Perfect Baby Passport Photo

Mood swings, energy boosts, crying moments, wiggling, short attention span—

We all know these challenges.

That’s why at Passport Photo Online, we’ve created a complete guide to taking your baby’s passport photos. Yes, it’s possible to do it comfortably from home—and we’ll show you how!

Keep reading to discover step-by-step instructions, tips, and tricks to end up with the perfect passport photo for your baby.

How to take your baby passport photo

You can transform your space into a professional passport photo set with these simple steps.

Step #1: Prepare your surroundings

First things first—

You want to make sure that your space is suitable for taking baby passport photos. How can you do that? 

• Ensure good, preferably natural light—an uncovered window during late morning or early afternoon can do wonders
• Your baby's passport photo must have a white background. No white walls around? Pro tip: Place a white sheet behind your baby or lay them down on a white cover
• Create a familiar environment by placing your baby’s favorite toys around, playing soft music, or laying them down on their favorite blanket. Remember: No other objects can be visible in your baby’s passport photo

Step #2: Get your child ready

With your home photo studio ready, it’s now time to prepare your baby. Here’s what you can do:

• Dress your baby in comfortable clothes and avoid white garments that can blend in with the background
• Messy hair? Pin it with small, neutral hairpins. Tip: Pin your baby’s hair at the back of their head so that the accessories aren’t visible in the passport photo
• Go for neutral clothes without any distinctive patterns. The same goes for hair accessories—remember that no headbands or other head coverings can be present in the photo

Step #3: Take a photo (or a few)

Now you’re ready to become your baby’s professional photographer. Get your smartphone or a digital camera and snap as many photo shots as you need. That’s the great thing about taking your newborn passport photo at home—you have the time and space necessary to get that perfect shot!

Pro tip: Instead of snapping dozens of photos manually, use the video or live photo option—you’ll get lots of frames to choose from!

Step #4: Choose the best shot

Choosing the perfect photo from this vast collection may take some time—but you did it!

A good baby passport photo should:

• Show your baby’s face in a full-frontal view
• Present your baby as the only person in the photo
• Reflect your baby’s natural skin color

Good news: Very young babies, infants, and newborns can have their eyes closed or only slightly open in their passport photos.

Take a look at some examples of acceptable children’s passport photos:

Step #5: Use Passport Photo Online for automatic picture editing

The whole process of taking pictures of your baby lasts long enough, so let us help you with the automatic cropping, resizing, and background removal. We’ll also double-check if your baby’s passport photo is compliant with all official US State Department’s regulations.

With Passport Photo Online, you don’t have to worry about a perfectly white background or proper photo size—we’ll do all of that for you, adjusting your baby photo to the necessary passport photo standards.