How to take a passport photo at home
This passport photo online tool needs only your phone and a plain wall. You get a digital passport photo for online forms and a print sheet with 2x2 photo copies for paper applications.
- Find a plain white wall, or hang a white sheet, and stand a few feet in front of it so you don't cast a shadow on it. The background must already be right: edited photos are rejected, so we don't replace it.
- Face a window or a soft light. Avoid overhead light that throws shadows under your eyes, and turn off the flash.
- Ask someone to take the photo from about 1.2 meters (4 feet) away, with the camera at eye level. Selfies distort your face because the camera is too close.
- Frame your head and shoulders with space above your hair. Look straight at the camera with a neutral expression and both eyes open.
- Remove glasses, hats and headphones. Head coverings worn daily for religious reasons are usually allowed.
- Upload the photo here. We crop and size it without editing it, and tell you if anything needs fixing.
Common reasons passport photos get rejected
- Head too big or too small. Each country sets a range for the head height, measured from the chin to the top of the head (or of the hair, for visas). We measure it for you.
- Shadows on the face or on the background behind the head.
- Background not plain, or the wrong color.
- Not looking straight at the camera, head tilted, or eyes closed.
- Glasses or glare, and hair covering the eyes.
- Edited or filtered photos. Beauty filters, retouching and background replacement can all get a photo rejected. Take it against a plain light wall instead: we only crop and check it, never alter it.
- Old photos. Most countries need a photo taken in the last 6 months.
- Poor print quality: blurry, pixelated, or printed on plain paper instead of photo paper.