Is that shadow on your passport photo a problem? Check whether a face or background shadow is dark enough to hide your features — before you submit. Pick the light setup you shot in, drop the photo, and read the band-by-band result. The file is read on your device; nothing is uploaded, and nothing is edited.

What this checks: whether a band across your eyes, nose or mouth — or the background just below your chin — is markedly darker than the rest, which suggests a shadow. What it does not check: the size, background colour, exposure or framing of the whole photo.

Is that shadow a problem? The honest rule

Most advice says “any shadow equals rejection”. The official rules do not say that. The UK examiner standard tells officers they may accept small shadows on the face, under the chin or in the background, and to reject a shadow only where it hides the customer’s face. So the real question is not “is there a shadow?” but “does the shadow conceal a facial feature?” This tool is built around that line, which is why a suspected shadow reads as warn, never fail.

It works in three moves. It locates your face with the same detector the rest of the site uses, samples a grayscale copy across the eyes, nose and mouth bands plus a background strip below the chin, and compares each band against the brightest one. A band that falls well below the rest is flagged as a suspected shadow, with a plain-language fix for the light setup you chose. It does not retouch, edit or export anything — judging only, never changing.

What each result means

• pass — the face bands are even; no shadow drop was detected.
• warn — one band is notably darker, so a shadow is suspected. This is a prompt to look again, not a rejection — a small shadow that leaves the features visible is often acceptable.
• unknown — no face was found, or the frame is too dark to judge. No verdict is given rather than a misleading one.

Where the light usually goes wrong

• Overhead lighting — dark eye sockets under the brow and a shadow under the nose. Switch off the ceiling light.
• Side or back window light — half the face in shade. Turn to face the window.
• Camera flash — a hard shadow behind the head and under the chin. Step away from the wall and lose the flash.
• Standing too close to the wall — your own shadow lands on the background. Stand several feet away.

The full lighting walkthrough is in the shadows guide, and the at-home setup in the at-home photo guide. This page judges shadows only; when you are ready, run the whole photo through the passport photo checker for the complete set of checks.

Frequently asked questions

Does a shadow mean my photo will be rejected?
Not automatically. The UK examiner standard rejects a photo where shadows on or around the face hide your face — so the test is whether a shadow conceals a facial feature, not whether any shadow exists. A small shadow that leaves your eyes, nose and mouth visible is often acceptable.

What does this tool check?
It locates your face, then samples three horizontal bands across the eyes, nose and mouth plus a background strip below the chin, and reports whether any band is markedly darker than the rest. That is an indication of a shadow, not a verdict on the whole photo.

Why would the result say ‘unknown’?
If no face is located, or the image is too dark to judge — for example a near-black photo — the tool gives no verdict. It stays silent rather than report a pass or fail it cannot support.

Does it fix the shadow?
No. This tool only judges; it does not retouch, edit or export. To remove a shadow you would change the photo, and editing the face is not allowed — only a background shadow may be edited out on the UK standard.

How is this different from the passport photo checker?
The passport photo checker runs a full set of checks — size, background, exposure, head size and more. This page is the narrower shadow lens: it looks only at face and background shadow bands, and is meant to be used alongside the full check.

What causes a face shadow, and how do I avoid it?
Overhead lighting carves dark sockets under the brow; light from hard off to the side puts half the face in shade; standing too close to the wall throws your own shadow onto the background. Face the light from the front, step away from the wall, and switch off ceiling lights.

Related: the rejection line for shadows is explained in passport photo shadows, and the light setup in the at-home guide. Run the full set of checks with the passport photo checker, and see everything else in all tools.

Shadow rules ← All tools