Guides
Longer answers to the questions the requirements pages raise: how to print at the right size, what portals mean by their messages, how millimetres become pixels, and which rules are relaxed for children or for medical reasons. Every guide draws on the official sources linked from our requirements pages and shows the date it was last edited.
Printing
Getting a correctly sized print out of a home printer, a pharmacy photo counter or an online print service, and proving the size with a ruler before anything is mailed to an authority.
- How-toHow to print a passport photo at home or at a storePrint the 4 x 6 in, A4 or Letter sheet at exact size, check it with the printed ruler, and know which countries refuse home prints.
- How-toPrinter settings for passport photos: a walkthroughThe exact print-dialog settings that keep a photo at 100 percent on Windows, macOS, a phone and a store kiosk, and the one check that proves it worked.
- How-toPrinting a passport photo at Walgreens, CVS or WalmartHow to get a third-party passport photo printed at a US pharmacy or supermarket, what branches sometimes refuse, and what it costs.
- ExplainerPrinting on A4 vs 4 x 6 in: which sheet to chooseWhy the paper size matters more than the printer, how many photos fit on each sheet, and which size your country's labs and kiosks actually stock.
- How-toThe ruler check: verify a print before you submit itEvery sheet we render carries a calibration line. Measuring it takes ten seconds and catches the scaling errors that make authorities reject prints.
- ExplainerOrdering prints online vs printing them yourselfStore pickup, mailed prints and home printing compared honestly, including the pickup orders that never arrive and why we do not mail anything.
Babies and children
Photographing people who will not pose: which rules each country waives for infants and small children, and the child rules that are stricter than parents expect, such as the DV lottery's.
- How-toBaby and child passport photos: what each country relaxesWhich rules are waived for infants and small children, country by country, and how to photograph a baby who cannot sit.
- ExplainerDV lottery photos for children: the rules apps get wrongThe Diversity Visa entry gives babies no expression exemption, wants eyes open and 600 x 600 pixels exactly, and needs a photo for every family member.
Appearance rules
Glasses, head coverings, beards, and the medical conditions and exceptions that photo rules rarely plan for, with what each authority actually publishes about them.
- ExplainerGlasses and head coverings in passport photosWhere glasses are banned, where they are allowed without glare, and how religious or medical head coverings are treated.
- ExplainerMedical and religious exceptions for passport photosWhen a passport authority accepts a photo that breaks a rule for a medical or religious reason, and what the signed statement should say.
- TroubleshootingGlasses glare and 'eyes closed' false positivesPortals tell wide-awake applicants their eyes seem closed, and glare is the usual culprit. What triggers the message and the three ways out.
- ExplainerLazy eye, posture conditions and photo rulesStrabismus, wheelchairs and conditions that make 'look straight at the camera' impossible: the exception routes authorities publish and how our checks handle them.
- ExplainerHijab and religious head coverings in ID photosWhat each country accepts, the one that accepts none, and how to photograph a covering so the face stays fully visible with no shadow.
- ExplainerBeards and facial hair in passport photosNo country bans a beard, but recency rules, chin-to-crown measurements and automated face detection all interact with facial hair in ways worth knowing.
Lighting and capture
Taking the photo itself: camera distance and framing, head size, window light, shadows, and how to break out of the loop of retakes that automated checks can cause.
- How-toPassport photo lighting at home: no shadows, no glareThe lighting faults portals and examiners name most often, and a window-light setup that avoids them.
- ExplainerHead size and position rules, country by countryChin-to-crown millimetres, eye lines and framing bands: what each authority measures, and why the same photo passes one country and fails another.
- TroubleshootingHow to fix shadows on the face and backgroundDiagnosing the four shadow types authorities reject, including the ear and neck shadows Canada names, and removing each one at the source.
- TroubleshootingHow to escape the retake loopWhen a checker rejects attempt after attempt, the fix is to change one named thing at a time, not to keep pressing the shutter. A method that converges.
- ExplainerWhy over-edited photos get rejectedFilters, beautify modes and heavy background edits are explicit rejection grounds in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland. What counts as an edit, and where we stand.
- How-toPhone camera setup for a compliant photoDistance, zoom, tripod, timer and the mirror trap: how to set up any phone so the frame meets the rules before our checks ever run.
