How to take a passport photo at home
A passport photo from a shop costs money and time. With a phone, a plain wall and a few minutes, you can take one that meets the rules, and print it for the price of a single 4 × 6 inch photo.
What you need
- A phone with a decent camera (the rear camera is better than the selfie camera).
- A plain, light wall, or a white sheet hung flat without wrinkles.
- Daylight from a window, or two lamps of the same kind.
- Someone to take the photo, or a phone stand and the camera timer.
Setting up the light
The most common reason home passport photos are rejected is shadows: on one side of the face, under the chin, or on the wall behind you. Stand facing a window so the light falls evenly on your face. Avoid direct sunlight, which creates hard shadows and makes you squint. Stand at least half a metre in front of the wall, so your shadow falls behind you and out of the photo.
Camera position
Hold the camera at the height of your eyes, about 1.2 to 1.5 metres away, and zoom in slightly if needed. Shooting from close up, as with a selfie, makes the nose look larger and the ears smaller, and officers can reject it as distorted. Keep the phone straight, not tilted.
Posture and expression
- Look straight into the lens, with your head level and shoulders square to the camera.
- Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed. Most countries do not accept a smile showing teeth.
- Keep both eyes open and clearly visible. Remove glasses unless your country allows them and you need them.
- Keep hair away from your eyes and the edges of your face.
Making the final photo
Open the passport photo maker and choose your country. The AI replaces the background with the colour the rules ask for, so a slightly uneven wall is not a problem. Move and size the photo so the top of your head and your chin sit on the guide lines; the tick turns green when the head size meets the rule.
Printing
Download the 4 × 6 inch print sheet, which holds six or eight photos depending on the country's size, and print it as a normal 4 × 6 photo at a photo shop or on photo paper at home. Make sure printing is set to 100 % or "actual size", not "fit to page", otherwise the photos come out slightly too small. Cut along the guide lines with a ruler.
Last reviewed October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit my face in the photo?
No. Passport offices reject photos that are retouched or filtered. Changing the background is fine; changing your face is not.