"Passport size photo" sounds like one fixed thing. It is not. An Indian passport application, an SSC exam form and a college admission portal all ask for a "passport size photograph" and all three want different numbers. Sending the wrong one back three times is the normal experience.
The numbers that actually get asked for
- Indian passport application - commonly 4.5x3.5 cm (about 51x51 mm for some photo booths), light background, full face, front view.
- Online exam forms (SSC, IBPS, RRB and similar) - usually stated in pixels and KB rather than centimetres: something in the region of 200x230 pixels and 20-50 KB for the photo, with the signature given its own smaller box.
- College and university portals - almost always their own numbers, stated in the prospectus.
Always take the numbers from your own notification or prospectus. The figures above are the common cases and they do change. The document you are applying against is the authority, not this article and not any tool.
Making one, free, on a phone
- Take the photo against a plain, light wall in even daylight - no flash, no shadow behind your head, no hat, no sunglasses.
- Open the Exam Photo and Signature Resizer. Free, no account.
- Pick your exam or form from the preset list, or enter the exact pixel size and KB limit yourself.
- Crop to head and shoulders, then download.
The mistakes that get a photo rejected
- A busy or dark background - a plain white or light blue wall is what is wanted.
- Face too small in the frame. Head and shoulders should fill most of the picture.
- A photo taken years ago. Many forms require it to be recent, and some require the date printed on it.
- The right dimensions but the wrong file size, or the other way round. Both have to be satisfied.
The signature is a separate job
Nearly every form that wants a photo also wants a signature, usually smaller and with its own KB limit. Sign in black ink on plain white paper, photograph it in good light, and run it through the Signature Background Remover to lift the ink onto a clean white background before resizing. Both tools are free and need no account.