A passport-size photo looks simple, but forms reject them all the time — wrong background, wrong size, shadows, or the face too big or too small. The good news: you can make a proper one at home with just your phone and a couple of free tools, no studio visit needed. Here's the full process.
1. Take the photo right
Most of a good passport photo is decided before you touch any editor:
- Face the light. Stand facing a window during the day. Avoid a light source behind you, which throws your face into shadow.
- Plain wall behind you. A light wall is ideal, but don't worry if it's coloured or patterned — you'll replace it anyway.
- Straight and centred. Look directly at the camera, neutral expression, both ears roughly visible, head not tilted.
- Fill the frame sensibly. Your head and the top of your shoulders should be visible, with a little space above your head.
Ask someone to take the photo from a couple of steps away rather than using a close-up selfie, which distorts the face.
2. Fix the background
Passport and visa forms almost always ask for a plain white (sometimes light blue) background. Instead of retaking the photo against a perfect wall, remove and replace the background:
- Open the Photo Background Remover and add your photo.
- Choose white (already selected on the passport page).
- If the edges around your hair look rough, use Fix the edges to soften them or brush by hand.
Everything runs on your phone — the photo is never uploaded — and you get a clean white background in a few seconds.
3. Size it to what the form asks
This is where most rejections happen. A "passport size" photo isn't one fixed size — it depends on the document:
- Indian passport: 35 × 45 mm (about 413 × 531 px at 300 dpi).
- US visa/passport: 2 × 2 inches (600 × 600 px).
- Many exam/job forms: a specific pixel size and a KB limit (e.g. under 50 KB).
After fixing the background, open the Image Resizer — your photo carries straight over — and set the exact width, height and KB the form specifies. Read the form's instructions for the precise numbers, because they vary.
4. Add name and date if required
Some exam forms (NEET, SSC and others) ask you to write your name and the date on the photo. Rather than doing this by hand, use the Photo Name & Date tool to add clean, legible text in the position the form wants.
Common reasons passport photos get rejected
- Background not plain or not white — the most frequent issue, and the easiest to fix.
- File too large — forms with a KB limit reject anything above it.
- Face too big or too small — leave a little headroom and don't crop too tight.
- Shadows on the face or wall behind you.
- Wrong dimensions — a square US-style photo submitted to a form expecting 35 × 45 mm, or vice versa.
The quick version
Take a well-lit, front-on photo → remove the background and set it to white → resize to the exact pixels and KB your form needs → add name/date if asked. All of it is free, works on any phone, and nothing you upload leaves your device.
Start with the Photo Background Remover and follow the links to finish the rest.