Why passport photos reject — and how to frame them right

Every official passport standard specifies the exact millimetre dimensions of the photo, the head, and where the eyes must sit. Get any one of those wrong and the application is bounced — often after you have already paid and waited.

The three numbers that matter

• Photo size — e.g. 35×45 mm for the US, 35×45 mm for most of Europe, 2×2 in for the US visa. The crop must match the aspect ratio exactly.
• Head height — typically 70–80% of the photo height, measured from chin to crown.
• Eye line — usually ~60% down from the top of the photo.

PassportSnap renders a head-placement guide (crown, eyes, chin) so you can drag and zoom until your face fills the frame to spec. The crop is then locked to the official width, height, and aspect ratio — no guessing.

Background

Most standards require a plain, light background (often white or off-white). If your source photo has a busy backdrop, the background-removal step isolates your subject and drops it onto the colour the standard asks for — white, cream, blue, or red — in a single tap.

Export

When the frame is right, export a single photo for an online application, or a tiled 300 DPI print sheet (4×6, A4, or Letter) for a photo booth. Nothing leaves your device.

- By Aparna.