Can You Take a Passport Photo on Your iPhone? (2025 Rules Explained)

Jasmine F

30 Nov 2025 — 2 min read

Yes — you can take a perfectly valid U.S. passport photo with an iPhone, as long as it follows the official State Department rules.
The challenge isn’t the iPhone camera (the quality is excellent).
The real issues are lighting, shadow control, head size, and background accuracy.

Here’s everything you need to know.

1. Use the Rear Camera, Not the Selfie Camera

The front camera distorts facial proportions.

Why it matters:
Distortion = biometric scan failure.

How to fix it:

Use the rear camera
Have someone else take the photo
Keep the camera level with your eyes

2. Turn Off Portrait Mode

Portrait Mode adds:

Background blur (not allowed)
Artificial smoothing
Edge artifacts
Incorrect depth perception

Use regular Photo mode only.

3. Do Not Use Filters or Beauty Effects

Not allowed:

Skin smoothing
Brightness/contrast filters
HDR enhancements
AI retouching

Everything must be natural.

4. Use Natural Lighting

Stand facing a window with soft, even light.

Avoid:

Overhead lights
Lamps behind you
Harsh shadows
Direct sunlight hitting one side of your face

5. Stand 4–6 Feet From the Background

This reduces shadows and prevents texture from showing.

What works:

Smooth white wall
White poster board
A white sheet hung smoothly

6. Keep Your Expression Neutral

No smiling
No teeth showing
No tilting your head

Look straight into the camera.

7. The iPhone File Is NOT Automatically 2×2

This is the #1 mistake people make.

Your photo is not compliant until you:

Crop to exact 2×2 inches
Match the head-size ratio
Keep eyes at correct height
Save at the correct DPI

Doing this manually is almost impossible.

Fastest Solution: Upload Your iPhone Photo and Get a Compliant Passport Photo Automatically

If you don't want to deal with perfect lighting, background cleanup, or head measurements:

👉 Make a compliant passport photo instantly →

Just take:

A well-lit iPhone photo
Against a simple background
With a neutral expression

Upload it — the system handles the rest.

For complete at-home instructions, see:
👉 How to Take a Passport Photo at Home

Detailed sections:

Passport Photo Lighting Guide
Background Rules
Size Requirements

Why photos get rejected:
👉 Top Reasons Passport Photos Get Rejected

Baby passport requirements:
👉 Baby Passport Photo Guide

Need Help?

Use the AI-powered passport photo generator to instantly create compliant 2×2 photos from your iPhone:
👉 Get Passport Ready

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