Quick answer
For most Schengen visa appointments, start with a recent color ID photo in a 35 x 45 mm portrait layout, a plain light background, a neutral expression, clear eyes, and a face size close to the ICAO-style 70-80% range. France-Visas describes the face size as 32-36 mm from chin to forehead, excluding hair. Netherlands visa checklists commonly ask for a color photo, less than 6 months old, 35 x 45 mm, with a white or light-colored background.
That is the practical baseline, not a universal promise. Schengen visa applications are handled by the member state responsible for your trip, and many appointments are run through external visa application centers. The exact photo count, whether a printed photo is needed, and the detailed photo rules can vary by country, consulate, residence country, and appointment route.
Use this rule before you print: check the photo section of your specific consulate or visa-center checklist, then crop and print for that checklist.
Schengen visa photo specs at a glance
| Requirement | Common Schengen visa checklist signal | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Outer size | Usually 35 x 45 mm for printed photos | Your consulate checklist may state exact size or local variant |
| Face size | Often 70-80% of photo height; France-Visas says 32-36 mm | Whether your mission measures chin-to-forehead or chin-to-crown |
| Recency | Usually taken within the last 6 months | Retake if your appearance changed |
| Background | Plain, light, uniform, enough contrast | White, light grey, light blue, or light color depending on source |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, looking at camera | No broad smile, no tilted head |
| Eyes | Open and clearly visible | No hair, glare, frame, lens tint, or shadow hiding eyes |
| Headwear | Usually not allowed except religious/medical reasons | Face outline must stay visible |
| Editing | Natural likeness, not altered by software | Crop only; avoid filters, retouching, AI background replacement |
| Quantity | Often 1 or 2 photos | Some service-provider appointments take a digital photo on site |
The table is deliberately cautious. The Netherlands photo requirements, for example, use 35 x 45 mm but measure face width and face length in a way that is not the same as the France-Visas 32-36 mm face-height wording. Both are official contexts. That is why this page gives a baseline workflow and keeps pointing you back to the appointment checklist.
35 x 45 mm and pixel math
A printed 35 x 45 mm photo is about 1.38 x 1.77 inches. At 300 DPI, the print area is roughly:
35 mm / 25.4 x 300 = 413 px
45 mm / 25.4 x 300 = 531 px
So a 35 x 45 mm print sheet at 300 DPI uses about 413 x 531 pixels for each individual photo. That pixel value is print math. It does not override a visa portal that asks for a different digital upload size, and it does not prove the face is positioned correctly.
If your checklist asks for a printed photo, measure the finished print in millimeters. If your checklist asks for a digital upload, follow the portal's pixel, file-size, and format rules instead of uploading a 4 x 6 print sheet.
Head size and face position
The head or face measurement is where many at-home visa photos go wrong.
For France-Visas, the FAQ says the photo should be recent and realistic, and the face should measure 32-36 mm from chin to forehead, excluding hair, which is about 70-80% of the picture. German biometric photo guidance also uses a 70-80% face-height idea for adults. Netherlands photo requirements use a different breakdown: face width between 16 and 20 mm, and face length for ages 11 and above between 26 and 30 mm from chin to crown.
The practical crop:
- Keep the head straight and centered.
- Leave a little space above the hair or head covering.
- Show the top of the shoulders.
- Keep the face large enough for biometric review.
- Do not crop into hair, chin, ears, shoulders, or head covering.
If your photo looks like a casual portrait, the head is probably too small. If the chin or hair is close to the edge, it is probably too tight. A boring, front-facing crop is usually better than a flattering crop.
Background and lighting
Use a plain, uniform, light background. Good choices are a matte white wall, light grey wall, or light blue wall when your consulate accepts that color. Avoid patterned wallpaper, textured curtains, shadows, furniture, doors, posters, and other people.
Lighting matters more than the exact shade of the wall. A photo can fail even if the background color is technically acceptable when there is a shadow behind the head or glare on the face.
Set up the photo like this:
- Stand about half a meter to one meter away from the wall to reduce shadows.
- Put the camera at eye level, not above or below the face.
- Use soft window light from the front, or two balanced lamps.
- Turn off beauty mode, portrait blur, filters, and face retouching.
- Take several shots, then choose the sharpest one.
Do not fix a bad background by replacing it with AI. Official photo pages tend to describe the desired photo as a natural, unaltered likeness. If the background, lighting, or shadows are wrong, retake the photo.
Expression, glasses, and headwear
Use a neutral expression. Look directly at the camera. Keep both eyes open and your mouth closed. Avoid smiling with teeth, turning your head, raising your chin, or tilting the face.
Glasses are a good example of why over-simple advice causes problems. Some official pages allow glasses if the eyes are fully visible, lenses are transparent, and there is no glare or shadow. Other visa centers tell applicants to remove glasses at the appointment. The safer at-home choice is to remove glasses unless the checklist clearly allows them and you can avoid glare.
