How to make a passport size photo at home

Take the photo against a plain light wall with someone else holding the phone, open Passport photo maker, pick your country and document, check that the oval sits from your chin to the top of your head, then press Download photo for an online form or Download sheet for prints. Before you start, read your document's photo rules on the authority's own page: each authority sets its own rules, and some take the photo themselves at the appointment.

Steps

1. Stand about a metre and a half from a plain white, light grey or cream wall, facing a window or a lamp so both sides of your face are evenly lit.
2. Ask someone to take the photo at your eye height, with your head and shoulders in the picture. Keep a neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open, hair off your face.
3. Open Passport photo maker and choose the photo, or press Take a photo.
4. Under Size, type your country or document, such as "India passport" or "35x45", and pick it from the list.
5. Look at the checks beside the photo. If the head is too small or too big, change Head size (the part of the slider inside your rules is marked), or pinch or scroll over the photo; if it is off centre, drag the photo or use the arrow buttons. Reset to the rules puts it back.
6. Under Background, keep the colour the preset chose, or pick another. Keep original leaves the wall as photographed.
7. Press Download photo for an upload form, or set the page and the number of photos under Print sheet, then press Download sheet or Print sheet. Print at 100% (Actual size).

Why someone else should take it

A selfie at arm's length is taken from about 40 cm, which makes the nose look larger and the ears smaller than they are, and tilts the head. From a metre and a half the face keeps its real proportions, and the tool has your shoulders to frame. A timer on a phone propped at eye height works too.

What the tool does with the photo

It finds your face on your device and measures the chin, the eyes and the top of the head, then scales and crops so the head height lands in the middle of the range your document allows. Some rules measure to the top of the hair, others to the top of the skull without hair; the preset uses the one its rules name. The background is replaced by cutting you out and filling the space behind you with the chosen colour.

The top of the head is an estimate. A hat, a bun or very full hair moves it, which is why the oval stays on the preview for you to check. The frame keeps all of the hair inside either way.

Common sizes

The tool's page lists every country it knows, grouped by printed size, and each size's rules with the page they were read on and the date.

When a home photo is not the right choice

Some authorities ask for photos straight from the camera. The UK passport rules ask for printed photos unaltered by computer software, so the UK preset keeps your own background, and USCIS asks for un-retouched green card photos. Several countries, including Malaysia, Nepal and Brazil, photograph adults at the appointment and only ask young children to bring prints. Check before you print.

Questions

Is my photo uploaded?

No. The face is found and the files made in your browser, and the photo stays on your device.

Can it guarantee my photo is accepted?

No. It gets the size, framing and background to the rules as published. Lighting, focus and expression are still judged by the office.

My country is not in the list. What do I do?

Choose Custom size and type the width and height in millimetres, inches or pixels from your form.