Guides

Plain-English help with passport and visa photos, and with making photos, signatures and PDFs fit upload limits. Each guide is based on the official rules and says where they come from.

How to Take a Passport Photo at Home With Your PhoneA step-by-step way to take a passport or visa photo at home with a phone: the wall, the light, the distance, and the checks to do before you upload.6 min read
Why Passport and Visa Photos Get Rejected, and How to Fix Each ProblemThe most common reasons a passport or visa photo is turned down, from file size and pixels to shadows and glasses, with the fix for each one.7 min read
US Visa Photo Requirements for the DS-160, ExplainedThe US visa photo rules in plain words: 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 pixels, up to 240 KB, JPEG, white background, head 50% to 69% of the height.5 min read
Schengen Visa Photo Size: The 35 × 45 mm Rules ExplainedWhat a Schengen visa photo needs: 35 × 45 mm, face 70% to 80% of the height, a plain light background, and how to print one at the right size.5 min read
UK Passport Photo Rules for Online ApplicationsThe digital photo rules for a UK passport application: at least 600 × 750 pixels, 50 KB to 10 MB, taken in the last month, and why you should not crop it.5 min read
Which Background Colour Does Your Passport Photo Need?White, off-white, light grey or "anything but white": the background each country asks for in passport and visa photos, with the official sources.5 min read
How to Make a PDF Smaller for an Upload LimitHow to get a PDF under 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB for an online form while keeping it readable, and what to do when it still will not fit.6 min read
KB, MB and Why the Same File Shows Two Different SizesWhy Windows says a file is 98 KB while your phone says 100 KB, how upload limits are counted, and how to make a file that passes either way.4 min read
How to Prepare Your Signature for an Online FormSign on paper, take a photo, and turn it into a clean signature file with the exact pixels and KB size an online form asks for.5 min read