How to take a UK passport photo at home

What the photo has to be

A UK passport photo is 35 mm wide and 45 mm tall, the upright shape that many countries share. What sets the UK apart is the background: it asks for plain light grey or cream, not the bright white that people reach for first. On a phone, a white wall often photographs patchy, grey in one corner and washed out in another, so a pale grey or cream wall is the safer choice.

The face is measured by the size of the head, running from the underside of the chin to the very top of the skull. The allowed range is 29 to 34 mm of the 45 mm height. Hair is not counted in that measurement, which means a tall hairstyle does not make your face look bigger on paper. The same card lists the other expectations: you face the camera, your expression is neutral, and the picture is not retouched.

• Size 35 × 45 mm
• Head from chin to top of skull: 29–34 mm
• Background: light grey or cream
• Neutral expression, looking straight ahead
• No hat, no tinted lenses, no retouching

Online or on paper: decide first

Applications are made online or on a paper form, and the picture you need is different for each. Online, you upload a digital file. On paper, you send a printed photo, usually taken from a sheet that holds several copies. Decide which route you are on before you take the picture, because it changes what you save at the end.

In the maker, open the setup step and set ‘Country’ to the United Kingdom and ‘Document and size’ to the passport line. Then press ‘Show size and rules’ and read the card once. It repeats the numbers above, and the instructions of the office that issues your passport remain the final word, since published rules can change.

Find a wall and a source of light

Choose a plain wall with no pictures, switches, door frames or curtains behind your head. Stand about a metre in front of it so that your own shadow does not land on the paint. If the wall is white, it can still work when the light is soft and even, but a light grey or cream wall needs less correction afterwards.

Daylight from a window gives the most even result. Face the window, with the wall behind the camera or to the side, so that both cheeks receive the same light. Avoid a lamp above or beside you, because it throws a shadow under the nose and across one eye. Cloudy daylight is better than direct sun, which tends to leave one half of the face bright and the other half dark.

Taking the picture

Place the phone at eye level, a little more than an arm’s length away, ideally on a shelf or a stack of books so that it stays level. Someone else pressing the button is even better. If you are on your own, press ‘Open the camera’ in the maker. The guided camera follows your face and takes the shot after a short countdown only when the position, shoulders, facing, expression and light look right.

Sit upright with both shoulders level and your chin parallel to the floor. Look at the lens, close your mouth and relax your face. A smile that shows teeth, raised eyebrows or a squint can all be read as a non-neutral expression. Take several pictures, and do not choose the first one just because it is the sharpest. Pick the one where your eyes are fully open and your head is straight.

Hair, clothes and glasses

Move hair away from your eyes and eyebrows so that your whole face is visible. Hair hanging behind your shoulders is fine. Wear something that contrasts with the background: a white or very pale top vanishes against a pale wall, while a mid-tone or dark top gives a clean outline. Remove hats, headbands, earphones and large jewellery near the face. Head coverings worn for religious or medical reasons are handled under the office’s own guidance, so read it before you decide.

The maker’s rule card lets you keep glasses on only when the frames stay clear of the eyes and the lenses give off no glare. Tinted lenses and sunglasses are not accepted. Reflections are the hardest part to control at home, because a window or a screen can bounce off the lenses. Tilting your head slightly down changes the angle of the glare, but the head must still look straight, so if a reflection will not go away, take the glasses off for the picture.

Check the result before you save

Go to ‘Checks’ and work down each line. Whatever sits under ‘Some things need a new photo’ includes its reason and a retake hint, whereas tint, light levels and the wall are already fixed. The head should measure between 29 and 34 mm; if it does not, use ‘Fine-tune’ to change position, brightness and head size inside the allowed range.

Set ‘Face, hair and clothes’ to ‘No touch-ups’. A passport office wants a photo that looks like you on an ordinary day, so smoothing, slimming or changing the hair is the wrong direction. Last, hold the result next to your face in a mirror and ask whether a stranger would match the two. A picture that is accurate but unflattering is usually the right one.

Saving the file or the print sheet

For the online application press ‘Save file’. The picture is saved as a JPG of 900 × 1157 pixels, and the file stays at no less than 50 KB and no more than 10 MB, the limits the maker uses for this document. If the upload page complains, do not stretch or crop the picture yourself; go back and save it again from the maker.

For a paper application press ‘Save print sheet’ and choose 89 × 127 mm, 10 × 15 cm or 4 × 6 in paper. Print the sheet at 100 percent with ‘fit to page’ switched off, otherwise the photos shrink and the head will fall below 29 mm. Measure one printed face with a ruler before you cut along the grey lines. Print on photo paper with a matt or semi-matt finish, and check that there are no creases or marks.

Why home photos get rejected

Most refusals come from a short list of causes, and nearly all of them can be avoided with a second look. Go through the list below before you submit, and keep the original shot in case you need to repeat it. The receiving office decides each case, and it may ask for a new photo even when a picture looks fine to you.

• Head too small or too large for the 29–34 mm range
• Shadow across the face or on the wall behind it
• Glare on glasses, or tinted lenses
• A white, patterned or unevenly lit background
• A smile, an open mouth or a tilted head
• Filters, smoothing or an altered background
• A picture that no longer looks like you