Direct answer: Upload the cover photo to Google Lens or Google Images' reverse search, which matches visual patterns against millions of indexed book covers and usually returns the title and edition within seconds.
Step-by-step process
Open Google Lens (built into the Google app or Chrome), select the cover image, and run the search. Crop tightly to just the cover art and title text for the best match — cluttered backgrounds or angled photos reduce accuracy.
What to do if the match is wrong or missing
Try cropping out any hand, shelf, or background clutter and searching again. If the cover uses stylized or handwritten typography, the visual match can fail even when the artwork itself is distinctive — in that case, describe the color scheme and any visible text fragments in a regular text search instead.
Alternative: search by partial text
If any words on the cover are legible, even a fragment of a subtitle or tagline, searching that exact phrase in quotation marks on a search engine often surfaces the title faster than an image match.
Confirming you found the right edition
Once you have a title, cross-check the specific cover art against Open Library's edition list, since many books are reprinted with several different covers over the years — the one you photographed may be a specific printing worth noting if you're trying to buy that exact edition.
Does reverse image search work on a blurry photo?
It can, but accuracy drops significantly — a clear, well-lit, straight-on photo of the cover works best.
Can I reverse-search a picture from a screenshot?
Yes, screenshots work the same as photos, and often perform better since there's no glare or angle distortion.
Is there a dedicated book-cover search engine?
Not a standalone one as reliable as Google Lens, though library catalog sites sometimes offer cover-browsing tools for a specific collection.