How to take a passport photo with your phone

You can take a very good passport photo at home with a modern phone. Most rejections come from the same few problems: shadows, bad lighting, a tilted head and distorted perspective. Follow these steps to avoid them.

1. Choose the background

Use a plain, light-coloured wall with no pictures, patterns or furniture. Stand about 50 cm in front of the wall. The gap stops your body from casting a shadow on it, which is one of the most common reasons for rejection.

2. Get the light right

Face a window with soft daylight so the light falls evenly on your face.
Avoid overhead lights, which create shadows under the eyes and nose.
Do not use flash. It causes reflections and red eyes.
Avoid strong sun from one side, which lights only half of the face.

3. Ask someone to take it

Selfies are a bad idea for passport photos because arm's-length distance and wide-angle lenses distort the face. Ask another person to use the back camera from 1 to 1.5 metres away, with the phone held at eye level. Standing back and zooming slightly gives a more natural proportion than getting close.

4. Frame the shot

Capture your head and shoulders, with some free space above the head and at the sides. Do not crop tightly: our tool needs a little extra background to crop precisely to the official size. Hold the phone upright and keep it level.

5. Pose and expression

Look straight into the lens with your head upright, not tilted or turned.
Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed and eyes open.
Relax your shoulders and keep them level.
Both ears do not need to be visible unless the rules for your document say so. Check the document page.

6. Clothes, glasses and accessories

Wear a colour that contrasts with the background. Avoid white clothes on a white wall.
Do not wear uniforms or camouflage patterns.
Take off glasses if you can. If a document allows them, make sure there are no reflections and the frames do not cover the eyes.
Remove hats, headphones and large jewellery, unless covered by a religious or medical exemption that your authority allows.
Keep hair away from the face and eyes.

Tips for babies and young children

Lay the baby on their back on a plain white or light sheet and take the photo from above, with the phone parallel to the sheet.
Get a second adult to attract attention with a toy held just beside the camera, so the baby looks forward.
Make sure no hands, toys or pacifiers are visible in the picture.
Be patient and take many photos. Children rarely give the perfect expression on the first try.
Older children can sit or stand against the wall. Let them rest first so they stay calm.

From your photo to the official format

Once you have a good photo, IDPhotoly does the rest. Choose your document, upload the picture, and the tool detects your face, levels the head, crops to the exact official size and head height, replaces the background and runs a compliance check, all in your browser so your photo stays private. You get a free preview with measurement guides before you pay, and a full refund if an official authority rejects the result. IDPhotoly is not affiliated with any government, so always compare the result with the official requirements linked on each document.

Last updated October 5, 2026.