Taking a Passport Photo With Your iPhone

An iPhone camera is more than sharp enough for a U.S. passport photo. Most rejected home photos fail because of distance, light or editing, not because of the phone. This guide covers the iPhone settings that matter, in the order you will use them, using the menu names in Apple's current iPhone User Guide. Some controls vary by model and iOS version, so if you do not see one, skip it.

Before you start, set up the room: a plain white or off-white wall, you several feet in front of it, and soft light from the front. The complete home setup guide covers that part.

Step 1: Choose the right camera and zoom

1. Open Camera and stay in Photo mode, the default when the app opens.
2. Use the rear camera. It is the higher-quality camera on every iPhone, and it means someone else, or a timer, takes the picture instead of you at arm's length.
3. Tap 1x in the zoom control. Avoid 0.5x (Ultra Wide), which bends faces near the edges of the frame. Do not pinch to zoom.
4. Have the person holding the phone stand about 4 feet (1.2 m) from you. The State Department's photo tips say the camera should be several feet away; closer than that distorts the face.

Your head will look small in the frame. That is fine. You crop later, and the online renewal tool lets you crop inside the application.

Step 2: Turn off anything that changes how you look

The State Department requires the original photo with no filters or digital changes. On an iPhone, a few features change the picture before it is even saved:

• Filters and Photographic Styles. Tap the camera tools button or swipe up from the camera modes, then tap Filter (iPhone 12 and earlier) or Styles (supported models) and choose the standard look (Original for filters). Apple notes that a Photographic Style applies to every photo until you change it, and can be kept between sessions if Preserve Settings is on. Check Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings so a style does not come back.
• Portrait mode. Do not use it. Portrait mode blurs the background and adds Portrait Lighting effects such as Studio Light or High-Key Light Mono, which change your appearance and the background. Apple also notes that some models capture depth information in Photo mode when a face is detected, so the effect can be added later; leave it off and do not apply it in Photos.
• Flash. Tap the Flash control and set it to Off if you have daylight. Flash causes glare and red eye; the State Department suggests adjusting or turning off the flash to avoid red eye.
• Live Photos. Optional. Turning it off makes sure the still you pick is the one you upload.

Step 3: Use the grid, level and timer

Grid and level. Go to Settings > Camera and turn on Grid and Level. The grid helps keep your head centered and your eyes level; the level shows when the phone is straight.

Timer. If no one can help, put the iPhone on a steady surface at your eye level, about 4 feet away. In Camera, tap the camera tools button or swipe up from the camera modes, tap Timer, then choose 3, 5 or 10 seconds. Tap the Shutter button and get into position. Ten seconds gives you time to settle and look straight into the lens.

Focus and exposure. Tap your face on the screen to set focus. If the photo looks too dark or washed out, drag up or down next to the focus box to adjust exposure. The State Department rejects photos that are underexposed or overexposed.

iPhone settings at a glance

Step 4: Take a series and pick the best

1. Square your shoulders to the phone, head straight, eyes open, mouth closed. A neutral expression or a natural smile is fine; for online renewal, avoid showing teeth.
2. Take 10 to 20 frames. Blink between shots, not during them.
3. Open each photo in Photos and zoom in on the eyes. Keep only shots that are sharp, evenly lit and free of shadows on the face and wall.
4. Do not use the Edit tools in Photos for anything other than cropping. Brightness, skin smoothing, background removal and retouching all count as digital changes.

If every shot has a shadow or a gray background, the fix is the light, not the phone. See lighting at home and how to remove shadows from a passport photo.

Step 5: HEIC or JPEG, and how to move the file

By default, recent iPhones save photos as HEIF/HEIC. Apple explains that you can switch new photos to JPEG in Settings > Camera > Formats by choosing Most Compatible, and switch back with High Efficiency.

For online renewal you may not need to change anything: the State Department accepts JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC and HEIF files between 54 KB and 10 MB. JPEG helps if you plan to print at a store kiosk or use a print service that does not take HEIC.

How you move the file matters too. The State Department warns against sending the photo by text message because it can reduce quality. The simplest options:

• Apply for online renewal directly on the iPhone and choose the photo from your library.
• Use AirDrop or iCloud Photos to move the original to your Mac.
• Connect a cable to a Windows PC. Apple notes that photos imported this way may be converted to JPEG.

Never take a screenshot of the photo or photograph a printed copy. The State Department does not accept photos of prints or scans for online renewal.

Common iPhone mistakes

• Using the front camera at arm's length. Too close, usually angled, and it shows. Use the rear camera and a helper or the timer.
• Leaving a Photographic Style on. Styles change skin tone and contrast and can be preserved between sessions without you noticing.
• Shooting on 0.5x. The Ultra Wide lens distorts faces near the edge of the frame.
• Brightening in Photos. Even a small exposure or warmth tweak counts as a digital change. Fix the light and reshoot instead.
• Sending it by text message. Compression can blur fine detail. Upload from the iPhone or move the original another way.

Not sure the photo passes? Try the free passport photo checker first.

If you need prints

Mail and in-person applications need 1 printed 2x2 inch photo. Crop the original so your head is 1 to 1 3/8 inches tall on a 2x2 inch square, then print on matte or glossy photo paper. Our 2x2 printing guide covers 4x6 sheets and kiosks.