Files and formats
Pixels, kilobytes, aspect ratios and colour: what the numbers in a digital photo spec mean and how to meet a portal's file limits without wrecking the image.
- ExplainerMillimetres to pixels and DPI for passport photosHow 35 x 45 mm becomes 413 x 531 or 827 x 1063 pixels, why 2 x 2 in is 600 x 600, and why kilobytes are a separate limit.
- TroubleshootingPhoto file size too big: meeting kilobyte limitsPortals limit kilobytes, not just pixels. What the limits are, how re-encoding works, and how to shrink a file without wrecking the image.
- ExplainerJPEG vs PNG for passport and ID photosNearly every portal wants JPEG. Where PNG is accepted, where it is refused, and why screenshots and messaging apps produce files that fail.
- ExplainerPixel dimensions explained: minimums, maximums and exact sizesWhat 'at least 600 x 750 pixels' really demands, why upscaling a small photo fails, and the portals that insist on one exact size.
- TroubleshootingAspect ratio mismatch: why a big photo can be the wrong shapeA square file for a 3:2 portal, or a 35 x 45 crop for a 33 x 48 document, fails no matter how many pixels it has. How to spot and fix the shape problem.
- ExplainerColour vs black and white: what each country requiresDigital uploads must almost always be in colour, several countries accept or even recommend black-and-white prints, and greyscale files fail automated checks.
Portals and errors
Government upload pages run their own checks and show their own messages. These guides decode the common ones and say when to re-shoot, when to re-encode and when to just continue.
- TroubleshootingThe government portal rejected a photo that meets the rulesWhat the red icons, 'might not meet the rules' and 'too close' messages really mean, and what to change before re-uploading.
- TroubleshootingThe US photo tool's red icon, decoded'Your photo does not need cropping' with a red icon is not an error. Which State Department tool messages matter, which do not, and who actually decides.
- TroubleshootingHMPO 'poor quality' rejections and what to changeThe gov.uk upload's quality warnings mapped to the rule each one enforces, when you can continue past them, and when a re-shoot is the only fix.
- ExplainerThe UK photo code, explainedA photo code is a reference a UK booth or shop issues so HMPO can fetch your photo. We cannot issue one, and you do not need one: the upload route takes a home photo directly.
- How-toUS online passport renewal: getting the photo upload rightMyTravelGov wants a colour JPEG of at least 600 x 600 pixels and 54 KB with generous space around the head. The eligibility gates, the rules, and the two messages that confuse people.
Process and buying
How the application process treats your photo, what an officer looks at, what our service costs and delivers, and how to keep your files safe until the document arrives.
- ExplainerWhat officers actually check, and what no checker can promiseGeometry can be measured by software; quality, identity and editing are judged by a person. An honest account of the gap, including our own checker's limits.
- How-toDownload problems and backups: keeping your files safeHow our delivery works: files render on your device, a reload restores them, and an optional email backup keeps a re-download link alive for seven days.
- ExplainerOur price, before you start: how paying for a photo should workThe verdict comes before the payment, the price is on the button, and there is no subscription. What you pay, what you get, and when you should pay nothing.
- ExplainerRenewal vs first-time passport photos: what changesThe photo rules are the same; the channel is not. Which countries let renewals upload a file, which make first-timers appear in person, and the old-photo trap.
- ExplainerHow recent must a passport photo be?Six months is the common rule but not the universal one: the UK demands one month, Singapore's NRIC three, Canada's PR card allows twelve. The limits, and why reusing an old photo fails anyway.
- ExplainerTwo photos or one? How many prints each application wantsIreland wants four, Canada and the UK two, France and Spain one, digital uploads zero. The counts by country, and the back-of-photo rules that come with them.
- ExplainerDigital or printed photo: which does your application need?The same country often runs both a paper route and an upload route with different photo rules. How to tell which one you are in before you produce the wrong artefact.
- ExplainerDV lottery photos for adults: the exact-pixel entryExactly 600 x 600 pixels, under 240 KB, no glasses, taken in the last six months, one compliant photo per family member — and a one-month entry window to get it done.
- ExplainerVisa photo vs passport photo: same face, different rulesA visa photo is set by the destination country, a passport photo by your own, and the sizes rarely match. The pairs that trip people most, country by country.
