Passport Size Photo

Size used

The tool crops your photo to 3.5 × 4.5 cm — 413 × 531 pixels at 300 dpi — and compresses it under 50 KB. This is what Indian forms mean by “passport size”: it matches the Indian passport photo size of 35 × 45 mm, and most exam, admission and job forms use the same shape. The photo is centred and cropped to that shape automatically. For a new passport itself, the photo is normally taken at the Passport Seva Kendra during your appointment.

Visa photos are often different

Don't assume a visa uses the same photo. Rules vary by country and change from time to time. The United States asks for a 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) square, and India's own e-Visa and OCI applications also want a square photo, while Schengen and UK visas use 35 × 45 mm. Check the official visa or embassy website for the current rules; for a square photo, use the crop button in the Image Compressor with the 1:1 ratio.

Taking the photo

Stand in front of a plain white or light wall, face the camera straight on, keep your ears visible and use daylight from the front. Leave space above your head so the crop has room. Ask someone else to take it from about a metre and a half away rather than taking a selfie, which makes the nose look larger and tilts the face.

Adjusting the crop

If the automatic centre crop cuts too close, use the crop button with the 3:4 ratio to frame it yourself, then save. Your face, from chin to the top of the head, should take up most of the height, with a little space above.

Exam form details

Some exam notifications ask for the candidate's name and the date the photo was taken to appear under the face, or for a photo taken within the last few weeks; others give exact pixel sizes instead of centimetres. Read the notification before you shoot. If the form asks for a different KB limit, use Compress image to 50 KB, and for the signature box use Compress image to 20 KB.