Photograph Specifications

The salient points are given below :-

1)    The image should be 2 inches by 2 inches;

2)    The image must have adequate brightness and contrast;

3)    The skin tone should be natural.  In case of over-exposure or under-exposure of the photo, the skin is either too dark or too light, photo will not be acceptable;

4)    It should show a close up of the head and (partial) shoulders;

5)    The image should be straight looking, centred  with neutral expression;

6)    Face should be in sharp focus and clear with no ink marks/creases/lines;

7)    The face (from forehead edge to bottom of chin) should be 70 to 80% of the photo or one inch height;

8)    The eyes must be open and no hair obscuring the face;

9)    Prescription glasses if worn should be clear and thin framed and should not have flash reflection or obscure the eyes;

10) Head coverings, hair, head-dress or facial ornaments should not obscure the face;

11) The photo must have plain  light background;

12) There must be no other people or object in the photo;

13) The lighting must be uniform with no shadows on the face or behind;

14) Red eye photos are not allowed;

15) No lines are allowed.

16)  The photo should be ideally printed by professional photo studio with continuous tone; and good resolution.  Polaroid photos or photos printed with ordinary printers will not  be suitable for Indian passports.