The first rule: no shimmery or pearly textures. They will glare and give the face unnecessary volume, make the eyes smaller and the cheeks plumper. Even if you have never used matting products, now it is necessary. Use matte foundation or powder on top of your usual. Your face in reality will resemble floured skin - as it should be.
2. Eyebrows and eyelashes
The darker, the better: in the photo, the eyebrows and eyelashes are “eaten up”, so do not be shy and bring yourself wide and dark eyebrows, thicker arrows and do not spare mascara. Ideally, use overhead at all.
3. Lips
Matte lipstick with a clear contour is your salvation. Choose a shade that is rich, but close in color to your natural lips. No nudes, no fluorescent shades: only classic!
4. Tilt
Drop your chin. Usually you are told to raise it, but in this case it is better not to do so. With a lowered chin, the lower contour of the face oval visually decreases, and the face looks thinner. Don't overdo it, it's better to rehearse in front of a mirror in advance or have someone take a frontal photo of you to choose the optimal slope.
5. Turn
Slightly, literally a drop, turn your head with the winning side of the face forward. Each person has one half of the face a little more advantageous than the other, and it is this half that needs to be moved a little forward.
6. Smile
Usually we smile with our whole face: eyes squint, cheeks rise, lips part. For a photo, this is not an option, but a small smile will greatly decorate your picture. Look the right way: a calm look directly into the camera, eyes open but not staring, eyebrows slightly raised, as if you are slightly surprised. And portray a smile as artificial as possible, slightly raise the corners of your lips, but keep a straight face. Let the smile look a little sarcastic: this is exactly what you need.
Three-quarters of people think their passport photo is bad! I also don’t want to look at my reflection in the visa and other documents! Why does this happen?
How to take a good passport photo?
- Don't leave your photo shoot until the last minute! When you urgently need to show your passport, you will rush to the first photo studio that comes across without makeup and hair. Plan everything in advance!
- Practice doing makeup and hair, then take a close-up photo with your camera. This will help identify possible mistakes in makeup.
- Go to a good photo studio. At the master great experience in your business. He will tell you the correct head rotation for the photo.
- Do not pinch your lips, otherwise they will look like a thin thread in the photo. Don't twist your mouth.
- Don't go for a photo shoot after a sleepless night. Although we also know the ways in the morning, you still won’t look perfect!
- Do not drink a lot of fluids at night, do not eat salty foods if you want to look beautiful in your passport photo. This can cause swelling of the face.
- Don't raise your head too high because it will look unnatural. Do not pull your head in - a double chin may appear.
- To look good in your passport photo, take care of your hair. Use volumizers to style your hair.
Makeup for a passport photo: expressive, but natural
The main taboo - make-up for a photo on documents does not accept the use of shiny cosmetics! At the moment of the flash, all the sparkling particles will light up, completely ruining your perfect look!
What are the main makeup secrets you need to know in order to successfully take a passport photo?
If you do not know what to do, read the latest article from our experts. It has recommendations for owners of long and short hair, and of course, strands of medium length, how to make it look good in a passport photo.
- We advise you to carefully consider the outfit. It is better to let him be discreet than in your favorite or hippie. Avoid deep necklines and daring designs. Study, but remember that ultra-fashionable things can lose popularity over time. And the photo in the passport will “outlive” a lot of design “whims”. Dress simply and not too flashy. And most importantly - do not frown in the photo if you want to look like yourself. It has been proven that smiling people look the best in the photo, but in our country it is not customary to smile for a passport ... Remember something good, imagine a loved one, yours. Your eyes should be bright and cheerful, but your lips should not show emotions openly. And take pictures in good mood! And we can suggest effective ones! Read! Then you will not be ashamed to look into your passport!
Probably, any person, like me, at the word “document photo” immediately thinks in the direction of a photo salon. After all, there are special requirements for a photo for documents and it must be of very high quality, right? Moreover, say, on the passport (where it will most likely hang for the rest of your life) you want to look decent, and not in such a state that you don’t want to open it once again.