- ExplainerHow Schengen visa photos workOne 35 x 45 mm standard covers 29 countries: face at 70 to 80 percent, light grey preferred over white, two prints, under six months old. What the consulates and visa centres add.
- How-toPassport photos for seniors on a fixed incomeWhat is genuinely free before you pay anyone, the cheapest compliant route end to end, and the accessibility rules authorities publish for wheelchairs and medical conditions.
- ExplainerWhat is a biometric photo?Biometric means the geometry follows ICAO Doc 9303 so a machine can read the face: frontal pose, neutral expression, face at 70 to 80 percent. No fingerprints or chips involved.
- ExplainerPhoto studio vs online service: an honest comparisonWhere a studio is legally required, where it is merely safer, and where a checked home photo is the better deal. Costs and risks of each route, stated plainly.
Country specifics
Rules that only make sense country by country, including the countries where we advise against buying from us or any online photo service because the authority wants a studio photo.
- ExplainerCountries where online photo services are not acceptedCanada requires a commercial photographer, Australia wants dye-sublimation prints, Ireland refuses edited files. Where we advise against buying from us.
- How-toPassport photo at home in the United StatesThe 2 x 2 inch print, the 600 x 600 visa upload and the online-renewal file, with where to print the sheet for under a dollar and the photo-tool message to ignore.
- How-toPassport photo at home in the United KingdomThe digital upload rules (600 x 750 px, taken in the last month), the 35 x 45 mm paper standard, the photo-code alternative and the kiosks that print the sheet.
- How-toPassport photo at home in Canada: read this firstIRCC requires passport photos taken in person by a commercial photographer and professionally printed. What the rule covers, the numbers a studio print must hit, and where a home photo still fits.
- How-toPassport photo at home in Australia: read this firstThe Australian Passport Office advises against online photo services and requires dye-sublimation prints for the passport. The details, and the documents where a home file works.
- How-toPassport photo at home in IndiaPassport Seva takes most passport photos at the counter; what you still need a photo for, the 35 x 45 mm and 2 x 2 inch sizes, and the visa and OCI uploads.
- How-toPassport photo at home in GermanySince May 2025 paper photos are no longer accepted for passports and ID cards applied for inside Germany. What changed, the 70 to 80 percent face rule, and where a home photo is still used.
- How-toPassport photo at home in FranceFrench passports and ID cards require a photo from an approved professional or booth, so a home photo cannot be used for them. Where it can: France-Visas and the postal photo-signature form.
- How-toPassport photo at home in SpainSpain's 32 x 26 mm photo is one of the smallest in use. The white-background rule, when the police station takes the photo itself, and when you need no photo at all.
- How-toPassport photo at home in ItalyThe 35 x 45 mm fototessera with the face at 70 to 80 percent, the 23 to 31 mm eye-line rule, and why the print must come from a lab rather than a home printer.
- How-toPassport photo at home in the NetherlandsThe Fotomatrix 2020 acceptance criteria, the 26 to 30 mm chin-to-crown band, and the two documents a home photo cannot cover: the online driving-licence renewal and the residence permit.
- How-toPassport photo at home in Ireland: read this firstPassport Online accepts home photos, but only the unedited camera frame: no cropping, no zoom, no enhancement. How to shoot one that passes, and the four-print paper rule.
- How-toPassport photo at home in New ZealandNew Zealand's passport is digital-first and the DIA explicitly allows your own device. The 3:4 pixel bands, the 250 KB floor, and the visa rule that rejects AI-edited files.
- How-toPassport photo at home in SingaporeICA itself recommends passport-photo apps. The 400 x 514 pixel upload, the 35 x 45 mm matte print for paper routes, and the strict no-editing rule behind both.
- How-toPassport photo at home in the UAEOne ICAO-standard 3.5 x 4.5 cm white-background photo serves ICP's passport, Emirates ID and visa uploads. The likeness rule that trips renewals, and how the uploads work.
- How-toPassport photo at home in ChinaThe NIA tells applicants to use the rear camera, a tripod or an ID-photo app, and to switch every beauty filter off. The 33 x 48 mm print, the online-renewal upload and the visa photo.
We are an independent service, not a government website. Applying for a passport or visa is done with your government; we only prepare the photo.