How to Convert a Photo to Text - Step-by-Step

Converting a photo to text means running OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on the image to extract its readable characters as editable text. On jpg.now this takes under 30 seconds and works on photos taken with any phone camera, screenshots, scanned documents, or any image file.

Step 1 - Open Image to Text

Go to jpg.now/image-to-text in your browser. No login or download is needed. The tool works on desktop and mobile.

Step 2 - Upload Your Photo

Drag and drop your photo onto the upload area, or click to browse your files. Supported formats: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, PDF. File size limit is 10 MB for guests and 50 MB for free accounts.

For best results: ensure the text is in focus, not blurred. If the image is dark or low contrast, the extraction will be less accurate - Try brightening it first with the Photo Editor.

Step 3 - Extract and Copy

Click Extract Text. The OCR engine processes the image and displays the extracted text in a text box below. You can:

  • Copy to clipboard - Paste into any document or email
  • Download .txt - Save as a plain text file
  • Edit in place - Fix any OCR errors before copying

Tips for Hard-to-Read Photos

If the extraction misses characters or returns garbled text:

  • Crop the image to just the text area before uploading
  • Increase brightness/contrast in the Photo Editor first
  • For handwriting or degraded scans, use AI OCR mode (Premium) which uses a language model to intelligently correct and fill in uncertain characters
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