How to Make Your US Passport Photo (Step-by-Step)

1. Take a good source photo

   Stand facing a plain white or off-white wall with even lighting. Face the camera directly with a neutral expression, eyes open, and remove any glasses or hats.

2. Upload your image

   Click the button or drag and drop any common image format (JPEG, PNG, WebP) directly into the tool.

3. Align & crop

   Use the live, cyan biometric guides to scale and position your head and shoulders correctly.

4. Fine-tune your lighting

   Adjust brightness, contrast, exposure, and saturation using the real-time sliders to ensure a clean, shadow-free look.

5. Download instantly

   Get a single 600×600 px JPEG file for digital upload or a ready-to-print 6-up layout on 4×6″ paper.

Frequently Asked Questions & Passport Rules

Q: What are the exact dimensions required for a US passport photo?

A: The final physical print must be exactly 2 x 2 inches ($51\times 51$ mm). Within that square, your head must measure between 1 inch and 1 ⅜ inches ($25$–$35$ mm) from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head. Your eyes must sit between 1 ⅛ inches and 1 ⅜ inches from the bottom edge of the photo.

Q: What are the digital file specs for the online passport renewal portal?

A: For online portal uploads, the image must meet these precise technical criteria:

• Format: Must be a square JPEG (.jpg) file.

• Dimensions: Minimum of 600 x 600 pixels (Our tool exports exactly 600 x 600 px).

• File Size: Must be between 10 KB and 300 KB. Our optimized export handles this compression automatically.

Q: How do I print the “6-up Layout” file?

A: Do not print this on regular computer paper at home. Upload or bring the 6-up layout file to a local photo counter (like Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart) and order it as a standard 4×6 inch glossy photo print. This typically costs less than 50 cents. Once printed, simply cut along the edges to get six perfectly sized 2×2″ passport photos.

Q: Can I wear eyeglasses, a hat, or a uniform in the photo?

A: No. Eyeglasses are strictly forbidden in US passport photos, with zero exceptions. You must also remove hats, caps, or head coverings unless they are worn daily for documented religious or medical reasons—and even then, they cannot cast a shadow or obscure your hairline. Uniforms of any kind (military, law enforcement, corporate) and camouflage patterns are prohibited; you must wear casual, everyday clothing.

Q: What are the rules for taking passport photos of babies and toddlers?

A: The U.S. government allows a few helpful exceptions for infants:

• Eyes Closed: It is entirely acceptable if a newborn’s eyes are closed or only partially open.

• No Parent Hands: No other person or object can be in the frame. Parent hands, arms, or supporting structures holding the child must remain completely invisible.

• Pro-Tip: Lay your baby on their back on a plain white sheet, or strap them into a car seat covered cleanly with a white sheet, and take the photo from directly above.

Q: What are the most common reasons passport photos get rejected?

A: Most rejections happen due to simple lighting or composition errors. Watch out for:

• Shadows: Background shadows behind the ears or harsh shadows across one side of the face.

• Expressions: Smiling too wide, showing teeth, or making non-neutral expressions.

• Quality Issues: Blurry images, overexposure (washed-out skin), or “red-eye” from a camera flash. Digital red-eye corrections are not permitted.

Features of Our Free Passport Photo Tool

• Drag & drop upload — Supports all common image formats natively in your browser.

• Advanced canvas controls — Rotate, crop, and leverage real-time biometric overlays.

• Professional slider adjustments — Tweak brightness, contrast, saturation, and exposure.

• Instant single download — Saves a crisp, standalone 2×2″ JPEG.

• 6-up layout generation — Perfect for budget-friendly pharmacy printing on 4×6″ paper.

• Automatic optimization — Balances high resolution while targeting the required 10–300 KB file-size window.

• Fully responsive architecture — Mobile-friendly layout, though desktop or tablet is recommended for easiest cropping alignment.