How to Take Readable Whiteboard Photos

Are you ever tasked with taking/sending a photo of the conference room whiteboard at the end of an important meeting? Often it is difficult and awkward to get a good photo. The photo usually ends up being hard to read or even blurry. Sometimes you don’t realize how bad the photo is until after you have left the conference room, and you have to rush back to try to take a clearer photo before someone erases the whiteboard. Do you wish there was a better way to take photos of the whiteboard?  Now there is an app for that!

I recently downloaded Microsoft’s Office Lens app (for the iPhone). This app has existed for over a year now on Window’s phones, but just recently was introduced for the iPhone and Android platforms. It makes taking photos of whiteboards a lot easier! The app zeros in on the media you are trying to take a picture of (photo, document, or whiteboard) to help you center the photo. After taking the photo, it automatically adjusts the angle of the photo for you so the text is easier to read. Click done when you are happy with your photo, and it immediately brings you to a screen where you can Export the photo to OneNote, OneDrive, Word, PowerPoint, or PDF via the Cloud. Alternatively, and the approach I usually take, you can export the photo to your Email or Photo Library.

Here is an example a whiteboard photo that I took using my regular iPhone camera with no app:

Whiteboard Photo with Camera

Here is an example a photo of the same whiteboard, but this time using the Microsoft Office Lens app:

Whiteboard Photo with Office Lens

This app is very easy to use, and extremely helpful in the workplace! If you have an iPhone or Android I strongly recommend that you give it a try!

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