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Every ID photo must identify you without ambiguity: full face, open eyes, neutral expression and nothing between the camera and your face. Most countries follow ICAO 9303, which standardises proportions and image quality.

In practice that means a recent colour photo (usually no older than six months), facing the camera, with a plain light background, no hard shadows and no editing that changes your features.

• Face centred, looking at the camera
• Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes visible
• No sunglasses, cap or hat
• No filters, beauty retouching or smile

Framing is the detail that gets the most photos rejected. The head should fill most of the frame without cropping the top of the hair or the chin. The eye line must sit in a specific band — for a US passport, for example, between 56% and 69% of the height, measured from the bottom.

The editor’s oval guide shows where the head should sit. Dashed lines mark the eye band, the crown and the chin. Adjust zoom and drag until the face fits; the final photo is exactly what you see inside the crop frame.

• Whole head visible, with space above the hair
• Shoulders visible at the bottom of the frame
• Eyes at the height shown by the guides
• No cropped ears or chin

Prefer soft, indirect daylight facing you. A window in the morning is usually enough; avoid direct sun, a strong flash and lamps behind your head, which cast shadows on the face and background.

The background should be plain and light — white or light gray, depending on the document. A smooth wall one metre behind you works better than a wall right behind your head. If you have no neutral wall, the app’s automatic cutout helps, but the result is better when the photo was already taken against a clean background.

• Evenly lit face, no hard shadows
• White, light gray or very light blue background
• No objects, pictures or people behind you
• No backlight (window behind you)

Dark clothing contrasts with a light background and clearly defines the shoulders. Avoid tops in the same colour as the background. Long hair can be worn loose as long as it does not cover the eyes, eyebrows or the contour of the face.

Prescription glasses are accepted in some countries only without glare and with no frame over the eyes; when in doubt, take them off. Caps, hats, headscarves (unless documented for religious reasons) and headphones are usually refused. For babies and small children, support the head and shoot when the eyes are open — the photo can be taken with the baby lying on a white surface, shot from above.

• Dark clothes, no large patterns
• No glasses, cap or headphones
• Hair away from the eyes and eyebrows
• Babies: eyes open, mouth closed, no toys in view

Use the digital photo in the online form. For an in-person application, download the print sheet: it already contains 2–8 copies at the exact size with dotted cut guides. Choose 10×15 cm for standard photo paper or A4 for a print shop.

The critical part is printing at 100% (actual size), without “fit to page” or “fill the page”. Glossy or matte photo paper keeps details sharp; plain paper absorbs ink and can smear. Check with a ruler that the photo measures the right millimetres before cutting.

• Print at 100%, no automatic scaling
• Use photo paper of 180 g/m² or heavier
• Cut along the dotted lines with straight scissors
• Do not fold the photo: creases show in scanners

Rejections usually come from easy-to-fix details: a shadow behind the head, a gradient background, a slightly tilted face, a smile, hair covering an eyebrow, an old photo or low resolution. Images with filters, heavy HDR, motion blur and crops that cut the top of the head are also refused.

Before downloading, check the preview at actual size and inspect the face closely. The app warns you when your photo has less resolution than 300 DPI requires — use a larger image instead of accepting the warning.

• Tilted face or face outside the guides
• Mottled or shadowed background
• Blurry photo or filter
• Resolution below 300 DPI

Unlike services that upload your selfie to a server, PassPhotoFree uses Canvas and Web Workers inside your browser. Your photo is read from the local file, processed in device memory and never leaves it. There is no upload, no account and no cloud storage.

That also makes it fast: cropping, adjustments and compression happen instantly, even on slow connections. The site loads only its own files and measurement/ad tags (with photo areas masked and manual opt-out available on the Privacy page).