I also have a need for such pictures on a regular basis. Passports, visas, electronic statements, student, travel card, bank cards… But what can I say, photos for documents are now needed all the time and without exception, I'm not talking about travelers!
Until the age of 20, while I needed these pictures from strength, 10 times I never thought about the fact that they can be taken outside the salon. I came to a photo studio, where a tired old lady clicked me on a NikonD200 no less tired of life, and after a couple of days I took the result. He always made me happy. However, the day came when I thought...
Introduction
Why did I choose to take photos myself?
And so, when I had to collect the next package of documents for a Schengen visa, they demanded a photo from me. The usual studio was closed. I went to the next one, which is in the city center. He came, so he said to take a picture of me for a Schengen visa. I was asked to stand ... in front of the window! Yes, there was no proper light, no umbrellas. There was only a soap dish, so antediluvian that its price was hardly more than 30 dollars. And with this thing they took a picture of me, illuminating the floor of my face with a flash. And then they offered to evaluate the footage on the same screen (smaller than on my phone). I looked from the woman to the camera for a long time ... But still I restrained myself and just silently left. I thought - well, an eccentric, what to take from her.
A year has passed. And I've seen a similar situation three times. Every second person opens their own “document photo salons” and tries to foist our photos of frankly lousy quality on us for 2-3 bucks, despite the fact that its cost is a maximum of 0.2 cents.
Finally, I realized that I needed to “tie up” with this contingent when I needed a photo for a green card. Who does not know - I will explain, it is served in in electronic format. I came to the studio (normal, by the way) and I said - I urgently need an electronic photo, can you throw it on a USB flash drive? Do you think they gave me a positive answer? Fig you! I was told to wait 2 days for the printed photo to be ready, and only after that I can pick up the electronic one. The arguments that I will pay for the print, but I don’t need it, I need a photo now and didn’t help here. He spat and went home.
After these cases, I realized - in the current conditions, you can do it at home good photo for documents, there would be a desire and at least a little ability to own a PC. The rest is a matter of technique. The urgency increases for those who travel, and even the whole families. I can’t say that the savings were special in terms of money ... But the savings in nerves are significant.
What will we need?
So, you have decided to create a photo for documents for yourself or your loved ones. Let's figure out what you need...
- Camera (preferably SLR)
- If possible, use a tripod or a hard surface to give the camera stability (at first I used a stack of books on the table)
- More or less functional computer
- Programs for processing (in the article I am considering the option with Photoshop, since various specialized software costs money, and in terms of functionality it is only clogged with unnecessary tools)
- Color photo printer and high-quality photo paper (not necessary, you can print from friends or in a darkroom)
- White dense background (dense fabric or whatman paper). You can, of course, for good as a last resort, use another uniform background, and then cut it out in Photoshop.
As you can see, there is nothing supernatural here, but many things, if necessary. It can be excluded from this list altogether. And once you have decided on the tools at hand, you can start photography.
Taking photos for documents
Actually, this is the most difficult stage. If you overcome it, then everything will definitely work out. The fact is that the photo on the documents must meet certain general standards. In particular, you must correctly position the lighting.
Lighting
In a professional studio, you will find at least a couple of umbrellas, a white background, and a few lamps combined with a couple of flashes. All this creates the necessary, even lighting without glare (and even then, if the photographer has straight hands and the ability to really use all this). And our task is to achieve the most similar result at home, one might say - "handicraft" conditions.
I think that a combination of daylight, uniform light + camera flash can serve as an excellent option.
I did the following. During the day I hung a piece of white cloth evenly against the background of the window. Although. as practice shows, you can get by with whatman paper against the background of an ordinary wall, but then you must make sure that the source of daylight is either behind you or in front. Any deviation will create unnecessary shadows, and therefore if the window is on the side, curtain it. And turn off artificial sources light in the room.
