How to Take a Passport Photo at Home With Your Phone

You do not need a studio to get an acceptable U.S. passport photo. The State Department lists "a friend or family member" as one of the places you can get your photo, and online renewal is built around a photo you take yourself. What you do need is a plan: the right distance, flat light, a clean background and an unedited file. This guide walks through the whole setup and links to a detailed guide for each step.

It matters because, in the State Department's own words, unacceptable photos are the number one reason it puts passport applications on hold.

What you need before you start

• A phone with a decent rear camera. Any recent iPhone or Android phone is enough. See the iPhone settings guide or the Android settings guide for Samsung and Pixel.
• A helper, or a timer and a steady surface. A stack of books, a shelf or a small tripod works.
• A plain white or off-white background. A bare wall, a door, or a white sheet or blanket hung over a colored wall.
• Soft, even light. A window in daylight is the easiest source.
• Everyday clothes. No uniform, nothing that looks like a uniform, and no camouflage. Glasses and hats come off.

Set up the space

Think of the room as three points in a line: the wall, you, and the camera.

1. Wall. Choose the flattest, plainest white or off-white surface you have. Remove frames, switches in view, and anything with texture or lines. If your walls are colored, hang a white sheet and pull it tight. Our guide to a white background at home covers the options.
2. You. Stand or sit several feet in front of the wall, not against it. Distance from the wall is what keeps your shadow off the background.
3. Camera. The State Department's photo tips put the camera several feet (about 1.2 m, roughly 4 feet) from you. Hold it at eye level, straight on, not tilted up or down.

Then turn to the light. Face a window, or place one lamp on each side of the camera at the same distance and height. Avoid a single ceiling light right above you and a single lamp far off to one side; the State Department warns that both cast shadows that hide facial features. Details and setups are in the home lighting guide.

• CorrectCentred, neutral, even light

• ShadowsLight from one side

• Head tiltedKeep your head level

• Too farHead is too small in the frame

Why a selfie at arm's length does not work

An arm's-length selfie puts the lens far too close to your face. Close lenses enlarge the nose and shrink the ears, the angle is usually from below or above, and your shoulder and arm crowd the frame. The State Department's examples mark photos taken too close to the camera as unacceptable and tell you to keep the camera several feet away. Your arm cannot reach that far.

So have someone else take the photo. If no one is around, set the phone on a steady surface at eye level, use the camera's 3, 5 or 10 second timer, and step back into position. Use the rear camera when you can; it is usually the sharper of the two.

Pose and expression

• Face the camera directly with your head straight, not tilted or turned.
• Keep both eyes open and visible; move hair away from your eyes.
• Use a neutral expression or a natural smile with your mouth closed. For online renewal the State Department adds: avoid showing teeth.
• Square your shoulders to the camera. The bottom of the frame should be around the edge of your shoulders.
• Remove glasses, hats, headphones and wireless earbuds. Religious or medical head coverings are allowed with the required statement, as long as your full face is visible.

Take several shots, then check them

Take 10 to 20 photos, changing nothing but your expression slightly between frames. Then zoom in on each one on a bigger screen and throw out any with:

• blur, grain or soft focus around the eyes
• shadows on your face or on the wall behind you
• glare on the forehead or nose, or red eye
• a tilted head, closed eyes or an open mouth
• a background that looks gray, yellow or blue

Do not fix problems with filters, beauty modes or retouching apps. The State Department requires the original, unedited photo and says it checks photos for digital changes. If something is wrong, fix the light or the background and take the photo again. Cropping to the right frame is fine; stretching or squeezing the image to resize it is not.

Our free passport photo checker gives a quick second opinion on head size, background and lighting before you submit.

Home photo checklist

Get the digital file for online renewal

If you are renewing online, you upload the photo straight from the device you use to apply. According to the State Department's upload instructions:

• The file must be JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC or HEIF, between 54 KB and 10 MB, in color and taken in the last 6 months.
• Do not photograph or scan a printed photo.
• Do not send the image to yourself by text message; that can lower the quality. Use a cable, cloud storage or email the original instead.
• You can reposition or crop the photo inside the application, and the photo tool checks basic requirements before you submit. A staff member reviews it again later and will contact you by letter or email if there is a problem.

Leave some space around your head when you shoot so the crop has room to work. For the full walkthrough, see how to renew your passport online.

Get prints for mail or in-person applications

A DS-82 mail renewal or a DS-11 in-person application needs 1 printed photo measuring 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm), with your head 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm) from chin to top of head. The State Department asks for matte or glossy photo-quality paper and no visible printer dots. You can print at home on photo paper or send the cropped file to a drugstore or online print service as a 4x6 print holding several copies. The guide to printing 2x2 passport photos explains layout, paper and how to check size with a ruler.

The guides in this section

• Passport photo with an iPhone: camera settings, timer, grid, Portrait mode, file format.
• Passport photo with an Android phone: Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel settings.
• Passport photo lighting at home: window light, two-lamp setup, reflectors.
• White background at home: walls, doors, sheets and foam board.
• Print 2x2 passport photos: 4x6 layout, paper, home vs kiosk.

Want the full rule list first? Browse all passport photo guides.