ID photo guides
Practical, source-checked help for taking, sizing and printing photos for passports, visas, exams and ID cards.
- Can I take my own passport photo?Which countries accept a passport or visa photo you take yourself, which add conditions, and which insist on a photographer. Checked against official sources.
- Are edited or AI passport photos allowed?What passport offices and exam boards say about retouching, filters, background changes and AI tools in ID photos, with a link to each official source.
- How to take a passport photo at homeStep-by-step: distance, lighting, background, camera settings and pose for a passport or ID photo that passes, without editing. Based on official guidance.
- How to print passport photos on 4 × 6 paperPrint passport photos at the exact size on a 4 × 6 inch or 10 × 15 cm photo: how many fit, the settings to use, and the paper each country requires.
- Why passport and ID photos get rejectedThe reasons passport offices and exam boards give for refusing photos, in their own lists: distortion, edits, size, lighting, glasses and file errors.
How these guides are written
Each guide is based on the photo rules published by the authorities themselves: passport offices, embassies, exam boards and card issuers. Where a guide states a rule, it links to the official page it came from, and the date at the top shows when the guide was last checked.
The guides cover the problems that cause most rejections: a camera held too close, shadows, a background that is not plain, edited photos, and files that are the wrong size. If you already know your document, its own page has the exact numbers; see all documents and photo sizes.