DIY ID photo

How to use it

Upload a recent, front-facing, well-lit photo; drag and zoom until the face fills the guide oval (in most European ID photos the face must take 70-80% of the height). Then download the 4×6" sheet and print it at any photo kiosk or printer choosing «actual size» (no scaling): you'll get 8 photos to cut along the lines.

Typical document requirements

Plain light background (white or light grey), neutral expression with mouth closed, looking at the camera, no shadows on the face or behind the head, no headwear (except religious) and no glare on glasses. The photo must be recent (last 6 months). Note: 35×45 mm is the standard in most of Europe; US passports use 2×2 inches.

Privacy

Your photo stays in your browser: it is never uploaded to any server.

The measurements that matter, and why the face is the real rule

The Italian format is 35 by 45 millimetres, but the size of the print is the easy part: what usually gets a photo rejected is the proportion of the face. The ICAO rules, which Italy follows for passports and electronic identity cards, require between 32 and 36 millimetres from the tip of the chin to the top of the head, that is roughly seventy to eighty per cent of the height.

It follows that a photo where the face is small, or conversely cut off at the top, cannot be rescued by cropping: it has to be retaken. And it is why the oval guide is not a graphic flourish, it is the real constraint.

The rules that get a photo rejected

A background that is light, uniform and free of shadows: a white wall with the shadow of the head behind is already grounds for refusal. A neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open and clearly visible, gaze straight at the camera. No sunglasses, and with prescription glasses no reflections and no frames covering the eyes.

No headwear, with the exception of items worn for religious reasons, which are allowed provided the oval of the face stays uncovered from forehead to chin. And no retouched photos: retouching that slims the face or removes a mole defeats the automatic comparison at a border gate, which is exactly what the photo exists for.

How to take one at home, if you really must

With the light of a window in front, not to the side and not behind, and a couple of metres from a light wall, so the shadow does not fall on it. The camera should be held at eye level and about a metre and a half away: closer and the lens distorts the features, further and detail is lost.

Better to have someone else take the photo than to use an outstretched arm, and better the rear camera than the front one, which has less resolution and distorts more. One last thing almost everyone gets wrong: a selfie is mirrored by many apps, and a mirrored photo is not the person who will turn up at the counter.

When a home-made photo is not enough

For a passport and for an electronic identity card the photo is captured or verified at the counter, and the requirements are checked by an official or by software. In many municipalities the photograph also has to be supplied digitally with precise characteristics, which differ from one municipality to another.

So it is worth checking the requirements of the office before printing: this page prepares a 10 by 15 sheet with several copies ready to cut out, and is perfect for passes, memberships, enrolments and job applications. For an identity document, instead, the risk of having to go back is real.

Nearby tools

For the background there is Transparent background, for dimensions Resize photo and for a size limit set by a form Compress to a target size. For a round profile image there is Round photo.