Passport Photo Maker

How the Passport Photo Maker works

Official photos fail for dull reasons: wrong size, head too small, shadows, or a background that is not plain. The size part is pure arithmetic, and that is what this tool gets exactly right. You still need a well-lit photo against a plain light wall, taken straight on with a neutral face.

Passport photo maker sizes

Rules change, and some countries have extra limits on head size or file size for online forms. Always check the issuing authority's current page before you submit.

How the tool frames the photo

The tool takes the largest area of your photo with the right shape, centred, and scales it to the target pixel size. Zoom narrows that area, so your head fills more of the frame. The two sliders then slide the crop window: -100 moves it fully left or up, 100 fully right or down, within the room the zoom leaves.

The JPEG is saved with its resolution set to 300 dots per inch in the file header. Browsers normally leave this blank, which makes print software guess. With it set, a 35 × 45 mm photo prints at 35 × 45 mm.

Getting the head size right

Most rules measure from chin to the top of the hair:

Start at 100% zoom with a head-and-shoulders photo, then raise zoom until the head fills roughly the share in the table. Use the up/down slider to leave a small gap above the hair. The preview shows the result at once.

Printing a 6×4 sheet

Choose 6 × 4 in print sheet to tile as many copies as fit on a standard 6 × 4 inch (152 × 102 mm) photo print, with a thin grey cutting guide around each. That gives eight 35 × 45 mm photos, six 2 × 2 inch photos or three Canadian 50 × 70 mm photos. Upload the sheet to any photo kiosk or online print service, order a single 6 × 4 print at "actual size" or "no cropping", and cut along the guides. One print usually costs far less than a booth.

Tips for a photo that passes

• Light: face a window in daylight; avoid overhead lights that cast shadows under the eyes.
• Background: stand about half a metre in front of a plain white or light-grey wall so your shadow falls out of shot. The background remover can clean up a messy one, but check the rules first, as some countries reject edited photos.
• Camera: have someone else take it from about 1.5 m away at eye level. Selfies at arm's length distort the nose and are often rejected.
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, no glasses unless the rules allow them.
• Resolution: start from a photo at least 1000 pixels tall. The tool warns when the crop is smaller than the print size and the result would be enlarged.

How to read the result

The stats show the physical size, the pixel size at 300 DPI, the output size and how many photos are on the sheet. Look at the preview, adjust if needed, then press Download.

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