9 things to never do in a document photo

What not to do in a passport or exam photo — filters, AI portraits, group crops, caps, and heavy makeup.

Most rejections come from ordinary mistakes like a shadow or the wrong file size. These nine are different — they're things people do deliberately, thinking they'll help, that almost always backfire.

1. Don't use beauty filters or smoothing apps

Skin-smoothing and slimming filters change your face enough that the photo no longer matches your appearance on manual review — the exact opposite of what you want for identity verification.

2. Don't use an AI-generated portrait or avatar

AI face generation or "enhancement" tools can alter your features in ways you won't notice on screen. This is treated as a bigger problem than an ordinary rejected photo — see Photo doesn't look like you: verification mismatch problems.

3. Don't crop yourself out of a group photo

Group photos are shot at a different angle and distance than a proper individual portrait, and the crop rarely gets the face size or centering right. Take a dedicated photo instead.

4. Don't wear a cap or sunglasses

Caps and sunglasses obscure the hairline and eyes, both of which need to be clearly visible. Remove both unless a cap is worn for a documented religious reason, in which case the face must still be fully visible.

5. Don't smile or pose

A neutral, direct expression is required for passport and most exam photos. Smiling, raising eyebrows, or tilting your head for a "better angle" all count as non-compliant.

6. Don't reuse a photo that's out of date

If your appearance has changed noticeably — new beard, different hairstyle, significant weight change — an old photo can fail manual verification even if it passes every automated size check.

7. Don't re-photograph a printed photo

Photographing or scanning an existing printed photo instead of taking a new digital one adds visible texture, glare, and quality loss. Start from an original digital photo every time.

8. Don't add your own borders, stickers, or text

Homemade frames, stickers, or watermarks added in a photo editing app are not part of any official spec and will fail visual review, even if the underlying dimensions are correct — see Photo size too large — how to get it under 20 KB or 50 KB for how compliant resizing should actually look.

9. Don't submit a photo with red-eye or flash glare

Direct flash lighting causes red-eye and glare that automated checks and manual reviewers both flag. Use natural or bounced light instead — see Indian passport photo size — 35×45 mm (2026 rules) for the lighting guidance.

Quick reference table

Fix yours

Document photo rules look similar across portals but differ in pixels, KB, and background. Always read the current notification instead of copying last year's file. When a form rejects an upload, note the exact error text — "invalid dimensions" and "file too large" need different fixes. PhotoFix presets encode the published spec so you do not have to memorize each exam.

Before final submit, compare your export against the checklist: correct JPG, dimensions within range, KB inside the window, plain background, and face proportion where applicable. Keeping the original photo lets you re-export if a portal updates limits mid-cycle.