Guides / shooting

How to Take a Passport Photo at Home

A phone, a white wall and window light are enough — if you get the head size and background right. This is the shooting method our pre-check assumes.

By Nan Liang · Updated 2026-10-29

1. Set up the background

Stand about 30cm in front of a plain white or off-white wall. Your shadow on the wall is the most common failure — put the light source (a window works well) behind the phone, facing you, not behind you.

2. Frame the head correctly

For a US passport the head must be 50–69% of the frame height. On most phones, that means holding the phone at eye level about 1.2–1.5m away, with your head and shoulders in frame and a hand’s width of space above your hair. Use our maker — its crop overlay shows the exact band while you check.

3. Keep a neutral expression

Face the camera squarely; do not tilt your head.
Close your mouth and relax your face — no smile.
Take your glasses off (required for US passports since 2016).
Keep hair off your face; head coverings only for documented religious/medical reasons.

4. Shoot, check, then (and only then) fix the format

Take several shots and pick the one where your face is square to the camera and evenly lit. Everything after this step — background removal, cropping to millimeters, the print sheet — is formatting, and it never changes what your face looks like.

Where this method does not apply Canada requires professionally taken, unaltered photos — a home shot with a digitally removed background is not acceptable for a Canadian passport. See the Canada requirements. Shooting for a child instead? The setup is the same with a few newborn-specific changes — see baby passport photos.

What you get for free vs. paid

Uploading, the background removal preview and the on-screen check are free. The download, compliance report and print sheet are $5.99 — you pay only after you have seen the result.