2 × 2 inches in pixels
Inches make the maths easy, because DPI means dots per inch: pixels = inches × DPI. At 300 DPI, 2 inches is 2 × 300 = 600 pixels, so a 2 × 2 in photo is 600 × 600 px.
| DPI | Pixels for 2 × 2 in | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 150 | 300 × 300 px | Light uploads and previews |
| 200 | 400 × 400 px | Everyday prints |
| 300 | 600 × 600 px | Sharp photo prints (the preset) |
| 600 | 1200 × 1200 px | Maximum detail, larger file |
In metric, 2 inches is 50.8 mm, which official pages round to 51 × 51 mm. Some pages call it 5 × 5 cm, which is close but almost 1 mm short on each side. If your form says 2 × 2 inches or 51 mm, keep the inch setting rather than typing 5 cm.
Where 2 × 2 inch photos are required
The square 2 × 2 inch photo is, above all, the American format:
- US passports. The photo must be 2 × 2 inches, on a plain white or off-white background, with a head height of 1 to 1⅜ inches measured from chin to crown. (US Embassy in Poland)
- US visas. Nonimmigrant applicants upload a digital photo with the DS-160 form. If the upload fails, they bring one printed photo of exactly 2 × 2 inches to the interview, and immigrant visa applicants bring two. (US Embassy in Guyana, November 2025)
US embassies abroad point out that this is bigger than many local standards. The US Embassy in Austria, for example, warns that default European passport photos are too small. (US Embassy in Austria)
Other forms sometimes ask for a square photo too; the Indian passport and visa photo page covers the square preset for Indian visa and OCI applications. Whatever the form, its own instructions decide the size.
Turning a rectangle into a square
Almost every camera photo is a rectangle, so becoming 2 × 2 means losing part of it. Crop to fill keeps the middle and trims the long side evenly at both ends. Take a common upright phone photo of 3024 × 4032 px: to become square it loses 1008 px of height, 504 px from the top and 504 px from the bottom, a quarter of the picture in all.
So where you sit in the frame matters:
- Head and shoulders in the middle: the square keeps your face and trims empty space. Ideal.
- Lots of space above your head: the top trim does no harm, but the bottom may cut in closer under your chin than you'd like.
- Head near the top edge: the crop can slice off your hair or forehead. Retake the photo, or crop it yourself first.
Open the preview of the result to spot a bad crop before you download. If you need the whole picture with nothing trimmed, change the fit to Add borders to exact size, which fills out the square with white borders instead.
Size alone doesn't make a US passport photo
This page fixes the size and the square shape. It doesn't know where your face is, so it can't check that your head is 1 to 1⅜ inches tall, and it doesn't detect faces or change the background. The US rules cover all of that, plus a photo taken in the last 6 months, a neutral expression with both eyes open, and no glasses unless you need them for medical reasons. The same embassy guidance says low-quality vending machine or mobile phone photos are not acceptable, so the original needs to be sharp and evenly lit.
For a US passport or visa photo, use the US passport photo page. It opens the Passport Photo Maker with the 2 × 2 in frame and a chin and crown guide for the 1–1⅜ in head size, and it makes a 4×6 in print sheet.
Use this resizer when the photo is already framed and you simply need a 2 × 2 in square: a profile photo for a directory, a badge or a membership card, or a form that only names the size.
Digital uploads and file sizes
When a 2 × 2 in photo is uploaded rather than printed, the website sees only pixels and kilobytes. The preset's 600 × 600 px is a common square size for digital photos, and you can go up to 1200 × 1200 px by choosing 600 DPI. The US State Department publishes its own pixel and file-size rules for DS-160 photos, so check them on travel.state.gov before you upload.
If a form caps the file size, switch on Limit file size and enter the cap: the square keeps its pixel size and only the quality drops. If a form rejects a file as too small, remove the limit or choose a higher DPI. Keep the file as a JPG unless the form asks for something else.
Printing 2 × 2 inch photos
The 300 DPI stored in the file tells Word and photo-printing apps to size the picture at 2 × 2 in. Print it on photo paper with scaling at 100%, then measure: 2 inches, or 51 mm, on each side. A photo trimmed even slightly small no longer meets a strict 2 × 2 in rule.
For several copies with cut guides, the Passport Photo Maker lays them out on 4×6 in, 5×7 in, A4 or US Letter paper.