How to Make a 2x2 Passport Photo at Home

You can make a 2x2 inch passport photo at home in three steps: take a well-lit, front-facing photo against a plain white or off-white wall, crop it to a square with your head at the right size, and print it at exactly 2 × 2 inches. ImageSpark's Passport Photo tool handles the tricky middle step. It gives you a head-position guide for the US 2 × 2 inch format and exports a 600 × 600 pixel JPG at 300 DPI, which prints at exactly the right size.

The rest of this guide covers the requirements, how to set up the shot, how to crop and print it, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Passport rules change from time to time, so always check the current official requirements before you print.

US passport photo requirements at a glance

The US Department of State publishes the official rules. The main ones for a printed photo are:

Size: 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm).
Head size: from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, between 1 and 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm).
Background: plain white or off-white, with no patterns, shadows or objects.
Recent: taken within the last six months, showing how you look now.
Expression: facing the camera directly, both eyes open, with a neutral expression or a natural smile.
Glasses: not allowed except in rare medical cases.
No editing: no filters, retouching or other digital alterations. Cropping and resizing are fine.
Quality: in focus, in color and printed on photo-quality paper.

Set up the shot at home

Good light and a plain background do most of the work.

Find a plain, light wall. White or off-white with nothing hanging on it. Stand about two feet in front of it so your shadow doesn't fall on the wall behind you.
Face a window. Soft daylight from in front of you lights your face evenly. Avoid overhead lights that cast shadows under your eyes and nose, and avoid direct sunlight that makes you squint.
Balance the light. If one side of your face is darker, have someone hold a white sheet of paper or card on that side to bounce light back.
Use a helper or a timer. Arm's-length selfies distort faces. Ask someone to take the photo from about four feet away, or prop your phone at eye level and use the timer.

Take the photo

Stand straight, shoulders square to the camera, and look directly into the lens.
Keep your expression neutral, or smile naturally with your mouth closed. Both eyes must be open.
Remove glasses, hats and headphones. Head coverings worn daily for religious reasons are generally allowed if your full face is visible, but check the official guidance.
Keep hair away from your eyes and make sure your whole face, from hairline to chin, is visible.
Leave space around your head and shoulders. You'll crop later, so don't fill the frame.
Take several shots and pick the sharpest one with the most even lighting.

Crop the photo to 2 × 2 inches

1. Open the tool. Go to Passport Photo. It's one of ImageSpark's Pro tools, so you'll need a Pro plan to create the final photo.

2. Add your photo and choose the format. Drop in the photo and choose the US 2 × 2 inch passport format. The same tool also has formats for the UK, EU and Schengen countries, India, China and Canada.

3. Line up your head. Drag the photo and zoom, or pinch on a phone, until the top of your head sits in the upper green band and your chin in the lower one, with your face centered on the dashed line. This puts your head at the size the rules require.

4. Create and download. Click Create Passport Photo. You'll get a 600 × 600 pixel JPG at 300 DPI, which prints at exactly 2 × 2 inches.

The photo is cropped in your browser, so your face and the rest of the picture are never uploaded, which matters for a document as sensitive as a passport.

Print it at the right size

The file has exactly the right number of pixels for a 2 × 2 inch print at 300 DPI, but some apps and printers ignore that and stretch the image to fill the paper. To avoid surprises:

In your print dialog, set the print size to 2 × 2 inches, or choose Actual size or 100% scale. Don't use Fit to page.
Use photo-quality paper, matte or glossy, and a good printer, or order a print from a photo lab at a fixed size.
Measure the first print with a ruler before printing more copies, and trim carefully along the edges.

Common reasons passport photos get rejected

Shadows on your face or on the background behind you.
Head too large or too small, often from skipping the guide or cropping by eye.
Glasses or reflections, even if the frames don't cover your eyes.
Filters, smoothing or edits, including beauty modes built into phone cameras. Turn them off before taking the photo.
A patterned, colored or cluttered background.
Blur or low resolution, usually from zooming in heavily on a photo taken from too far away.
An old photo that no longer looks like you.

Submitting a digital photo

If you're applying or renewing online, you'll upload a digital photo instead of mailing a print. Check the upload rules for the pixel size and file size. If the site has a file-size limit, you can bring the passport JPG under it with Compress Image using a target file size, without changing the framing.

FAQ

How many pixels is a 2x2 passport photo?

At 300 DPI, a 2 × 2 inch photo is 600 × 600 pixels. That's what ImageSpark exports, and it prints at exactly 2 × 2 inches when you print at actual size.

Can I wear glasses in a US passport photo?

Generally no. Glasses aren't allowed in US passport photos except in rare medical cases, which need a signed statement from a doctor. Take them off for the photo.

Can I take a passport photo with my phone?

Yes. Phone cameras are more than sharp enough. Have someone take the photo from a few feet away in even daylight, turn off beauty filters, and crop it to size with the passport tool.

Will my passport photo definitely be accepted?

No tool can promise that. ImageSpark sets the size and head position, but lighting, expression, glasses and background are up to you, and the issuing office has the final say. Check the official rules before submitting.