How to make a passport photo at home: US, UK and Schengen sizes

First, pick the right frame

The expensive mistake is shooting first and cropping later. A United States passport photo is a square, 2 by 2 inches, or 51 by 51 millimetres, with the head between 25 and 35 millimetres from chin to crown. A United Kingdom printed photo is 35 millimetres wide by 45 millimetres high, with the head between 29 and 34 millimetres. A Schengen visa photo is also 35 by 45 millimetres, but its head is between 32 and 36 millimetres, about 70 to 80 percent of the frame height. The United Kingdom and Schengen frames share an outer size but not a head size, so a photo framed for one is not automatically right for the other. Canada is covered separately below, because its rule about who takes the photo matters more than its size.

Recency is part of the frame too. The United States asks for a photo taken within the last six months. The United Kingdom is stricter: the photo must have been taken in the last month, and you need a new photo for every new passport, even if you look the same. Schengen visa photos must also be recent, taken within the last six months. Do not reuse a photo from a previous application if it is outside the window; rejection for age is a slow, avoidable delay.

The home setup that actually works

Stand one to two metres from a plain light wall, facing a window in daylight, with the camera at eye level. Window daylight is the cheapest good light available: even, natural in colour, and free of the hard shadow an overhead light or phone flash creates. Face the window, never stand with it behind you, or your face will go dark. If the sun is harsh, step back from the window or shoot on a cloudy day. The goal is a face with no shadow across it and a background with no shadow behind you.

Ask someone else to take the photo. A selfie at arm's length distorts the face and makes head size hard to judge. If you must shoot alone, put the phone on a stable surface or a small tripod, use the rear camera with a timer, and stand far enough back that your head and upper shoulders fill the frame without your hair touching the top edge. Take several shots, then judge them at full size on a larger screen: blur, grain and tilt are easier to see on a laptop than on a phone preview.

Pose is boring on purpose. Face the camera straight on, head level, shoulders square, eyes open and looking at the lens, mouth closed, plain expression. Hair must not cover the eyes or the face outline. Remove glasses for United States and United Kingdom photos unless you have a medical reason, and even then the frames must not hide the eyes or cause glare. Head coverings are allowed only for religious or medical reasons, with the full face still visible. Wear a top that contrasts with the background: a white top against a white wall makes the shoulders disappear.

One rule overrides every trick here: do not edit the face. Do not use a filter, a beauty mode, a smoothing app, or an AI tool to change how you look, and do not submit a generated or retouched portrait. The United States guidance says plainly not to change a photo with computer software, phone apps, filters or artificial intelligence, and the United Kingdom says the photo must be unaltered by computer software. Cropping and resizing to the official frame is expected. Changing the face is not.

Print, digital, or both

Which file you need depends on how you apply. A paper application usually needs printed photos, and the United Kingdom paper form asks for two identical printed photos. An online application usually needs a digital file, and each route sets its own pixel and file-size window. The United Kingdom digital route asks for at least 600 by 750 pixels, and its guidance says not to crop the digital photo yourself, because the service crops it for you. Before you print anything, read the route you are actually using and note whether it wants prints, a file, or a photo code from a booth or shop.

Canada, Mexico and Brazil: do not plan on a home photo

This is the warning that saves the most wasted effort. A Canadian passport photo must be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio, printed at 50 by 70 millimetres, with the head between 31 and 36 millimetres, and the photographer must write or stamp the studio name, complete address and date on the back of one photo. Home prints are not accepted. That single rule makes this home workflow the wrong plan for a Canadian passport, even if the framing looks perfect. Go to a studio, ask for a Canadian passport photo by name, and check the stamp before you leave.

For Mexico and Brazil, treat the photo the same way: assume a studio or in-person step, and confirm it before you book anything else. Mexican passport appointments are handled through the foreign ministry, known as SRE, and Brazilian passport appointments are handled in person by the Federal Police, so the photo step is tied to the appointment rather than to a print you bring from home. Do not assume a home print will be accepted for either route. Open the official appointment instructions for your case and follow that page, even if it contradicts a general guide, including this one.

Five rejections you can check before you submit

• Wrong frame. A United States square used for a United Kingdom or Schengen application, or vice versa. Check the table row for your document.
• Head too small or too large. Measure chin to crown against your document row. A head filling the frame fails, and so does a distant head.
• Shadow or busy background. A shadow, a door frame, a plant, or a second person in frame. The background must be plain, and you must be the only subject.
• Glasses, glare or covered eyes. Reflections, tinted lenses, heavy frames, or hair across the eyes. Remove glasses unless medically needed.
• Edited or old photo. A filter, a smoothing app, an AI change, or a photo outside the recency window. The United Kingdom window is one month, not six.

Official sources, in one place

Use these pages as the final word. For a Schengen visa, the consulate handling your application publishes the final photo rules for that application.

• United States: State Department passport photos
• United Kingdom: GOV.UK passport photo rules
• Canada: Government of Canada passport photo requirements
• Remove background — the in-app steps for a clean cutout, useful for product and profile images, not for altering a passport face.
• Small-shop photo guide — the same clean-background discipline, applied to product listings.