You can make an acceptable passport or visa photo at home with a phone, as long as you follow the rules for lighting, background and size. Always check that your authority accepts self-made photos before you apply.
Take the picture
- Background: a plain white or light wall with no patterns or shadows.
- Light: stand facing a window in daylight so your face is evenly lit. Avoid flash.
- Distance: ask someone to hold the phone at eye level, about 1 to 1.5 metres away.
- Pose: look straight at the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open.
- No filters: do not use beauty modes or editing apps.
Know the size
| Document | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| US passport and visa | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm), 600 × 600 px | JPEG, under 240 KB for online forms |
| UK passport (digital) | 35 × 45 mm, at least 600 × 750 px | JPEG, 50 KB to 10 MB |
| Schengen visa | 35 × 45 mm | Check the specific embassy |
| Indian form photo | 3.5 × 4.5 cm | Check each form’s KB limit |
Resize it
Open the resize image tool, choose a passport preset, and pick how to fit the photo. “Fill and crop edges” centres your face and removes extra background. If you need centimetres or inches, the tool converts them to pixels using the DPI you set (300 is normal for printing).
Meet the file size limit
Online portals often limit the file as well. Use the image to KB tool or the exam and visa photo resizer to set the exact size and KB range.
Printing
For a printed photo, use a 300 DPI image and print on photo paper at the exact size. Many shops can print several copies on a single 4 × 6 inch sheet.
Last check
Compare the result with the official guide for your document. Rules change, so the official page always wins over any guide.