How to reduce a photo to a required KB size
Quick answerResize the pixel dimensions first, then compress. Compression alone rarely closes a large gap.
A phone photo is often 3–6 MB. A form asking for 100 KB is asking for roughly a fortieth of that, which needs two steps.
Step 1 — resize
Use the Image Editor to reduce the width. A form photo rarely needs more than 600–1000 pixels across. If the form specifies exact dimensions, use those.
Step 2 — compress
Run the resized photo through Image Compress and check the resulting file size.
Rough guide
- 1000 px wide → roughly 100–250 KB
- 700 px wide → roughly 50–120 KB
- 500 px wide → roughly 25–70 KB
Actual size depends on the photo — a plain background compresses far better than a busy one.
Check before uploading
Zoom in and confirm your face or the document text is still clearly readable. A photo squeezed to 60 KB that nobody can read will be rejected.
Frequently asked questions
My iPhone photo will not upload at all.
It is probably a HEIC file. Convert it with HEIC to JPG first.
