Capturing the card well
- **Flat, square on.** Photograph the card parallel to the camera. A card shot at an angle has keystone distortion that makes text harder to read and looks unprofessional.
- **Even light, no flash.** Direct flash produces a glare patch precisely where the laminate reflects — often straight over the photo or the number you need. Use diffuse daylight or a lamp off to one side.
- **Dark background, plain.** A plain contrasting surface makes cropping trivial and helps the card's edges stand out.
- **Enough resolution.** The text on an ID is small. Capture more pixels than you think you need and reduce later; detail removed at capture cannot be recovered.
Handle the security of the document as seriously as its legibility. An ID image processed in your browser stays on your device — but once you upload it anywhere, that copy is out of your control.
Cleaning and cropping
- Crop tightly around the card with Crop Image — remove the table, the fingers and the surrounding background entirely.
- If the photo is dim or flat, use Document Filter for a contrast lift or a clean-scan stretch. This helps legibility; it cannot fix a glare patch over text.
- Rotate so the card is perfectly level. A degree or two of tilt is obvious and can trip up OCR-assisted verification systems.
- Check the text at 100% zoom. If a character is ambiguous at this size, it will be ambiguous to whoever receives it.
Sizing and packaging both sides
- **If each side is uploaded separately** — meet each stated dimension and byte range independently, and name them clearly (`id-front.jpg`, `id-back.jpg`). Exact KB Photo Compressor handles the byte target.
- **If both sides go in one file** — build a two-page PDF with Image to PDF, front first, then back. Choose fit mode and a margin so no edge of the card is lost.
- **If the submission takes several documents** — assemble everything in the required order with Application Document Pack, which mixes images and PDFs in one pass.
- **Verify afterwards** — open the final file and check that both sides are present, in the right order, and readable.
Common ID submission problems
- **Glare over the photograph or number** — re-capture with the light moved; filters cannot reconstruct covered detail.
- **Text soft after compression** — you went too far on quality. Back up one step; the byte budget usually has room if the crop is tight.
- **Back side missing from the combined file** — a common oversight. Confirm the page count of the output PDF before submitting.
- **Both sides on one image, side by side** — some portals reject this because they crop automatically. Follow the instruction: separate files or separate pages.
- **Shadow of your hand or phone across the card** — re-shoot; it is faster than trying to correct it.
Common questions
Should I laminate-remove or scan through a sleeve?
If the card is laminated, angle the light to avoid reflections rather than removing anything. Photographing through a plastic sleeve usually adds exactly the glare you are trying to avoid.
Is a photocopy acceptable?
It depends on the receiving system. A photocopy of an ID is standard in many paper workflows but can be rejected where an original photograph is requested. Follow the instruction in front of you.
Can both sides fit in one image?
Technically yes, but many portals expect separate files or separate PDF pages and crop automatically. Unless the instruction says otherwise, one side per file is safer.