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ID Photo Tips

How to take a good ID photo

 

Photo Guidelines

Min. 2 megapixel camera
Daylight from the front, no flash; no shadows on face
Plain white or light grey background, no texture or shadows
Stand 1 meter (3 feet) from background
Single person, dark shirt, no uniform
Body & head facing camera, head straight
Eyes clearly visible, looking at camera
Mouth closed, no smile or frown
No photo editing

 

Acceptable Photos

   
normal (without head covering or glasses)
with glasses
with scarf (for religious purposes only)

 

 

10 Golden Rules

It’s not hard to take a good passport photo or visa photo at home, if you just follow a few simple rules:

   

Rule 1 - Camera requirements and setup

  
   
Camera requirements
Min. 2 megapixels
No effect lenses (wide-angle, fisheye, ...)

Camera setup (if configurable)
Auto focus on
Auto exposure on
Auto white balance on
Large image size on
Digital effects off
Flash off
   
   

Rule 2 - Image background

  
   
Use plain white background behind person, no texture
No plants, furniture or other people visible
Place person approximately 3 ft (1 m) from background to avoid shadow on background
   
   

Rule 3 - Lighting Arrangement

  
   
Use daylight
No flash
No other light sources
Place person with frontal daylight to avoid shadows on face
Uniform face illumination
Avoid direct bright sunlight
Avoid bright spots on face
Avoid skin reflections
Avoid shadows on face or eye sockets
Avoid shadows on background behind person
   
   

Rule 4 - Camera/subject position

  
   
Create photos in portrait format
Place camera at person’s eye level
Position person facing the camera
Choose right camera position, not too far, not too close
   
   

Rule 5 - Head position

  
   
Head positioned directly facing camera
Head not tilted
Head not rotated
   
   

Rule 6 - Body position

  
   
Body positioned directly facing camera
Both shoulders facing camera
Not looking over one shoulder
Body not tilted
Body not rotated
   
   

Rule 7 - Eyes

  
   
Eyes must be open
Both eyes and irises must be visible
No hair across eyes
No sunglasses
No eye patch (unless medically necessary)
   
   

Rule 8 - Glasses and contact lenses

  
   
Both pupils and irises must be visible
No tinted lenses
No sunglasses
No tinted contact lenses
No light reflections on lenses
Frames should not cover any part of the eye
Light frames are preferable
   
   

Rule 9 - Head coverings

  
   
No head coverings, except for religious reasons
No hats, caps, hoods, helmets, or other head coverings
No shadows on face
Facial features clearly shown from bottom of chin to top of forehead and both edges of face
No covered face (through hair, hands or other objects)
   
   

Rule 10 - Facial expression

  
   
Natural and neutral expression
No smiling or frowning
Mouth closed
Eyes open
   

 

 

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