Passport photos get rejected for boring, measurable reasons: the print is 35 × 45 mm but the head inside it is 28 mm instead of 32–36 mm; the background is a warm cream when the consulate wants plain light grey; the file is 400 × 500 pixels when the portal demands at least 600 × 750. This maker works backwards from the official specification of each document. Pick a preset and the crop frame, the downloadable file and the print layouts all snap to that document’s real numbers — physical size, pixel size at 300 DPI, the head-height band and the eye line.
Everything happens on your device. The photo is decoded by your browser, cropped on a canvas and saved straight from the page; no image data is sent to BeadCalc or anywhere else, which you can verify by loading the page and switching your connection off. The optional background replacement is also on-device: clicking the button downloads an open-source segmentation model (about 50 MB, once) from this website and runs it locally in your browser. If that download fails or your browser cannot run it, the maker still crops and exports with your original background.
How to make your passport photo
- Take a photo first: stand about half a metre in front of a plain, evenly lit wall, face a window or a soft light source, and have someone photograph you from about 1.5 metres at eye level. Head and shoulders, with space around your head — the maker needs room to scale and centre you.
- Choose the document preset above (US passport, UK passport, Schengen visa, Canada, Australia, India or Japan).
- Drop the photo onto the maker, click to browse, or use the camera button to take the photo on the spot. Nothing is uploaded.
- Drag the photo and use the zoom slider until the top of your head sits between the two dashed crown lines, your chin rests on the lower line, and your eyes fall inside the shaded band.
- Optional: click “Replace background” and pick the background colour your document allows. The swatches only offer colours that preset’s rules permit.
- Download the single photo as a JPG at the exact pixel size, or download a print sheet (4 × 6 in, 5 × 7 in or A4) with several copies and cut guides, and print it at 100% scale on photo paper.
The seven specifications, side by side
These are the numbers the presets apply. Each specification has its own page with the full official requirements, the rejection reasons that actually come back, and a link that opens this maker with the right preset already selected.
| Document | Photo size | Export (300 DPI) | Head height | Background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Passport Photo | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | 600 × 600 px | 49%–69% of height | Plain white or off-white |
| UK Passport Photo | 35 × 45 mm | 630 × 810 px | 64%–76% of height | Plain cream or light grey (printed); plain light-coloured (digital) |
| Schengen Visa Photo | 35 × 45 mm | 413 × 531 px | 71%–80% of height | Plain light-coloured (light grey is the common consulate choice) |
| Canada Passport Photo | 50 × 70 mm (2 × 2¾ in) | 591 × 827 px | 44%–51% of height | Plain white or light-coloured |
| Australia Passport Photo | 35 × 45 mm (accepted range 35–40 × 45–50 mm) | 413 × 531 px | 71%–80% of height | Plain white or light grey |
| India Visa & Passport Photo | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | 600 × 600 px | 50%–69% of height | Plain white |
| Japan Visa Photo | 45 × 45 mm | 531 × 531 px | 70%–80% of height | Plain white |
Your photo stays on your device
Most online photo makers upload your picture to a server, process it there, and keep whatever their privacy policy allows. This one cannot: the page contains no upload code at all. Picking a file reads it into your browser’s memory; cropping and background removal run on your device; the download is generated locally. You can confirm it by loading this page, turning on airplane mode, and making a photo — everything except the optional one-time model download works offline. That model (an open-source background-segmentation network, about 50 MB) is the only thing fetched after the page loads, it is fetched only when you click “Replace background”, and it never receives your photo from anywhere but your own device.
If the model cannot load — a failed download, an older browser, a slow connection — the maker tells you and keeps working: cropping to the exact spec and printing sheets never depend on it. A plain wall in the right colour remains the most reliable background of all, and two of the seven authorities (Australia, and Canada for digital uploads) require an unaltered photo anyway.
Frequently asked questions
Is my photo uploaded to a server?
No. The maker runs entirely in your browser: the file you pick is read locally, drawn on a canvas and saved from the page. There is no upload endpoint. The only optional download is the background-removal model itself (program files, fetched from the background-removal library's CDN when you click the button) — your image is processed by that model on your own device and is never transmitted.
What size is a US passport photo?
2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm), with your head between 1 inch and 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) from chin to the top of your head, against a plain white or off-white background. The US digital template is 600 × 600 pixels, which is exactly what the US preset exports.
Will the authorities accept a photo made at home?
The dimensions, head size and background this tool produces match the published specifications, and most rejections are for exactly those measurable things. But read your spec page: a few cases have extra rules a file cannot satisfy — Canadian paper passport applications need a commercial photographer who stamps the back of the prints, and Australia rejects digitally manipulated photos, so for an Australian passport you should shoot against a plain light wall and skip background replacement. Always check the official page linked from each spec before you submit.
Why do the sizes differ so much between countries?
Each authority froze its own format decades ago and biometric systems were tuned to match: the US and India use a 51 × 51 mm square, the UK, Schengen states and Australia use 35 × 45 mm, Canada is the outlier at a tall 50 × 70 mm, and Japan uses a 45 × 45 mm square. A photo cropped for one document is the wrong size for another — which is why the preset matters more than the camera.
How do I print the sheet correctly?
Download a print sheet and print it on photo paper at 100% scale (actual size) — turn off any “fit to page” or “fill page” option, which would stretch the photos off-spec. The sheet is rendered at 300 DPI with light dashed cut guides around every copy. A 4 × 6 in sheet is the cheap option at any drugstore or home printer; A4 fits the most copies.
Can I wear glasses in the photo?
It depends on the document, and the safe answer is usually to take them off. The US has not allowed glasses in passport photos since 2016; the UK says do not wear them unless you have to; Schengen and Japanese rules effectively require them off; Canada and Australia allow them only when the eyes stay fully visible with no glare. Each spec page states its own rule.