How to take the photo
Where. In front of a plain white or off white wall, facing a window, in daytime. Flash off. If your walls are colored, hang a white sheet. Our software replaces the background either way, but a clean wall gives the cleanest edge.
Who takes it. Someone else, from about four feet away, or you with the timer and the phone propped up. Not at arm's length: a close selfie stretches the face and fails the head size check.
How to stand. Face the camera straight on, chin level, shoulders square. Mouth closed, both eyes open, a neutral expression or a natural smile with no teeth.
What to remove. Glasses, hats, headphones, earpieces, anything covering part of the face. Head coverings worn daily for religious or medical reasons are allowed with a signed statement and the full face visible.
On a desktop. Take the photo on your phone and upload it here, or use the camera in the page. Either works.
The camera on this site checks distance, tilt and light while you line it up, before you press the button. Take as many as you like. Nothing is charged until the initial check has passed and you decide to buy.
The AI check
Once you take or upload a photo, four things happen in a few seconds, on screen: cropping, removing the background, resizing, checking.
The result is the "Initial check passed" screen: your photo cropped to the document's size with the measurement lines drawn on it, and six checks, each marked passed:
- Face recognized
- One face only
- Minimum size
- Correct proportions
- Background can be replaced
- No red eyes
Behind those six are more than twenty measurements: head height, eye line, centering, tilt and rotation, eyes open, mouth closed, glasses, head covering, shadows on the face and on the background, exposure, color cast, sharpness. Tap "Show all checks" to see every one.
If a check fails, the screen names it and tells you the fix ("step forward", "more light", "take off the glasses"). Retake it and try again, as many times as you need, free.
What the AI does not do. It never changes your face, your features, your eyes or your expression. Crop, size and background only. An altered photo is a rejected photo.
Every rule checked
The check is the quality step, and it happens before you pay, not after. Every published rule for your document is measured by the software: is the light even, is anything covering the face, does the head sit right, is the expression within the rule, is the background plain, is the file to spec. Each result is on the screen, and a failing check cannot be bought.
What you confirm yourself. The one thing the software cannot see is when the photo was taken. If you upload a photo instead of taking it in the camera, you confirm it is from the last six months before you go on.
The moment you pay, the files are released: the download email goes out within a minute and the file appears on your order page. Prints, if you chose them, go to print at once.
The Acceptance guarantee add-on. Every photo goes through the same checks. What the add-on buys is the guarantee below: if the authority rejects your photo, you get double your money back.
Photo retouching add-on. Applied automatically at payment, before the files are released: temporary skin blemishes, shadows under the eyes, single stray hairs, dust spots from the lens. Nothing that changes a feature. If it cannot be applied to your photo, you get the untouched photo and the retouching fee back.
The guarantee
Orders with the Acceptance guarantee are covered: if the issuing authority rejects the photo, we refund 200% of the order price, including any delivery cost, to the payment method you used.
To claim, email the authority's rejection notice to hello@passportphotos.ai within 14 days of the rejection, with your order number. One claim per photo. The full terms and the exclusions are on the guarantee page. the guarantee page
Photos taken with PassportPhotos AI comply with standards recognized by the US Department of State.
Delivery
Digital photo. A JPEG to the official spec for your document (for a US passport: square, 600 to 1200 pixels, 54 KB to 10 MB) plus a 4 x 6 sheet with two photos. Sent by email and posted on your order page within a minute of payment. Ready for online submission, or print the sheet yourself at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart.*
Digital photo plus prints. 2, 4 or 6 prints on photo paper, cut to size, mailed free by USPS from our fulfillment center. Most orders ship within one business day of payment and arrive in 2 to 3 business days. Within the United States only.
Pickup near you. Choose a location near you on the map at the shipping step (Walgreens, Duane Reade, CVS, Walmart or Target). We send the print order there the moment you pay and email you when it is ready, in about an hour during the photo counter's hours. The store charges about 50 cents for the print at the counter.
After delivery. Your files stay on your order page for 30 days, then everything is deleted: the original, the finished files and the measurements. Never used to train AI.
*Listed stores are not affiliated with our service.