Head size is what gets photos rejected
Nearly everyone assumes a passport photo is about the size of the print. It is not. Almost every country specifies how tall your head must be inside that print, and a correctly sized photo with a head that is too small or too large is rejected exactly as often as one that is the wrong size.
The United States wants a 51 mm square with the head between 25 and 35 mm from chin to crown. The Schengen area wants 35 × 45 mm with the head between 32 and 36 mm — a much tighter window in a smaller frame. That is why the guide lines are the point of this tool, and the cropping is just what happens once you have lined your head up between them.
| Document | Photo size | Head height |
|---|---|---|
| United States passport & visa | 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 in) | 25–35 mm |
| Schengen / EU visa | 35 × 45 mm | 32–36 mm |
| United Kingdom passport | 35 × 45 mm | 29–34 mm |
| Canada passport | 50 × 70 mm | 31–36 mm |
| Australia passport | 35 × 45 mm | 32–36 mm |
| China visa | 33 × 48 mm | 28–33 mm |
| Türkiye biometric | 50 × 60 mm | 32–36 mm |
Requirements do change. Before submitting anything that matters, check the current specification on the issuing authority's own website — this tool follows the published figures above, but the authority is the authority.
What this tool does and does not do
It gets the dimensions and the head placement right, which is the most common reason photos come back. It does not judge your photograph, and no honest tool can promise acceptance. The rest is down to how the picture was taken:
- Background: plain white or light grey, with no shadow falling on it.
- Lighting: even across the face, no hard shadows under the nose or chin, no glare on glasses.
- Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open and clearly visible.
- Head position: facing the camera squarely, not tilted or turned.
- Coverings: no hats or head coverings except for religious reasons, and the full face must still be visible.
Taking the photo yourself
A phone is fine. The technique matters more than the camera, and there are two mistakes that ruin most home attempts.
The first is taking a selfie at arm's length. At that distance the lens exaggerates whatever is closest to it — your nose — and compresses the sides of your face. The result looks subtly wrong and can fail a facial-recognition check. Have someone stand about two metres away and zoom in slightly instead. Avoid the ultra-wide lens entirely.
The second is lighting. Stand facing a window with soft daylight, or use two lights at roughly 45 degrees either side. Do not use direct flash straight at your face, and stand a good arm's length forward from the wall so you do not cast a shadow on it. A plain white wall photographed in flat light is all the background you need.
The 4 × 6 print sheet
Photo shops, pharmacies and supermarket kiosks print 4 × 6 inch photos for a very small amount of money, and a sheet that size holds several passport photos side by side. Generating the sheet here and having it printed as an ordinary 4 × 6 is usually a fraction of what a dedicated passport photo booth or service charges.
The sheet includes thin cutting guides drawn just outside each photo, so trimming along them leaves the photo itself untouched. Ask for a matte or glossy standard print — either is normally accepted — and cut with a straight edge rather than scissors if you can.
Resolution
300 DPI is the standard requirement and the default here, which works out to 600 × 600 pixels for a 2 × 2 inch photo and 413 × 531 for 35 × 45 mm. Some online applications accept or prefer 600 DPI, which simply doubles those numbers.
Going below 300 is a false economy: the print looks soft and some upload systems reject the file for being under their minimum pixel dimensions before a human ever sees it. If your source photo is small to begin with, the tool cannot invent detail — retake it rather than enlarging.
Everything runs in your browser. Your photograph is never uploaded, which for an identity document is worth more than it might sound.