faceroom TeamA drugstore passport photo costs $15–18 for a single shot you likely won't love. You can skip that and take one at home with your phone — the State Department accepts phone photos if they meet the specs.
This guide covers the exact setup: background, lighting, pose, and distance. For the tricky part — cropping to the right head size and getting a clean white background — an AI passport photo tool handles the tricky compliance steps so your photo doesn't get turned down.
What You Need
Four things:
- A smartphone with a rear camera of 8 MP or higher (most phones made after 2018 qualify)
- A tripod or a second person — the State Department does not accept handheld selfies for online passport applications
- A white background — a clean white wall, a white bedsheet, or a large sheet of white poster board
- Natural light — a window-facing spot works best
That's it. No ring light, no DSLR, no studio.
US Passport Photo Requirements
Before you shoot, know the rules. A photo that breaks any of these gets rejected:
| Requirement | Spec |
|---|---|
| Size | 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm) |
| Head height | 1 to 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) from chin to top of head |
| Background | Plain white or off-white, no shadows or patterns |
| Color and recency | Color photo taken within the last 6 months |
| Expression | Neutral, both eyes open, mouth closed |
| Glasses | Not allowed (medical exception requires a doctor's note) |
| Hats and head coverings | Not allowed unless religious or medical |
| Editing | No filters, no retouching that alters your appearance |
For the complete spec sheet with photo examples, see the US passport photo requirements page.
Requirements differ by country. If you need a photo for an Indian passport, Canadian passport, UK passport, or Australian passport, check the linked guides — dimensions, background color, and expression rules vary.
Step-by-Step: Take the Photo
1. Set Up Your Background
A plain white wall is the easiest option. If your walls aren't white, tape a white bedsheet to the wall or prop up a large piece of white poster board behind you.
Iron or stretch the sheet flat. Wrinkles create small shadows that show up in the photo and can trigger a rejection.
Stand 6–12 inches away from the background — not right against it. The gap prevents your body from casting a shadow onto the wall.
2. Get the Lighting Right
Lighting is the single biggest factor in whether your photo passes or fails. PhotoAiD's analysis of over 10,000 rejected passport photos found that uneven lighting (14.7%), face shadows (10.6%), and too-dim lighting (9.4%) make up over a third of all rejections.
Face a window. Natural light from a window in front of you produces even, shadow-free light across your face and behind your head. The best window is one that gets indirect light — north-facing windows or any window on an overcast day.
Avoid direct sunlight streaming in. It creates harsh shadows on one side of your face.
If you still see shadows under your eyes or chin, place a white towel or piece of white paper on your lap. It acts as a reflector and fills in the shadows from below.
Never rely on overhead room lights alone. Ceiling lights cast shadows under your brow, nose, and chin — the exact pattern that gets photos turned down.
3. Position and Pose
Stand about 4 feet (1.2 meters) from the camera. Do not zoom in — digital zoom lowers image quality and can cause the blurring that reviewers flag.
Line up the camera lens with your eyes. If you're using a tripod, adjust its height; if someone is holding the phone, ask them to hold it at your eye level.
Face the camera directly:
- Look straight ahead, not up or down
- Keep your head level — no tilt
- Neutral expression, both eyes open, mouth closed (a slight natural smile is fine; a wide grin is not)
- Remove glasses, earbuds, and headphones
- Pull hair away from your face so both ears and your full forehead are visible
For what to wear, keep it simple: solid, dark-colored clothing that contrasts with the white background. Skip white tops (they blend into the background), uniforms, and camo prints. For the full breakdown, read what to wear for a passport photo.
4. Take Multiple Shots
Don't settle for one photo. Take 8–10 shots and pick the best one afterward.
Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera. The rear lens captures sharper detail and truer color — both matter when the photo is checked up close.
Turn on the grid overlay in your camera settings (both iOS and Android have this). Line up your face with the center crosshair to get the framing close before any cropping.
Set a 10-second timer or use a Bluetooth remote shutter so you're not reaching for the phone when the photo fires. Any movement during the shot causes blur.
