How to Make a Passport Size Photo at Home (India & US)

You can make a passport size photo at home with a phone, a plain white wall and good daylight. Take the photo straight on, then crop it to 35 x 45 mm for India or 2 x 2 inches for the US with the face sized correctly, and either upload it or print it on photo paper. Our passport size photo maker crops the photo to the right shape and sets it to 300 DPI for printing, all in your browser.

Size and framing rules

The US figures come from the State Department's photo requirements. For India, the 35 x 45 mm white background rule is consistent everywhere, but details such as the exact face percentage vary between guides. If you are applying for an Indian passport, check the photo instructions on the Passport Seva website or at your Passport Seva Kendra, where the photo is often taken on site anyway.

Step by step

1. Set up the background

Stand in front of a plain white or very light wall, with no patterns, frames or doors behind you. If you do not have one, tape a white bedsheet or chart paper to the wall and smooth out the creases. Stand about half a metre in front of it so your shadow falls behind you, not on it.

2. Get the lighting right

Face a window during the day. Soft, even light from the front is ideal. Avoid overhead bulbs that cast shadows under the eyes, and avoid direct sun that makes you squint. Flash often causes glare and harsh shadows, so leave it off.

3. Take the photo

• Ask someone to hold the phone at your eye level, about 1–1.5 metres away. Use the rear camera, which is usually sharper.
• Look straight at the lens, shoulders square, head not tilted.
• Neutral expression, mouth closed, both eyes open.
• Hair away from the face so both eyebrows and the face outline are visible.
• No cap or hat, unless worn daily for religious reasons, in which case the full face must still be visible.
• Take several shots and choose the sharpest.

Avoid selfies held at arm's length. The short distance distorts the face and usually tilts the head.

4. Crop to the right size

The passport tool crops from the centre, so first trim the photo with crop image so your face is centred with a little space above the head and your shoulders at the bottom. Then open passport size photo, choose India (35 x 45 mm) or US (2 x 2 in), and download the result. If a form asks for a different custom size, resize image in cm lets you enter exact dimensions.

5. Save for upload or print

• For an online form: Download as JPG and compress to the form's KB limit, for example with compress image to 50 KB.
• For prints: Print the 300 DPI file at a photo shop, or place several copies on a 4 x 6 inch (postcard) page in any photo or document app and print on glossy photo paper at home. Print at 100% or "actual size", not "fit to page", or the size will be off.

The photo is processed in your browser and not uploaded, which matters for something as personal as an ID photo.

Background, face size and glasses in more detail

Background. "White" means evenly white, not grey with a shadow in one corner. If your background comes out slightly grey, brighter front light helps more than editing. Heavy editing to remove a background can leave odd edges around hair, which official checks may reject.

Face size. The most common home mistake is a face that is too small, with lots of shoulder and wall visible. For the US, measure chin to top of hair: it must be between 1 and 1 3/8 inches on a 2 inch photo. For India, the face should clearly dominate the photo, with a little space above the head.

Glasses. US passport photos do not allow glasses except with a signed medical statement. Indian guidance is less clear in the sources available, and different offices have been reported to apply it differently. Removing glasses avoids glare and rejection, so do that unless you have a reason not to.

Common mistakes

• Shadows behind the head from standing too close to the wall.
• Tilted head or eyes not looking at the camera.
• Face too small or too large within the frame.
• Filters, beauty modes or edited skin. Turn these off; official photos should look like you.
• Printing at the wrong scale, which gives a 33 mm or 38 mm photo instead of 35 mm.
• Using an old photo. US rules require one from the last 6 months; Indian forms generally ask for a recent one.
• Wearing white clothes against a white background, which makes you blend in. A darker top looks better.

With a bit of care, a home photo is often better than a rushed shop photo, and you can retake it as many times as you like.

Questions