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Photo upload guidance

When you are completing  stage one enrolment you will need to upload a photo of yourself. This will be used for identification purposes on your student ID card, known as your Unicard.

There is specific guidance to help make sure your photo is a perfect fit for your new Unicard. To avoid having to take lots of photos, make sure you adhere to these guidelines so you can grab your Unicard sooner.

Getting the right shot also ensures you won’t have any delays in your stage one of enrolment.

You’ll receive more detailed guidelines in the online enrolment guide that we send out to you.

A student smiling for their Unicard ID

Acceptable photos

  • A recent colour passport style photo of your head and shoulders
  • Taken recently, for example in the last 6 months
  • Of you alone (no other people, no pets)
  • Taken against a plain, light-coloured background
  • Show you facing forwards and in the centre of the photograph
  • With eyes open, visible and free from reflection or glare from glasses
Examples of suitable ID photos. There are two example photos of individuals smiling at the camera

Unacceptable photos

  • Taken in a bar
  • Photos with filters applied
  • Taken on an angle
  • Taken from a distance or where there are other people visible
  • Red-eye
  • Anything covering your face (scarf, sunglasses, hair)
  • Shadows across your face or behind you
  • Inappropriate or obscene images
Examples of unacceptable ID photos. The images are of people posing with sunglasses on against bright and colorful backgrounds.

Acceptable photo sizing

The image should be a JPEG or JPG file and should be no more than 2MB.

The system has a 2MB limit, so if your smartphone takes very high-resolution pictures you probably will not be able to upload it. Try changing the settings or use a photo resizing tool.

If you have access to a desktop computer, you can also use that to resize your picture. On a PC, open your image in Paint, click ‘resize’ and reduce the numbers in the horizontal and vertical boxes (such as setting them both to 50).

On a Mac, open the image in Preview, click ‘tools’ and reduce the numbers in the height and width boxes (make sure you have the ‘Scale proportionally’ box ticked).

Save your image and check how large it is (right click on the image, select properties) – if it is less than 2MB you can now upload it.