Passport Photo Maker

This passport photo maker turns a picture you took yourself into a correctly sized passport or visa photo. Choose the size (35 × 45 mm, 2 × 2 inch, 50 × 70 mm or your own), move and zoom the picture until your head sits between the guide lines, and download the photo as a 300 DPI JPG. A print sheet puts several copies on 4 × 6 inch photo paper or A4, ready to cut out, so a passport size photo costs the price of one print.

How to Make a Passport Photo

1. Take the picture. Stand about half a metre in front of a plain, light wall, facing a window so the light is even. Have someone else hold the phone at eye level, about 1.5 metres away. Keep a neutral face, mouth closed, looking straight at the camera.
2. Add it here and choose the photo size your form asks for.
3. Line up your head. Zoom until the top of your head touches the upper line and your chin falls inside the green band. Keep your face in the centre, and use Straighten if your head is tilted.
4. Download the photo for an online form, or the print sheet to print.
5. Print at actual size. In the print dialog choose 100% or actual size, never fit to page, or the photos come out the wrong size.

Passport Photo Sizes by Country

The head size is measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head (not the top of the hair).

Sources: the US Department of State, GOV.UK and the Government of Canada passport photo pages; Schengen figures as published by consulates and visa centres, which can add their own rules. Most other countries use 35 × 45 mm, but rules change, so check the official page or the form before you print. For a size not listed, choose Custom size and enter the width, height and head size from your form.

Printing Passport Photos on 4 × 6 Paper

The print sheet tiles as many copies as fit, with thin grey lines to cut along. On a 4 × 6 inch print you get eight 35 × 45 mm photos, six 2 × 2 inch photos, or four Canadian 50 × 70 mm photos. The file is saved at 300 DPI with that resolution written into it, so it prints at the right size when printed at 100%.

• Measure one photo with a ruler after printing. If it is not the size you chose, the printer scaled the page.
• Use glossy or matte photo paper. Plain office paper is usually rejected.
• UK applicants: GOV.UK says photos printed at home are often not clear enough and that photos cut down from larger pictures are not accepted. For a UK passport, use a photo booth or a shop for printed photos, or apply online.

Digital Photos for Online Applications

Online forms usually state a pixel size and file size rather than millimetres. The photo you download here is 300 DPI, which gives 413 × 531 pixels for 35 × 45 mm and 600 × 600 pixels for 2 × 2 inch. If a form needs it smaller in kilobytes, run it through the Image Compressor. Two well-known exceptions:

• UK passport online: GOV.UK asks for an uncropped, unedited photo of at least 600 × 750 pixels showing your head, shoulders and upper body. The passport office crops it, so upload your original photo instead.
• US visa online: the State Department asks for a square JPEG from 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 pixels, no larger than 240 KB. The US preset here gives 600 × 600 pixels.

What This Tool Does Not Do

• It does not replace the background. A cut-out background often leaves edges around the hair that passport offices reject, and some, like the UK, do not accept edited photos at all. A plain wall is more reliable.
• It does not check the photo for you. It cannot see whether your eyes are open, the lighting is even, or the photo is in focus.
• It does not fix a low-quality picture. Start with a sharp photo in good light. To check that a print will be sharp, see the Image DPI Checker.

Frequently Asked Questions