How to Take a Passport Photo at Home with Your Phone
Published · QuickTools team
Pharmacies and photo studios commonly charge $10–$17 for two passport photos, and you get one take under harsh lighting. With a phone, a plain wall and ten minutes, you can make a compliant photo at home, retake it as many times as you like, and print a whole sheet for the price of a single 4×6” print.
What you need
- A phone camera (the rear camera, not the selfie camera)
- A plain white, off-white or light grey wall — or a large sheet of white paper or foam board
- A window with indirect daylight
- A friend to take the picture (or a tripod and a timer)
Step 1: Set up the light
Lighting is the number one reason home photos are rejected. You want soft, even light on the face and no shadow on the background.
- Face a window during the day, with the sun not shining directly in.
- Turn off overhead ceiling lights — they cast shadows under the eyes and nose.
- Stand about 50 cm (20 in) in front of the wall so your shadow falls on the floor, not behind your head.
- If one side of your face is darker, hold a sheet of white paper or card on that side to bounce light back.
Step 2: Position the camera
- The photographer should stand about 1.5 m (5 ft) away and hold the phone at your eye level.
- Don’t use the selfie camera at arm’s length: at close range wide-angle lenses enlarge the nose and shrink the ears.
- Frame from the top of the chest up, with plenty of space around the head. You will crop later.
- Use the normal 1× lens, no portrait mode, no beauty filters, flash off.
Step 3: Pose correctly
- Face the camera straight on, head level, shoulders square.
- Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open. (The US allows a natural smile; most countries don’t.)
- Remove glasses — the US, Australia and the UK expect no glasses in nearly all cases.
- Tuck hair behind your ears so the edges of your face are visible.
- Plain clothing that contrasts with the background — avoid white shirts on a white wall.
Take 10–20 shots. It costs nothing, and one will be clearly better than the rest.
Step 4: Crop to the exact size
Every country specifies both the photo size and how big the head must be within it. Open the Passport Photo Maker, choose your document, and select your best shot. Drag and zoom until your head fills the dashed oval — chin at the bottom of the oval, top of the hair at the top.
| Document | Photo size | Head (chin to crown) |
|---|---|---|
| US passport | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | 25–35 mm |
| UK passport | 35 × 45 mm | 29–34 mm |
| Canadian passport | 50 × 70 mm | 31–36 mm |
| Australian passport | 35–40 × 45–50 mm | 32–36 mm |
| Schengen visa | 35 × 45 mm | 32–36 mm |
Rules change occasionally, so each country page links to its official source — check it before you submit.
Step 5: Download and print
- Applying online? Download the digital photo. If the form has a file size limit, use compress to 50 KB or 100 KB.
- Need prints? Download the 4×6” sheet. Order a standard 4×6 inch (10×15 cm) print at a pharmacy kiosk, supermarket or online lab. Choose matte or glossy photo paper — not plain office paper — and make sure it’s printed at 100% size, not “fit to page”.
- Cut along the faint grey lines with a ruler and a sharp blade for straight edges.
Final checklist before you submit
- Taken recently (6 months for most countries, 1 month for the UK)
- Plain, light background with no shadows
- Even lighting, no glare, no red-eye
- Neutral expression, eyes open, facing forward
- No glasses, hats or headphones
- Head size within the official range
- Not edited, filtered or retouched
- Printed on photo paper at the exact size
Canada is the exception: printed Canadian passport photos normally need the photographer’s name and address and the date on the back, so a commercial photographer is usually required for paper applications. Use the tool to check your framing before you go.