Baby & Infant Passport Photo

A baby’s U.S. passport photo is 2 × 2 inches, like an adult’s, with the head 1 to 1⅜ in from the chin to the top of the hair. Lay the baby on a plain white or off-white sheet, no shadows on the face; the eyes may be closed: “It is okay if a baby’s eyes are not entirely open.”

How to take it at home

1. Lay the baby on its back on a plain white or off-white sheet (or put a sheet over the car seat), in daylight from a window, and take the photo from straight above, the whole head and the shoulders in the frame, and no hands in the picture.
2. Tap “Choose a photo”. It opens on your phone or computer and is never uploaded.
3. If the head is not at the top, tap “Turn the photo ↻” until it is: a photo taken from above can come out sideways or upside down, and only you can see which way is up.
4. Tap the top of the hair, between the eyes (closed is fine for a baby) and the bottom of the chin. The photo is cropped to 2 × 2 in with the head inside the rule; the sliders move it only inside the rule.
5. Save the photo, or a 4 × 6 print with 2 photos to cut out, and print it at 100% on matte or glossy photo paper. The passport page allows a photo taken by “A friend or family member, and print your own photo on matte or glossy paper”.

The rules for a baby

The State Department’s passport photo page answers “Do you have more tips to take a photo of a baby or toddler?” in three lines, and its visa photo page has a section of its own. They agree on the sheet and the shadows, and differ on the eyes: the crop is the same 2 × 2 in for both, and neither page makes the head size or the eye height any different for a baby.

The passport page: “Lay your baby or toddler on a plain white or off-white sheet, or cover a car seat with a plain white or off-white sheet.” “Make sure there are no shadows on your baby or toddler’s face.” “It is okay if a baby’s eyes are not entirely open. All other children must have their eyes open.” The visa page: “When taking a photo of your baby or toddler, no other person should be in the photo, and your child should be looking at the camera with his or her eyes open.”

Worked examples

• A newborn on a crib sheet, shot from above with the head to the right: one tap on “Turn the photo ↻” turns it a quarter turn; keep tapping until the head is at the top, then tap the hair, the closed eyes and the chin. The photo saves at 1200 × 1200 px.
• Printing it: the 4 × 6 print holds 2 photos with cut marks between them; print it at 100%, never “fit to page”, or the 2 × 2 in shrinks.
• A toddler of two: the eyes rule is the adult one again — “All other children must have their eyes open.” Sit them in a car seat covered with the sheet.

Common mistakes

• A parent’s hand holding the head. The visa page says “no other person should be in the photo”; lay the baby down or use the covered car seat instead.
• A shadow from the phone. Shooting from above puts your own shadow on the baby; the visa page warns “Make certain there are no shadows on your baby’s face, especially if you take a picture from above with the baby lying down.” Stand with the window behind the phone, not behind you.
• Cropping too tight. “Photos that are taken too close or too far away will be rejected.” Leave room around the head, and let the tool crop.
• A blurry photo. “Photo is blurry, grainy, pixelated, or printed on the wrong paper.” Use the phone’s main camera, in daylight, and tap to focus on the face.
• Closed eyes on a visa photo. Only the passport page lets a baby’s eyes be closed.

The rest of the baby’s passport

• Child Passport Checker: who must come to apply, what to bring, and when it runs out
• Passport Fee Calculator: a child’s passport book is $100 plus the $35 acceptance fee
• Do I Need a Passport?
• Passport & Visa Photo Maker: for the grown-ups, and Schengen and UK photos
• Which Caribbean island is the most family friendly?
• What to do if you lose a passport abroad