How to take a passport photo at home with your phone
A phone takes a perfectly good passport photo. Most rejected photos fail on light, shadows or framing, not on the camera.
Set up
- Face a window. Daylight from in front gives even light on both sides of the face. Do not stand with the window behind you.
- Stand in front of a plain, light wall. Step about half a metre away from it, so your shadow does not fall on the wall.
- Have someone else hold the phone, or lean it on a shelf and use the timer. A selfie at arm's length bends the shape of the face.
- Keep the camera at eye level, about one and a half metres away, and use the back camera.
The photo itself
- Look straight at the camera, with your head level and both ears showing if your form asks for that.
- Keep a plain expression with your mouth closed.
- Leave space around your head and shoulders. It is cropped afterwards.
- Check your form about glasses and head coverings. Rules differ between countries and offices.
- Do not use beauty filters or portrait blur.
Crop it to size
Add the photo to the passport photo maker. It finds your face, crops to the size you choose and makes the background white. If you need another colour, change the background.
To print, download a print sheet with several copies and print it at 100% size, with no "fit to page".
This guide covers how to take a clear photo. The exact rules belong to the office you are applying to, so read its instructions as well.
Tools for this
- Passport size photo maker
- Print passport photos at home or a photo shop
- Change a photo's background colour
More guides
- KB, pixels and DPI, explainedWhat each number on a form means, with a cm to pixels table.
- Why is my file too large?Why phone photos are heavy, and the safe way to shrink them.
- JPG, JPEG, PNG and HEICWhich file type a form wants, and what to do with iPhone photos.
- Scan documents with a phoneA sharp, flat, small scan without a scanner.
- Sign a PDF without printingDraw your signature and place it on the page.
- Share an ID card copy safelyMark it, hide what is not needed, and send less.