Headwear is normally not allowed, with religious or medical exceptions. When a covering is allowed, the face from chin to forehead must remain visible, and the covering must not cast shadows or blend into the background.
Clothing should be normal everyday clothing with contrast against the background. Avoid white or pale tops against a white wall, uniforms unless required for an official reason, large reflective jewelry, and anything that hides the neck or face outline.
Printed photo, digital upload, or appointment photo?
Do not assume every Schengen visa route needs two printed photos.
There are three common workflows:
| Workflow | What happens | What to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Paper checklist with printed photos | You bring physical photos to the appointment | Print the required number at the exact size |
| External service provider takes photo | Your photo may be captured digitally during the visit | Bring documents; printed photo may not be needed |
| Online pre-upload or document upload | The portal accepts a digital image file | Follow pixel, file-size, format, and content rules |
NetherlandsWorldwide, for example, notes in one Schengen checklist that if the application is made with an external service provider, the applicant does not need to provide an identity photo because the photo is taken digitally during the appointment. Other checklists still ask for printed photos.
That small sentence is exactly why the appointment checklist matters. A technically perfect 35 x 45 mm print is not useful if your route captures the photo on site. A digital upload is different again.
How to prepare a 35 x 45 mm photo in PhotoTools
PhotoTools can help with the print layout when your checklist asks for a 35 x 45 mm printed photo.
- Take a clear original photo in good light.
- Open PhotoTools UK/EU 35 x 45 mm preset.
- Upload the original image.
- Choose the 35 x 45 mm preset.
- Use the preview to create a print sheet at 300 DPI.
- Download the sheet.
- Print on photo paper at 100% scale, actual size, with no fit-to-page scaling.
- Measure one cut photo with a ruler: it should be 35 mm wide and 45 mm high.
PhotoTools runs this layout in your browser, so the identity photo is arranged locally on your device. It helps with size and sheet layout. It does not inspect biometric quality, decide whether glasses are acceptable, verify consulate-specific rules, or guarantee official acceptance.
Print checklist before the appointment
Before you cut and submit the photos, check the physical print:
- The photo is the size required by your checklist.
- The print is sharp, not pixelated, and not blurry.
- Skin tone looks natural, not too dark, too light, or washed out.
- The face is centered and straight.
- The background is plain and uniform.
- No shadows appear on the face or behind the head.
- Eyes are visible, open, and not covered by hair or reflections.
- Mouth is closed and expression is neutral.
- The print is not scratched, creased, marked, stained, or copied from another print.
- Both photos are identical if the checklist asks for two.
A useful habit is to print one test sheet, measure it, and only then print the final sheet. Printer dialogs love to sneak in "fit to page" or borderless scaling. For visa photos, actual size is the boring setting you want.
Common rejection risks
Most photo problems are visible before the appointment if you know where to look.
| Problem | Why it is risky | Better fix |
|---|---|---|
| Head too small | Face may not meet biometric proportion | Retake closer or crop from a higher-resolution original |
| Head too large | Hair, chin, or shoulders can be cut off | Use a looser crop |
| Side shadow | Background is not uniform | Move away from wall and use softer front light |
| Face glare | Skin or glasses reflect light | Change light angle or remove glasses |
| Beauty filter | Natural likeness is altered | Retake with all enhancements off |
| AI background | Edges around hair or face may look synthetic | Use a real plain wall |
| White shirt on white wall | Face outline has poor contrast | Wear darker everyday clothing |
| Wrong print scaling | 35 x 45 mm becomes slightly off-size | Print at 100% actual size and measure |
| Old photo | Does not show current appearance | Retake within 6 months |
| Wrong route | You prepared print when center takes photo digitally | Check the appointment instructions |
If you are unsure, retaking is usually safer than rescuing a flawed photo with software. A good visa photo should look plain, sharp, and current.
Schengen vs UK 35 x 45 mm photos
Schengen visa photos and UK passport photos often use the same outer print size: 35 x 45 mm. That does not mean one file automatically fits both applications.
UK passport guidance has its own face-size, digital-upload, and "no software alteration" rules. Schengen visa requirements come from the member state or visa center handling your application. A France appointment, Netherlands appointment, Germany appointment, and Spain appointment can describe details differently even when the paper size is similar.
Use one original photo, then export a fresh crop for each document type. Do not stretch a UK crop into a Schengen crop, and do not assume a passport photo from a previous application is recent enough for a visa file.
Official references
Schengen visa photo rules are not controlled by one public "photo-size table" for every appointment. The European Commission provides Schengen visa-policy context, while member states and their visa application centers publish the appointment checklists. France-Visas gives ICAO-style face-size guidance. NetherlandsWorldwide shows both a Schengen visa checklist photo section and detailed Dutch photo requirements. German biometric photo guidance is useful for lighting, expression, background, glasses, retouching, and the 70-80% face-height idea.