Thus, in combination with a flash, you will be able to achieve the most correct lighting "in haste".
Landing
Remember that to create a high-quality photo, you must be at a distance of 0.5 - 0.8 meters from the background, and the camera that will shoot you should be at a distance of 1 - 3 meters from you.
At the same time, it is very desirable that photographic equipment be located on a stable tripod. You can, for extremes, replace it with a stack of books laid on the table.
The camera should be at eye level, while you sit or stand, looking directly into the lens. The head is turned straight.
Different documents have different requirements. Somewhere you need a serious face (passport, visa), somewhere you can afford to smile (student or ISIC). On some you can’t wear a hat, and some (for example, a military ID) require a uniform. Remember these nuances and be sure to clarify them.
Camera settings
As you may have guessed, it would be ideal if someone helps you and presses the camera button after composing the shot. This is where LiveView comes in handy. Although, if there is absolutely no one to assist, use the camera's rotary screen and remote control or timer. But this is not the best option.
If possible, set the following value on the camera:
- ISO - minimum (100, 125, 200)
- Focusing - exactly on the eye of the subject
- White balance - automatic (we'll fix it later)
- File Format - RAW
- Flash - on
- Red-eye reduction - enabled
If your camera does not allow you to successfully focus on the eyes or face, it will use the mode that is in all "soap dishes" - face detection. It focuses fairly well.
Remember that the photo must be clear. Background blur is not allowed, and red-eye should be avoided.
Photo processing
Once the photo has been taken, we upload it to our computer. We can say that most of our work with you has already been completed.
We open the picture. If you shot in RAW, develop it in JPEG. The white balance can be easily set using a white background or the whites of the eyes. After that, open the photo in Photoshop.
Initially, I decided to crop the images, that is, to “crop” everything superfluous. In this example, I was preparing a photo for accreditation, and the organizers stated a requirement - 3 x 4 format. Ok, I take into account and select the Frame tool (key C). In the tool settings, I set the Proportion item as Arbitrary, and set the ratio to 3 cm by 4 cm. After that, I cropped the desired part of the photo according to the requirements.
In this example, the photo was taken without strict requirements, but when creating a picture for a passport or visa, you cannot do without rulers. You can call them with a keyboard shortcut. ctrl+r. From them, with the help of the tower, we “push out” the guide lines. Note, however, that your ruler units may be inches or pixels. If so, just click on one of them with the right mouse button and specify other units of measurement (for example, millimeters we are used to).
Following the framing, I meticulously examined the background. It can be seen that it is not white, but has a bluish "gradient". It shouldn't be, so I painted over the background with white. You can do this using the selection by mask, which is shown in the video on this page. It allows you to highlight everything, down to the smallest detail, without “disfiguring” the hairstyle and the photo in general.
If you needed an electronic photo, then it is almost ready. It is enough to save in .jpeg format with the desired compression ratio (according to the requirements of the service). To do this, we call the "Save for Web ..." dialog box by pressing the key combination Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S and set the desired parameters (size and quality).
Preparing for printing
However, sometimes a photo needs to be printed. Here you have to work a little more. First, we determine the size of the photo itself. For example, they want a photo of 3 centimeters by 4 centimeters from us. This is done, of course, after framing.
Call the "Image Size" window ( Alt+Ctrl+I) and set it to 3 by 4 and the resolution to 600 dpi.
And now we go to the size of the canvas Alt+Ctrl+C. Here it is better to indicate the size of 15 by 10 centimeters (this is the most common photo paper format). And duplicating the layers with the photo, we place the right amount on the canvas. Make sure that they do not go "back to back", otherwise it will be more difficult to cut them. In addition, I recommend filling the background with some grayish color so that the photos themselves stand out clearly.
We save the results of our work in a format suitable for printing. I usually put .tiff. I will not go into technical nuances, but it is most beneficial for sending photos for printing, although it takes up much more space on the disk.