5. Crop and Resize for Compliance
This is where most DIY passport photos fail. The photo needs to be exactly 2 x 2 inches with the head sized between 1 and 1⅜ inches — and the background has to be perfectly white with no shadows, textures, or color cast.
Doing this by hand means counting pixel sizes and figuring out head-to-frame ratios. Get one number wrong and the photo gets turned down.
Faceroom's passport photo maker takes care of these compliance steps: upload your photo, and it auto-crops to the right size, places the head within the required range, and cleans up the background to white. You get a print-ready and digital-ready file.
Faceroom's passport photo maker — upload a photo and it handles cropping, sizing, and background compliance.
It also works for other countries' passport and visa photos, including Singapore and Malaysia formats.
How to Print Your Passport Photo
If you're applying online, you can upload the digital file directly — no printing needed.
For paper forms, print on photo paper (glossy or matte — both work). Normal printer paper is too thin and gives a grainy result.
Print at 300 DPI or higher to avoid visible pixelation. Most photo apps let you set the DPI before saving.
A handy trick: place two 2x2-inch copies side by side on one 4x6-inch photo sheet. Print it at home on a color inkjet, or take the file to a Walgreens, CVS, or any print shop. A 4x6 print costs under $1.
Common Mistakes That Get Photos Rejected
Based on PhotoAiD's published data from over 10,000 passport photo uploads, here are the top reasons photos get turned down:
- Poor torso visibility (33.5%) — frame the photo from the chest up, not just the face
- Mouth open (21.3%) — keep your mouth closed; a slight closed-mouth smile is OK
- Uneven lighting (14.7%) — face a window for balanced light
- Low resolution (13.2%) — use the rear camera and avoid digital zoom
- Face shadows (10.6%) — stand away from the background wall; use a reflector
- Glasses left on — remove them, even prescription glasses
Other common issues: filters or beauty mode (some phones turn these on by default — check your settings), handheld selfies, and a background that isn't white enough.
Taking a Baby's Passport Photo at Home
Babies and toddlers need their own passport to fly abroad, and yes, they need a compliant photo too.
The hard part is getting an infant to hold still, look at the camera, and lie on a white background — all at once. Here's what works:
- Lay the baby on a white sheet on the floor and shoot from right above. This is the easiest way to get a clean white background without needing the baby to sit up.
- Use a car seat covered with a white sheet if the baby can't lie flat comfortably. The seat provides head support while the sheet serves as the background.
- Hold a colorful toy directly above the phone to get the baby's attention and eyes pointing toward the lens.
- Take many shots. Babies are unpredictable — 20 attempts is not too many.
Infants can have partially closed eyes or a slight grimace and still pass, but a crying face will be rejected.
For more tips and country-specific baby photo specs, see the baby passport photo guide.
FAQ
Can I use my phone to take a passport photo?
Yes. Any smartphone with a rear camera of 5 MP or higher can take a good enough passport photo. Use the rear camera (not the selfie camera) for the best quality. Make sure the image is sharp, well-lit, and at least 600 x 600 pixels.
How much does a DIY passport photo cost compared to a drugstore?
A drugstore photo at CVS or Walgreens costs $15–18. Taking the photo at home and printing it yourself costs well under $1 for the photo paper. Even if you use a tool like Faceroom for the compliance steps and print at a store, the total is still much less than the drugstore price.
Does the State Department allow AI-edited passport photos?
The State Department bans digital retouching that "alters your appearance" — meaning you cannot use AI or any software to change your facial features, skin tone, or expression. However, cleaning up the background to white and cropping to the right size are normal processing steps, not look-changing edits. This is exactly what tools like Faceroom's passport photo maker do. If you're curious about how AI-generated (not AI-edited) photos differ, see using ChatGPT for passport photo prompts — spoiler: fully AI-generated photos are not accepted.
Are passport photos glossy or matte?
Either finish is accepted by the US State Department. The photo must be printed on photo-quality paper — not regular printer paper — and be free of visible pixels or printer dots.
Can I take a passport photo for other countries at home?
Yes, the same home setup works for most countries. The main differences are photo dimensions, background color, and whether glasses or smiles are allowed. Faceroom supports formats for dozens of countries — see the guides for UK, Canada, India, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia.