Ensuring High Quality in Passport Photos

The quality of a photo is determined by several factors. There are four key factors that are identified as important:

• Quality, size, and resolution of the image sensor: generally, a larger image sensor produces better quality photos. However, more megapixels doesn't always mean better quality. The number of megapixels in a camera represents the number of light-sensitive elements on the image sensor. Each element records how much light falls on it.
• Quality of the camera lens: the numbers on the camera indicate the light sensitivity of the lens (for example, 1:1.8). A lower number means more light can pass through the lens to the image sensor. The lower the number, the better.
• The interaction between the camera lens and the body: the same lens on a different camera body can also produce different image quality.
• Compression: the way image data is compressed in a photo file varies per camera. Compression is even more complex for moving images. In both cases, the impact on image quality can be significant.

Factors for Photo Quality of a Passport Photo

The following requirements are set for the photo quality of a passport photo:

• The passport photo must be in color.
• The passport photo must resemble the applicant.
• The passport photo must have a natural representation.
• The passport photo must be sharp, with sufficient contrast and detail.
• The passport photo must be undamaged.
• The passport photo must not be a copy of an old passport photo.
• Thepassport photo must not be edited.
• The passport photo must be printed on high-quality, smooth photo paper.
• The passport photo must have a resolution of 400 dpi or higher.