with a small margin so nothing is cropped or stretched. Transparent PNG areas become white. The PDF is assembled in your browser, so the documents never leave your device.

Keeping the PDF small

Figures are illustrative; the exact size depends on the images. Since the PDF holds the images more or less as they are, the way to make a smaller PDF is to make smaller images first.

A note on sensitive documents

Many online converters upload your files to a server to process them. For passports, bank statements, medical letters and contracts, that's an unnecessary risk. A browser-based tool like this one does the work on your device. Whatever tool you use, delete the intermediate photos from your phone afterwards if you don't need them, and remove metadata with the Metadata Remover if the photos might reveal where they were taken.

Frequently asked questions