ID photo printing
If you have your own photo printer with acceptable print quality and good photo paper, then the problem disappears by itself. Feel free to send the document to print! You are just as lucky if your friends have such a printer.
But the worst option is to print in the salon. The fact is that many salon workers, realizing that their bread is being taken away from them and their “soap bars” are undeservedly lying around idle, they begin to become impudent. And they charge for printing 1 photo as for printing their own photos for documents! Moreover, they are not able to name the difference between this photo from the category “Me and the tower” and “My face repeats six times in a row” aloud.
My advice is to just go print to a place that only prints photos and doesn't have their own passport photo service. They simply do not have "boiling" with or without reason, because they do not see damage to themselves here.
The average price of printing one 10 x 15 card at the time of this writing is about 90 kopecks, in the capital - up to 1.5 hryvnias (15 - 25 cents), which is incommensurably cheaper than printing photos for documents (2 - 5 dollars).
Conclusion
On some forums where an article (with a similar meaning) by another author was posted, he was “pelted with eggs” by the owners of photo salons. Let me try again to explain my position:
Document photos taken at home may be of lower lighting quality than those taken by professional studios. However, there are fewer such studios, and the fact that they “puff” you with a soap box in your face “around the corner” will even be worse in quality.
Another thing is time. Not everyone wants to mess around with Photoshop at home. But, for me personally, it is preferable. I can shoot myself for at least a whole day and choose good pictures, I can calmly reject photos I don’t like for hours without the rudeness of the staff. And most importantly, I don’t need to beg for an hour and a half to dump the source onto a USB flash drive. And if you have a big family...
I need photos, probably at least once a week. And always fresh. Sometimes very strict and formal, sometimes less so. Therefore, lately I prefer to take photos for documents at home, on my own. I can't say that they were much worse. The only difficulty is to comply with all the requirements for the picture and proportions, the placement of faces on it.
In general, it's up to you. The main thing is not to forget that a business photo remains business. And then, I was told by employees of travel agencies how they were sent pictures against the backdrop of a carpet for a visa to the UAE.
How do you feel about this "life hack"? Have you ever taken ID photos for yourself or your loved ones?
A photograph is an essential component of the Russian Federation passport, which certifies the identity of a citizen. It must meet accepted standards. The Federal Migration Service of Russia, in the Administrative Regulations governing the issuance of passports, approved the main parameters for photography at 20 and 45 years old.
When submitting a package of documents for obtaining a Russian passport, a citizen provides a certain number of photographs that are completely identical to each other. How many photos do you need? For a new document - 2 pieces, for replacement and restoration - 4.
Paragraph 25 administrative regulations FMS number 391 gives specific instructions regarding the size of the photographs provided. Their size must meet generally established standards:
- height - 45 millimeters;
- width - 35 millimeters.
The legislation provides for an electronic method of transferring a picture and printed version made on photographic paper.
The electronic version can be transferred to the body registering the accepted documents on a digital medium or via the Internet. For the electronic version, special parameters are defined:
- Width and height correspond to the paper version.
- The minimum resolution is 600 dpi.
- The file size is 300 kilobytes. It cannot be exceeded.
- Format - JPG.
Russian passport photo requirements
The requirements for a photo for a Russian passport in 2019 are as specific as possible. Their implementation is mandatory.
Color spectrum
The picture can be color or black and white. This option is at the discretion of the applicant. Preferably the color version.
Color depth:
- 8 bits - for black and white photographs;
- 24 bits - for color.
Photo background
The image of a person for an official picture is made exclusively on a uniform white background. This is the new requirement. Previously, a light, plain background was allowed. Patterns, shadows and foreign objects should be absent.
Photo paper: glossy or matte
The regulation does not impose restrictions on the choice of photo paper for printing. You can choose between matte and glossy passport photo paper. The latter is resistant to fading, makes it possible to achieve a bright, contrasting image.
