Taking a Passport or ID Photo at Home
A home-made ID photo is accepted when it has the right size and framing, even light, a plain background and an unedited, recent face. This guide explains the rules that most offices share, how to meet special ones such as visible ears, and how to print or upload the result.
Start With the Official Instructions
Every office, embassy, school or employer that asks for a photo decides its own rules, and the same kind of document can need a different photo in another country. Before you take the picture, find the instructions of the place you will submit it to and note:
- Photo size: width × height, for example 35 × 45 mm or 2 × 2 inches.
- Head size and position: the height of the head and how it is measured (to the top of the hair or to the crown of the skull), the space above the head and sometimes the height of the eyes.
- Background: the colour (white, off-white, light grey, light blue, red …) and whether shadows or patterns are allowed.
- Digital file rules: for online applications, the pixel size, the smallest and largest file size and the file type, usually JPG.
- Who may take the photo: some offices accept photos taken at home, others accept only photos from approved studios or take the photo themselves at the counter. If yours is one of these, a home-made photo will not help.
- Edits and age: whether digital changes are allowed and how recent the photo must be; six months is a common limit.
Common Photo Sizes and Pixels
The table lists sizes that ID photo instructions often ask for, with the number of pixels each needs when printed at 300 dots per inch, a usual resolution for photo prints. Which document uses which size differs between countries and offices, so use the table only to check dimensions, not to choose a size.
| Size (width × height) | Pixels at 300 dpi | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| 20 × 30 mm | 236 × 354 | Tall (2:3) |
| 25 × 30 mm | 295 × 354 | Slightly tall (5:6) |
| 26 × 32 mm | 307 × 378 | Slightly tall |
| 25 × 35 mm | 295 × 413 | Tall (5:7) |
| 30 × 40 mm | 354 × 472 | Tall (3:4) |
| 35 × 45 mm | 413 × 531 | Tall (7:9) |
| 33 × 48 mm | 390 × 567 | Tall |
| 40 × 60 mm | 472 × 709 | Tall (2:3) |
| 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | 600 × 600 | Square |
| 50 × 60 mm | 591 × 709 | Slightly tall (5:6) |
| 50 × 70 mm | 591 × 827 | Tall (5:7) |
A larger picture with the same shape can be scaled down without losing anything, but a smaller one cannot be enlarged to add detail. Phone photos have far more pixels than these sizes need, as long as the face is not a tiny part of the picture.
Head Size and Position
Most rejected photos fail on framing, not on image quality. Instructions usually give the head height as a range, such as 32 to 36 mm, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. Some offices measure to the top of the hair, others to the crown of the skull and ignore hair, which matters for voluminous hairstyles. Close-up formats such as 35 × 45 mm typically have the head filling about 70 to 80 percent of the photo height; square formats and larger sizes show more of the shoulders and a smaller head.
- Centre the face horizontally and keep the eyes level; a tilted head is a frequent reason for rejection.
- Leave a little space above the head, as the instructions say; the hair should not touch or run off the top edge.
- Show the top of the shoulders. A photo cropped just below the chin usually looks too tight.
The ID Photo Maker finds the face, scales and places it for the chosen size and draws guide bands for the top of the head, the chin and, for square photos, the eyes. Its framing is a default for each size; when your instructions give other measurements, enter them and the guides follow.
Special Requirements and How to Meet Them
Many instructions add rules beyond the size. These are the most common ones and how to handle them when you take the photo yourself:
- Both ears visible: tuck the hair behind the ears or tie long hair back, so that the outline of the face and both ears show. Remove large earrings and headphones.
- Eyes and eyebrows visible: keep fringes and loose hair out of the face. The eyes must be open and looking straight at the lens.
- Glasses: some offices ask you to remove glasses; others allow clear glasses without glare. To avoid reflections, turn slightly away from the window light or tilt the glasses a little downwards, and make sure the frames do not cover the eyes. Tinted lenses are almost never accepted.
- Neutral expression: relax the face and close the mouth. A broad smile or raised eyebrows can lead to rejection where a neutral expression is required.
- Head coverings: hats and caps are usually not allowed. Religious or medical head coverings are often accepted when the face from chin to forehead stays visible; some offices ask for a written statement.
- Background colour: stand about a metre in front of a plain wall of the required colour, so that your shadow falls behind you, and avoid clothes in the same colour as the background, which make the outline disappear.
- No retouching: many offices reject photos changed by software, including beauty filters, smoothed skin, removed blemishes and replaced backgrounds. Where edits are not allowed, use the photo as it was taken and change only its size and crop.
- Children and babies: instructions are often relaxed for very young children, but the face must still be clearly visible. Laying a baby on a plain sheet and taking the photo from above is a common way to get a plain background.
Light, Camera and Distance
Daylight from a window in front of you gives soft, even light. Avoid a single ceiling light, which casts shadows under the eyes and nose, and avoid direct flash, which flattens the face and causes glare and red eyes. If one side of your face is darker, add a white sheet or a second lamp on that side.
Distance matters more than people expect. A phone held at arm's length makes the nose look larger and the ears smaller. Ask someone to take the photo from about 1.5 metres with the main camera, zoom in instead of moving closer, and hold the camera at eye level. If you are alone, use a stand and the self-timer. Take several shots and pick the sharpest one with open eyes.
Printing at the Right Size
Print shops and photo kiosks print 4 × 6 inch (10 × 15 cm) photos at exact size, so a print sheet with several copies is the cheapest way to get prints. On a home printer, open the sheet and print it at 100 % or "actual size", never "fit to page", on photo paper. Then measure one photo with a ruler before you cut it out; a sheet with a 10 mm scale makes this easy. The ID Photo Maker creates sheets for 4 × 6 in, 10 × 15 cm, L size (89 × 127 mm) and A4 with grey cut lines, as a JPG or as a PDF that keeps the exact paper size.
Online Uploads: Pixels and File Size
Online forms check the file rather than a print. If a form asks for exact pixels, save the photo at that size instead of letting the website shrink it. If it sets a file size limit, lower the JPG quality a little rather than reducing the pixels below what the form asks for. Some forms also set a minimum file size, which a very plain photo at low quality may not reach. Files from LeedyBox contain no EXIF or GPS data; for other photos, see photo metadata and EXIF. To shrink a finished JPG to a target size, the Image Compressor can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take my own passport photo at home?
It depends on the office. Many accept photos taken anywhere as long as they meet the rules, while some accept only photos from approved photographers or take the photo when you apply. Check the official instructions first.
Why are ID photos most often rejected?
Common reasons are a head that is too large or too small, a tilted head, shadows on the face or background, glare on glasses, hair covering the eyes, a smile, a blurry or old photo, and visible editing.
Is it allowed to replace the background?
Only where the office accepts edited photos. Many do not, so taking the photo in front of a plain wall of the right colour is the safer way.
Does the dpi value in the file matter?
For prints, what matters is that the photo is printed at its real size. The dpi value helps some printers and forms show the size correctly, but the number of pixels and the framing decide the result.