Guidelines for High Quality Photographs
This section includes a quick tutorial to help amateur photographers take photographs free of common defects that can cause delays in visa processing.
If you are using a fee-based lottery service that accepts paper photographs, provide them with the paper (analog) photo that meets the lighting, composition, and other requirements described here. Your lottery service will scan your photograph for you to produce a digital image. Make sure your photo meets these requirements.
Unless you are mailing paper photos to myUSAi.org, you should either take the photograph with a digital camera or take the photograph with an analog camera and then scan the image into a digital file. Either way, you need to submit an electronic photo file with your lottery registration that meets the guidelines below:
Proper lighting arrangement
Position light sources on both sides of subject to avoid shadows on face. Use a light source to illuminate background behind subject to avoid shadows in background.
Camera/subject position
- Place camera approximately 4 ft (120 cm) from the subject.
- Have camera at subject’s eye level.
- Position subject facing the camera.
Print specifications
If you are a Green Card Lottery applicant, you should use digital photos, not printed photos. Unless you need printed copies, please ignore this section.
- Produce 2 inch x 2 inch (51 mm x 51 mm) color photo.
- Print photo on thin photo paper or stock.
- Ensure the print is clear and has a continuous tone quality.
- Do not retouch or otherwise enhance or soften photo.
7 steps to successful photos
- Frame subject with full face, front view, eyes open
- Make sure photo presents full head from top of hair to bottom of chin; height of head should measure 1 inch to 13⁄8 inch (25 mm to 35 mm)
- Center head within frame
- Make sure eye level is between 11⁄8 inch and 13⁄8 inch (28 mm and 35 mm) from bottom of photo
- Photograph subject against a plain white or off-white background
- Position subject and lighting so that there are no distracting shadows on the face or background
- Encourage subject to have a natural expression
Well-composed photos
Brightness, contrast, & color
- Brightness and contrast should be adjusted to present the subject and background accurately
- Photos without proper contrast or color may obscure unique facial features
- Color should reproduce natural skin tones
- Fluorescent or other lighting with unbalanced color may cause unwanted color cast in the photo
- Appropriate filters can eliminate improper color balance
Head position & background
- Head should be positioned directly facing the camera
- Photo should capture from slightly above top of hair to middle of chest
- Eyes should be open and looking at the camera
- Eyeglasses should be worn if normally used by the subject
- Glare on eyeglasses can usually be avoided with a slight upward or downward tilt of the head
- Background should be plain white or off-white Include headpieces if worn daily for religious purposes; they should not obscure or cast shadows on the eyes or any other part of the face
- Over- or under-exposure may render the photo unusable
- Three-point balanced lighting is strongly recommended (see Figure 1)
- Facial features should be clearly evident in the photo
- Lighting should be adjusted to avoid shadows on the face or background
- Diffuse sources of light, such as umbrella lights, are preferable to point sources
- High-resolution photography and printing are strongly recommended
- Both conventional and digital photography are acceptable, and conventional or digital printing methods may be used
- Resulting print should exhibit a continuous tone quality regardless of the print method used (dye sublimation, ink jet, laser, etc.)
- Digitally printed photos should be produced without discernible pixels or dot patterns
- Fine facial features should be discernible
- The entire face should be in focus
No glare on glasses or shadows on face
Exposure and lighting
No pixelation
No visible dot pattern
Introduction to digital (electronic) photography
This section explains some of the terms used for electronic photos. We also provide some quick tips for scanning and taking digital photographs.
A digital photo is simply an image that has been converted into ones and zeros, the language of computers. Just like an e-book, a digital photo has many advantages. The main feature the State Department requires is the ability to quickly save and retrieve pictures for law enforcement purposes. This way, they can more easily compare photos against a database of known criminals or terrorists. This is much more difficult to do with standard analog photographs.
Image formats
Computer images can be stored in many different formats. The most common are JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group); GIF (Graphics Image Format); TGA (Targa), and PNG (Portable Network Graphics). These formats all reduce the file size of the image to a size that can be easily transferred over the Internet. Some formats do a better job of image reduction (also known as file compression) than other formats, with or without out losing information. The State Department requires photographs to be in the JPEG format. Files in this format have a “.jpg” file extension, such as: myphoto.jpg.
Picture sizes are measured in pixels
A pixel (picture element) is the smallest element that can be displayed on a computer monitor or printer. The larger the image, the larger the number of pixels. For example, if a print is scanned, the print must be 2.0 inches x 2.0 inches (50 mm x 50 mm) and scanned at a resolution of 150 dots per inch.
Color depth is measured in bits
Another important aspect of a digital picture is the number of colors in the picture. So called “real life” looking images generally contain millions of colors. This is known as 24-bit color because the actual number of colors is 224 (or 16,7777,216). 8-bit color (28 = 256 colors) yield smaller file sizes, but the appearance looks artificial. The alternative to color is greyscale. Grayscale refers to shades of grey as well as black and white. The State Department requires 24-bit color, 8 bit color, or 8-bit greyscale.
Image size
The higher the resolution, the larger the file size. The greater the color depth, the larger the file size. The State Department accepts an image with a maximum file size of sixty-two thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes (62.5K).
How do I take good digital pictures?
If you have a digital camera (one that does not use film), make sure the battery is charged. Look at your subject before you take the picture.
- Follow the instructions outlined earlier.
- Center your subject in the viewfinder and shoot the picture.
- If you do not have steady hands, mount the camera on a tripod or a flat surface.
Scanning existing photos
If you only have printed photos, you can scan into digital photos, and then email your application to myUSAi.com or the U.S. Government site directly.
- Unlock the scanner head. There is usually a dial or slide for locking and unlocking the sensor. Do not forget to lock it again before you move the scanner or you may damage it.
- Let your scanner warm up for at least 5 minutes before you begin, otherwise the picture quality may not be the best.
- Clean the glass plate so it is totally free of all dust and fingerprints. If you cannot remove the dust, either reposition the picture, or use image-editing software to touch up the photograph.
- Select the proper resolution. The measurement of resolution is determined by the density of the dots. State Department requires a resolution of 150 dots per inch (150 dpi). Some scanners support resolutions as high as 2,800 dots per inch. Do not use a high resolution scanner setting. Resolution is Measured in Dots per Inch (DPI).
- Select the proper image size.
- Save the scanned image to your computer and name it appropriately, such as “mrael_24bit.jpg”.
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