For a Russian passport, the corners in the pictures are not made.
Image Requirements
The photograph must match the age of the applicant (20 or 45) applying for a new passport. The law does not impose restrictions on the time of shooting. But he stipulates that there should not be significant and cardinal changes in appearance in comparison with the photograph.
- A full-face shot is a categorical requirement.
- Tilts and turns of the head are prohibited.
- Facial expression is calm, relaxed, facial expressions are natural.
- Look directly into the camera.
- Lips are not compressed, there is no smile.
- Most of the photo is taken by the face - 80 percent.
- Head height - 32 - 36 millimeters.
- Head width - 18 - 25 millimeters.
- The face is completely captured.
- Between the top edge of the picture and the top of the head - 5 millimeters of free space.
- Interpupillary distance - no more than 7 millimeters.
- The distance from the chin to the horizontal axis of the eyes is 12 millimeters.
The photograph must be of high quality, made in focus, with optimal settings for sharpness, contrast, color brightness, without deep shadows, taken in a well-lit room.
Appearance: glasses, beard, hair
The photograph on the passport of the Russian Federation must convey the corresponding reality and absolutely complete information about appearance citizen.
- Photographing with loose hair is allowed as long as it does not cover the face.
- For those who wear a beard, there is an opportunity to take a photo with it. It should be borne in mind that wearing a beard is permanent.
- Corrective glasses, if required, must be included in the photo. Shooting with glasses is necessary for those who wear them. In this case, the following conditions must be met:
- The glasses are not tinted.
- The eyes are clearly visible.
- No glare from glasses.
Contact lenses are allowed. Corrective vision, transparent, but not colored.
Headdress
The regulation prohibits the use of any headgear when filming.
An exception has been made for citizens who, due to their religion, cannot fulfill this requirement. This is the only option when a headdress can be used and present in the photo. However, it should not cover part of the face.
Clothes for passport photo
Clothing for a photo on the passport of the Russian Federation must comply with a number of rules established by law.
Pictures where citizens are in uniform are prohibited. Plain, civilian clothes - the best choice. Preference should be given to plain clothes.
For pictures taken in black and white, dark shades are more suitable, for a color version, bright ones. Light colors of clothes will be lost on a white background. Do not wear checkered or patterned clothing.
Women should avoid low-cut dresses. For men, light-colored shirts and dark jackets are recommended.
There are no restrictions on the presence of jewelry. However, you should refrain from using decorating products, reduce their number, and exclude shiny objects. They will cause glare in the image.
When making photographs for a civil passport, all norms are important. Each of their components must be strictly observed. The acceptance of documents for a passport, if the photographs are taken outside the standards, will be refused on the basis of the relevant paragraph of the Administrative Regulations.
Have you ever asked someone to show their document and got a firm refusal? Most often, the reluctance to show your document is due to the fact that it contains an unsuccessful photo. The reason for the unsuccessful image in the passport often lies not in the inability of the photographer, but in the banal lack of his time due to the high flow of customers. If the photo studio is overloaded, then the creative process often ends with the appearance of a technically good picture, but only suitable for decorating the “They are wanted by the police” booth.
Probably a lot of PC users, after taking a bad photo, dejectedly asked themselves: “Isn’t it better to take a photo yourself next time?” However, not everyone knows how to photograph for documents right. Indeed, among PC users, not everyone is well versed in graphic editors, without which the production of a high-quality image is unthinkable. Also, before taking pictures on your own, it is necessary to clarify the requirements for them from the representative of the organization that requested them. And don't forget simple rules addition . By combining the theoretical knowledge from this article with the technical tips below, you will get not only the correct, but also a beautiful picture for documents.
You don't need a photo studio to take a passport photo. It is enough to hang a clean pillowcase behind the back of the model!
