Knowledge
Reference hub
Distinct from our dated blog, the Knowledge hub is an encyclopedia of evergreen reference content. Three shelves — guides, requirements, and standards — organise how the rules behind document photos are written, applied, and enforced.
Short, direct answers to recurring document-photo questions about file formats, upload sizes, print dimensions, and the decisions applicants need to make before submission.
Guides
Guides shelf
Evergreen walkthroughs that explain how document-photo workflows actually work — what is required, how the process behaves end to end, and the common decisions applicants face along the way.
- How to take a passport photo at homeA home setup checklist for lighting, distance, background, expression, and final output.
- The best passport photo makerWhat a useful passport photo maker should validate before a user downloads or prints.
- How to take a passport photo on AndroidAndroid camera settings and capture checks for a document-ready passport or visa photo.
Requirements
Requirements shelf
Per-document specification entries that catalogue the rules an agency or consulate applies to a photo: pixel size, head sizing, background, expression, file constraints, and submission notes.
- Baby and child passport photosHome capture guidance for infants and children where neutral expression and no visible support matter.
- Digital passport photo requirementsA digital passport photo guide for upload size, format, compression, and safe cropping.
- DV Lottery photo requirementsCurrent Diversity Visa photo rules for 600x600-style files, family members, and reuse risk.
Standards
Standards shelf
Plain-language explainers for the underlying biometric and machine-readable travel document standards that drive almost every country's portrait rules.
- ICAO 9303 biometric photo standardsThe international portrait standard behind many passport and visa photo requirements.
- ISO/IEC 19794-5 biometric face imageThe engineering-level specification behind passport portraits - what it measures, how its quality bands work, and how automated face checks score against it.
- ICAO 9303 portrait standardHow the International Civil Aviation Organization defines the portrait that goes into a machine-readable passport, and why almost every national photo rule traces back to it.