How to Take a Good Passport Photo at Home with Your Phone

Official passport photos cost anywhere from $10 to $20 at a pharmacy or post office. With a modern smartphone and a few minutes of setup, you can produce equivalent results at home and use BG Bueno's ID Photo Maker to generate print-ready sheets at a fraction of the cost. Here's exactly how to do it.

What you'll need

• •A smartphone with a decent camera (any flagship from the last 4 years works well)
• •A plain white or off-white wall, or a white bedsheet hung flat
• •Natural daylight from a window, or two consistent light sources
• •A tripod or propped phone (someone to take the photo also works)
• •BG Bueno's ID Photo Maker to crop, resize, and generate a print sheet

Setting up your background

The most important thing is a clean, even white or off-white background with no patterns, shadows, or visible objects. Options:

White wall: The simplest choice if you have one. Stand about 50–60 cm away from the wall to prevent your shadow from falling on it.

White bedsheet or backdrop: Hang it as flat as possible against a wall. Creases can appear in photos and look unprofessional.

White foam board or poster board: Available at any stationery shop. Prop it against a wall and stand in front of it. Works extremely well for the DIY approach.

Avoid: textured walls, patterned wallpaper, light gray walls (most passport requirements specify white or off-white, not gray), and walls with artwork or furniture visible.

Lighting: the single most important factor

Poor lighting is the most common reason DIY passport photos fail. You need:

Even, diffused light on your face. Harsh, directional light (like a single overhead light or direct sunlight) creates hard shadows under the nose, chin, and eye sockets that look unflattering and may cause rejection.

The best setup: Stand facing a large window on an overcast day or when the sun isn't shining directly through it. The window acts as a large, soft light source that illuminates your face evenly.

If using artificial light: Use two lights of the same type (two lamps with identical bulbs, or two ring lights) positioned at equal distance on each side of your face at roughly eye level. This eliminates shadows.

Turn off overhead room lights when using window light. Mixing light sources with different color temperatures creates uneven, yellowish results.

Camera settings and positioning

Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera. The rear camera on most smartphones has significantly better optics. Have someone else take the photo, or use a tripod and timer.

Distance: Stand about 1–1.5 meters from the camera. Too close creates lens distortion that makes faces look wider than they are.

Eye level: The camera should be at exactly your eye level or very slightly above. Shooting from below creates unflattering distortion; shooting from significantly above makes the head look too small.

No portrait mode (bokeh). Turn off Portrait mode and any beauty filters. Passport photo systems use facial recognition and require a natural, unprocessed image.

Take 10–15 shots. Minor variations in expression, slight head tilt, and lighting differences across frames mean you'll always have a better option by taking multiple shots. You'll know which one to use when you see them on a larger screen.

Expression and positioning requirements

For US, UK, PH, and most other passports:

• •Face the camera directly. No tilting the head left, right, up, or down.
• •Neutral expression or natural, relaxed smile. Mouth closed for most countries (US, UK, EU). A natural slight smile is acceptable; a broad grin is not.
• •Eyes fully open, looking directly into the camera.
• •No glasses. Most countries now prohibit glasses in passport photos regardless of whether they're prescription.
• •No hats or head coverings unless for documented religious reasons, and even then the face must be fully visible.

Using BG Bueno to process your photo

Once you have a good shot:

1. 1Upload your photo to BG Bueno's ID Photo Maker.
2. 2Select your passport size — US Passport (2×2 inch), Philippine Passport (4×6 cm), UK/EU (35×45 mm), or your country's standard.
3. 3Adjust the crop using the zoom and position sliders to center your face correctly. The head should fill 70–80% of the frame height for most passport standards.
4. 4Set the background color to white (required for most countries).
5. 5Download either a single photo or a print sheet with multiple copies.
6. 6Take the downloaded file to a print shop and print on 4R photo paper.

Common rejection reasons to avoid

Head too small in the frame. The face must fill a substantial portion of the photo. Zoom in during the crop step.

Shadows on the background. Stand further from the background wall and ensure even lighting.

Photo is blurry. Use a tripod or rest your phone on something stable. Use the timer to avoid camera shake when pressing the button.

Wrong background color. Most countries require white or off-white — not gray, cream, or blue (some countries like the Philippines accept blue for certain documents, but white is safest for passports).

Printed on plain paper. Always use photo paper from a print shop. Plain printer paper curls, bleeds, and is rejected.

Cost comparison

• •Post office or pharmacy photo: $10–$20 for 2 prints
• •DIY with BG Bueno: Free tool + $0.50–$1.00 for printing at a print shop

For a family applying for passports together, the savings are significant. The print sheet option generates 4–12 copies per sheet, making the per-photo cost even lower.