Photographs for use in passports issued by the United States must be 2 inches square. If having the photograph taken outside of the United States, the photographs must be 51 millimeters square. The photographs must be printed on thin photo paper.
The background for photographs for use in United States passports must either be white or off-white. If taking a passport photo outside of a photo studio, place the subject 4 to 6 feet (1 to 1 1/2 meters) from a white or off-white wall. A professional photo background is not always necessary, as long as the background is clean and solid.
The subject in the photograph must face the camera directly. Ideally, both ears should be visible if the subject has short hair. The subject's eyes must be open and, if the subject wears glasses, they must be completely reflection free. If it isn't possible to photograph the subject without reflections in eyeglasses, remove the glasses. The subject must have a neutral expression with lips closed and no teeth showing.
The photograph must capture the entire face. The head should be centered and should measure from 1 to 1 3/8 inch from chin to crown (25 millimeters to 35 millimeters). Eye level must be between 1 1/8 and 1 3/8 inches (28 millimeters and 35 millimeters) from the bottom of the frame.
The photograph must be evenly lit, have smooth, continuous tones and can not be retouched in any way. The easiest way to ensure smooth tonal qualities is to use two lights on either side of the subject and a good-quality camera. Inexpensive cameras or using on-camera flash can result in harsh shadows or uneven digitization of some textures.
