You can take a passport photo at home with any recent phone: stand in front of a plain white or light wall, face a window so the light is even, have someone take the photo from about a metre away at eye level, then crop it to your document’s size with the head at the right height. Our free passport photo maker does the cropping and sizing for US 2×2 inch, UK and Schengen 35×45 mm, Pakistan passport and visa, NADRA and Saudi eVisa photos, and makes a 6×4 sheet you can print at any photo kiosk. Here is how to get a photo that passes.
What size is a passport photo?
| Document | Photo size | Head height (chin to top) | Background | How recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US passport or visa | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | 1 to 1⅜ in (25–35 mm) | White or off-white | Last 6 months |
| UK passport, printed | 35 × 45 mm | 29–34 mm | Cream or light grey | Last month |
| Schengen visa | 35 × 45 mm | 32–36 mm | Plain, bright, one colour | Recent |
| Pakistan visa (DGIP) | 35 × 45 mm | Full head and shoulders | Plain white | Last 6 months |
| Pakistan passport* | 35 × 45 mm (digital 413 × 531 px, under 20 KB) | About 34 mm | Plain white | Recent |
| Saudi eVisa* | 200 × 200 px, under 100 KB | Face 70–80% of the photo | Plain white | Last 6 months |
Sources: US State Department, GOV.UK, the German missions’ biometric photo guide (Schengen) and DGIP Pakistan, checked November 2026. *Rows marked with a star use the sizes photo services list, because the authority doesn’t publish them in a form we could find. Rules change, so check with the office you are applying to before you print.
The head size is the rule home photos break most often. It is measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, including hair. A selfie held at arm’s length makes the head too big and distorts the nose; a photo from across the room makes it too small. Cropping with the right tool fixes the size, as long as the photo is sharp.
How to take the photo
- Find the wall. A plain white or light grey wall or door, with no pattern, pictures or texture. A white sheet pinned flat works too.
- Get the light right. Stand facing a window in daylight so the light falls evenly on your face. Avoid overhead bulbs, which cast shadows under the eyes, and don’t use the flash, which causes glare and a dark shadow behind you. Stand half a metre in front of the wall so your shadow doesn’t fall on it.
- Ask someone else to take it. They should stand about a metre away, hold the phone at the height of your eyes, and use the normal camera (not portrait mode, which blurs and edits the background).
- Pose plainly. Face the camera straight on, shoulders level, neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open. Hair off your face and eyes. Take off glasses: the US does not allow them, and the UK only allows them if you have to wear them.
- Leave room. Include your shoulders and some space above your head. The tool needs space around you to crop to the right shape.
- Take several. Pick the sharpest one with both eyes open and no shadows.
Head coverings are only allowed for religious or medical reasons, and your whole face must be visible. Some offices ask for a signed statement, so check the rules for your application.
How to crop it to the right size
- Open the passport photo maker and choose your photo.
- Pick the document: US, UK, Schengen, Pakistan visa, or a custom size in millimetres for anything else.
- Drag the top line to the top of your head (including hair) and the bottom line to your chin, then the dashed line to the middle of your face. The preview shows the finished photo with your head scaled to the middle of the allowed range.
- If the wall behind you has a shadow or isn’t quite white, tick Replace the background. Use this only to clean up; a photo taken against a good wall is always safer, because some offices reject photos that look edited.
- Download the single photo for an online form, or the 6 × 4 print sheet.
The photo never leaves your device. The single photo is saved at 600 dpi (1200 × 1200 pixels for the US, 827 × 1063 for 35 × 45 mm), which is sharp enough to print and within what online forms usually accept.
How to print a passport photo at the right size
The print sheet is a standard 6 × 4 inch (10 × 15 cm) photo with the copies laid out at real size: eight 35 × 45 mm photos, or two US 2 × 2 inch photos. Print it like any holiday photo:
- At a pharmacy or photo kiosk: upload the sheet and order one 6 × 4 (or 4 × 6, or 10 × 15 cm) gloss or matte print. It usually costs far less than a passport photo booth.
- On a home photo printer: load 6 × 4 photo paper and print at actual size or 100%. Never choose “fit to page”, “fill” or borderless cropping, which change the size.
Cut along the thin grey lines with a ruler and a craft knife, or sharp scissors. Before you send it, measure one photo with a ruler: it should be exactly 35 × 45 mm or 2 × 2 inches.
For a UK passport printed photo, GOV.UK asks for plain white photo paper with no border. If you are applying online, GOV.UK asks for the photo straight from your phone, uncropped, so upload the original instead of the cropped one.
Related tools and guides
- Remove background: cut out a person or product for other uses.
- Image converter: turn an iPhone HEIC photo into JPG first, or compress a photo under 100 KB for a form.
- JPG to PDF: when a form wants your photo and documents as one PDF.
- How to remove the background from product photos.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take my own passport photo with my phone?
Yes. The US, the UK and most countries accept photos taken at home as long as they meet the rules for size, head height, light, background and expression. Ask someone else to take it rather than a selfie, so the head isn’t distorted.
What is the size of a passport photo in pixels?
It depends on the print resolution. At 600 dpi, a US 2 × 2 inch photo is 1200 × 1200 pixels and a 35 × 45 mm photo is 827 × 1063 pixels. Online forms state their own minimum; GOV.UK, for example, asks for at least 600 × 750 pixels.
Can I wear a hijab in my passport photo?
Yes, a head covering worn for religious reasons is allowed by the US, UK and Schengen countries, as long as your full face is visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, with no shadows on it. Some applications ask you to confirm the reason.
How do I print passport photos at Walgreens, Boots or a local shop?
Download the 6 × 4 print sheet and order it as a normal 4 × 6 inch (10 × 15 cm) photo print, not as a passport photo service. Ask for no cropping or borders, then cut the copies out along the lines.