close up of your head and top of your shoulders so that your
face takes up 70–80% of the photograph
in
sharp focus and clear
of
high quality with no ink marks or creases
The photographs must:
show you looking directly
at the camera
show your skin tones
naturally
have appropriate brightness
and contrast
be printed on high quality
paper, and at high resolution
Photographs taken with a
digital camera must be high
quality colour and printed
on photo-quality paper.
Style and lighting
The photographs must:
be colour neutral
show your eyes open and
clearly visible—no hair
across your eyes
show you facing square
on to the camera, not
looking over one shoulder
(portrait style) or tilted,
and showing both edges
of your face clearly
be taken with a plain
light-coloured background
be taken with uniform
lighting and not show
shadows or flash
reflections on your
face and no red eye
Glasses and head covers
If you wear glasses:
the photograph must
show your eyes clearly
with no flash reflection
off the glasses, and no
tinted lenses (if possible,
avoid heavy frames—
wear lighter framed
glasses if you have them)
make sure that the
frames do not cover
any part of your eyes.
Head coverings:
are not permitted except
for religious reasons, but
your facial features from
bottom of chin to top of
forehead and both edges
of your face must be
clearly shown.
Expression and frame
Your photographs must:
show you alone (no chair
backs, toys or other people
visible), looking at the
camera with a neutral
expression and your
mouth closed.
no more than 6-months old