Your Schengen visa photo, printed for cents

Before you take it

1. Someone else takes it, about 1.5 m away, phone at your eye level.
2. Plain light wall (white or light grey), no shadows. Face a window for soft, even light.
3. Glasses off if you can. Neutral face, mouth closed, eyes open, looking straight at the camera.
4. Keep your head and shoulders in the photo, with space above your head. We crop it for you.

What we check and do

• One face, head straight and facing the camera, eyes open, neutral expression, plain light background, even lighting. Glasses: a warning, as they’re only accepted with no glare and eyes fully visible.
• Head size: chin to top of head between 32 and 36 mm on the 45 mm photo (71% to 80%).
• We crop to 35 × 45 mm at 300 dpi and lay out eight copies on a 4 × 6 in sheet, with cut marks.
• We never edit your face or background. The rules forbid it, and edited photos get refused.

What we can't check

• Rimless glasses, glare, small shadows (we only catch a strong shadow on one side), hair covering the eyes: look at the photo yourself.
• Whether the photo is less than 6 months old, and whether it looks like you today.

Our measurements are estimates. Only the consulate decides whether a photo is accepted: we help you catch problems, we don't guarantee acceptance.