How to Make a Passport Photo at Home (Official Sizes, Free)

Why Make Your Own Passport Photo?

Photo booths and studios charge for a sheet of photos you could take yourself with a smartphone. Making your own ID photo lets you retake it as many times as needed until you're happy, and print it for the price of a standard 4×6 print.

The challenge isn't taking the picture; it's respecting the official rules: exact dimensions, head size, plain background, neutral expression. That's what a passport photo tool handles for you.

Official Sizes by Country

Country / document	Photo size	Background
United States (passport, visa)	2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm)	White
EU / France (ID, passport)	35 × 45 mm	Light grey or light blue (not white)
United Kingdom (passport)	35 × 45 mm	Light grey or cream
Germany (ID)	35 × 45 mm	Light grey
Canada (passport)	50 × 70 mm	White or light
China (visa)	33 × 48 mm	White
India, Japan, Australia	35 × 45 mm	White or light
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia	35 × 45 mm	White or light

The AwesomeToolkit passport photo maker includes these formats, each with its own head-size guide.

Step 1: Take a Good Photo

Most rejected photos are rejected because of the original picture, not the cropping:

• Light: face a window in daylight. Avoid flash and overhead lighting, which create shadows.
• Background: stand in front of a plain, light wall, about 50 cm away from it to avoid your shadow.
• Framing: have someone take the photo at eye level, 1 to 1.5 m away. Selfies distort the face.
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, looking straight at the camera.
• No glasses if possible (many countries now require it), no hat, hair off the face.

Step 2: Format It to the Official Size

1. Choose your country / document in the list.
2. Import your photo. Two ovals appear in the frame: they match the head height required by the standard (chin to top of the head) — for a 35 × 45 mm photo, that's 32 to 36 mm.
3. Drag and zoom (up to 400%) until your head fills the space between the two ovals.
4. Plain background (optional): enable "Plain background (AI)" — a model running in your browser cuts you out and places you on the background required by the standard (white, or light grey for France/EU, the UK and Germany).
5. Download a single photo or a 4×6 print sheet with several copies, at 300 DPI.

Your photo never leaves your device: the cropping and the AI background run locally.

Step 3: Print It

Send the 4×6 sheet (10 × 15 cm) to any photo printing service or print it at home on glossy photo paper. Then cut out the photos along the edges. Don't resize the sheet when printing: choose "actual size" or "100%" so the dimensions stay exact.

Common Reasons for Rejection

Problem	Solution
Head too small or too large	Use the ovals to adjust the zoom
Shadows on the face or background	Face a window, step away from the wall
Background not uniform	Enable the plain AI background
Photo blurry when printed	Start from a sharp original, avoid zooming in too much
Printed at the wrong size	Print at 100%, without "fit to page"

Need a Digital Photo for an Online Application?

Some online forms ask for a photo file with a weight limit (for example under 500 KB). Download the single photo, then use the image compressor with a target size in KB.

Conclusion

A compliant passport photo is mostly a matter of good light, a plain background and the right head size. Take the picture with your phone, format it with the official guides, print the 4×6 sheet — and keep the file to reuse for your next applications.