Guide
How to make passport photos at home
With a phone, a plain wall and a friend, you can make your own passport photos and print several copies on one standard 4×6 photo print, for a fraction of what a photo studio charges.
What you need
- A phone or camera set to its highest quality
- A plain white or off-white wall (a door or a sheet of white poster board also works)
- Soft, even light, like a bright window that is in front of you rather than behind you
- A friend or family member to take the photo. The US State Department lists “a friend or family member” as an option.
Step 1: Take the photo
- Stand about half a metre (a couple of feet) in front of the wall so your body doesn't throw a shadow on it.
- Face the camera straight on, with your head level. The camera should be at eye height, roughly 1 to 1.5 metres (4 to 5 feet) away.
- Keep a neutral expression with both eyes open and your mouth closed. Take off glasses, hats and headphones.
- Turn off beauty mode, portrait mode and filters. Official photos must be unedited.
- Take several shots and pick the sharpest one with no shadows on your face or the wall.
Step 2: Crop it to the right size
Open the passport photo maker, choose your photo size, and drag and zoom until your head is the right size in the frame. For a US passport photo, your head (from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair) must measure between 1 and 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) on the 2×2 inch photo. That's roughly half to two-thirds of the photo's height.
Cropping and resizing are fine. What's not allowed is changing how you look: no filters, smoothing, background replacement or stretching.
Step 3: Print several copies on one 4×6 print
Press Download 4×6 in print sheet. You get one image with several copies of your photo and light grey cut lines: six 2×2 inch photos, or eight 35×45 mm photos.
- Order it as a normal 4×6 inch (10×15 cm) photo print at a drugstore, supermarket photo counter or online print service.
- Ask for it not to be cropped or resized (sometimes called “fit to print” off or “no borders”), so each photo stays exactly the right size.
- Choose matte or glossy photo paper. The US requires photo-quality paper, not a home printout on plain paper.
Step 4: Cut and check
Cut along the grey lines with scissors or a paper trimmer, then check one photo with a ruler. A US photo should measure exactly 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm).
Why passport photos get rejected
- Shadows on the face or the background
- Glasses (not allowed in new US passport photos)
- Head too small or too large in the frame
- Blurry, grainy or pixelated image, or visible printer dots
- Filters or editing
- Photo older than 6 months
Sizes for other countries
The UK, the Schengen area and many other countries use 35 × 45 mm. Canada uses 50 × 70 mm for passports, and Chinese visas use 33 × 48 mm. All of these are in the passport photo maker. Some countries, such as the UK for online applications, ask for a digital photo instead of a print. Check your government's own rules first.
Sources
Rules were checked in October 2026. Governments update them from time to time, so always confirm on the official page before you apply.
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