What's up general requirements about the question " how to take passport photos”, they are as follows: you can’t shoot in a headdress or tinted glasses. Retouching is unacceptable, it should be filmed strictly in full face. Since the photograph is needed for comparison with the "original", excessive facial expressions that distort facial features are also unacceptable. The background for photographing should be slightly lighter than the skin.
Photo size for a Russian or Ukrainian passport is 35x45 millimeters. For Belarusian passport the required photo size is slightly larger - 40x50 millimeters. For Russians or Ukrainians foreign passport they will need a photo of 36x47 millimeters, and no more than six months ago. If a photo is required for a military ID, here the required dimensions are 30x40 millimeters.
As for the location of the subject, the distance from the top of the head to the top of the picture should be 4-6 millimeters, and the thickness of the paper should not exceed 0.3 mm.
Taking pictures is better natural light, and the distance from the photographer to the client must be at least 2 and not more than 5 meters.
If the ID photo is taken at home, then a clean, white pillowcase folded in half will work well to get a good even background. When photographing, it is better to position the person close to the background - this will avoid unnecessary shadows.
Consider an example of working in a super popular editor
1) First of all, you should put the background in order. To do this, select Image -> Adjustments -> Curves. In the window that appears, take the right pipette (Set White Point), click it on the darkest part of the background. Then click OK and continue. For further operations, you need a millimeter ruler, which is called by pressing (View -> Rulers), and the units of measurement are selected from the context menu by clicking on the ruler with the right mouse button.
2) Then resize the photo for convenience. Click Image > ImageSize, set the Document Width to 100 millimeters and the Resolution to 300 dpi. After such a procedure, further processing will be much faster.
3) Now by pressing the following keys View -> New Guide you should create two horizontal guides, setting the Position values to 50 and 62 mm. The distance between them will be 12 millimeters - this is exactly the distance between the chin and the line of the eyes. Next, press Ctrl + A and Ctrl + T in sequence, which will allow you to select the entire image and turn on the free transformation mode. Holding the Shift key to resize proportionally, you should hook the corner of the selected area and carefully reduce the image. This operation should be performed several times until the pupils of the eyes are on the upper guide line, and the chin on the lower one. To accept the changes, press Enter.
4) Then you should raise one guide line to the very top of the head, and the second (using a ruler) 5 millimeters above the first. This will create the top border of the photo. Using the Crop tool (called by pressing the C key), create a 35x45 mm area and move it so that the upper part coincides with the upper guide, and also so that the body of the person being portrayed is located in the center. Next, press Enter - and the photo of the desired proportions is ready.
5) Then you need to do finishing touches. Discolor the photo (Image -> Mode -> Grayscale), and if necessary, adjust the contrast and brightness of the image (Image -> Adjustments -> Brightness/Contrast…). In order for the photo to be with a frame, you must select (Image -> Canvas Size). In the window that appears, you need to select the display of the size in pixels, enter a new height and width exceeding the original ones by 3 pixels. Next, you just need to click OK - and the photo with the frame is ready.
It remains to place the photographs on a sheet of paper, which will then be printed. To do this, a document is created with dimensions of 100x150 millimeters and a resolution of 300 dpi, and then the previously created photo is copied and pasted into the created document as many times as it will fit. Done - you can print.
For OVIR passport needed black and white photography dimensions 35x45 mm, also printed on matte paper. And in this case, the image should be in an oval with feathering. This is easy enough to do. You need to select the Elliptical Marquee Tool and set the Feather parameter to, for example, 10 pixels. Now you need to select the entire image, invert the selection (Select Inverse in the context menu) and press Del (you need a white background color).
For the Foreign Ministry passport you need a color photograph, so you should shoot in good light to achieve more natural color reproduction. A light background (but not white) is required, preferably a blue tint. The picture is prepared in such a way that its size becomes 36x47 millimeters, and the distance from the chin to the top of the head is 25–35 mm.
It is better to print on your own photo printer, choosing the optimal combination of brightness / contrast by trial and error. If there is no printer at home, you will have to go to a darkroom.
