Baby Photo for U.S. Passport

Infant and baby passport photos

If you’re planning to fly to a foreign country with your infant, they must have a valid US passport, regardless of age. 

Taking a baby’s photo for their U.S. passport may feel like a daunting task for obvious reasons. We will share some useful tips with you on how to take a perfect baby passport photo on your own. 

It is essential to note that infant passport photo requirements are much less stringent than those for adults and older children. In particular, for infants, closed eyes and an open mouth are allowed, as are unnatural facial expressions (e.g. grimaces, smiles, yawns). However, it is important to note that the baby's face should not be covered by toys, hands, or other objects. 

Baby passport photo requirements

Technically, the photo for a US baby's passport should meet the same requirements as that for adults. Your baby’s passport photo should:

1. be colorful, with a natural contrast
2. be of good quality and not damaged in any way
3. be sharp (no single pixels visible)
4. reflect the natural color of the skin
5. be printed on good quality glossy or matte photo paper
6. be 2x2 inches or 51x51 mm in size
7. show the baby’s entire face in frontal view
8. be as up-to-date as possible
9. show the baby’s face evenly illuminated on both sides 
10. show the baby’s face occupying 70-80% of the picture 

Tips on how to take a US baby passport photo

Now that you know the basic baby passport photo requirements, you can take a passport photo of your baby at home. This will help you save time and money, without the need to wait in line with your infant at a photo booth or drugstore. 

Positioning the baby 

To take your baby’s passport photo, dress him or her in everyday clothes and lay your baby on its back on a plain white (or off-white) sheet. Ensure the photograph is free of shadows and shows his or her entire face, with the eyes open and the head centered in the frame.

If using a car seat, you’ll need a pillow or towel to place under your baby’s head to support it. Place a white blanket, sheet, or any white-colored piece of clothing (without creases or wrinkles) over the car seat. Pull the cloth taut over the seat and use clips to keep it in place. 

You can also use your hands to hold your baby, but make sure they’re not visible in the photo. 

Best time to take the passport photo

The best time of day to take your baby’s passport photo would be daytime, and ideally, when your baby is after his nap, so he’s rested and not grumpy. In the case of newborns, you can take their passport photo when they’re asleep since it’s acceptable for their eyes to be closed. This way, the baby won’t be stressed, won’t fidget, or cry, making it difficult to take an acceptable photo. 

TIP: Make sure your baby is rested, fed, and that his diaper is fresh. If you’re taking the photo while your baby is awake, try to be creative and entertain your infant to make him look at the camera. You can attract his attention by holding up a toy, singing, or just being entertaining. You as the parent know best what catches your baby’s attention!

The best place to take the passport photo of your child

We will get to the lighting part in a second, but first let’s focus on where to actually take your baby’s passport photo. Obviously, a well-known environment is the best and safest option when taking pictures for your baby’s passport. Pick a room in your house that your infant is familiar with - this will increase your chances of a better mood and less crankiness. 

Lighting in your baby’s passport photo 

Lighting plays a key role when taking any US passport photo, and the same obviously applies to newborn passport photos. 

Ideally, all passport photos should be taken using natural lighting coming from several sources to have the face nicely and evenly lit. Remember that the photo cannot be too bright or too dark. If the room is too bright, you can diffuse the light by drawing the curtains until it becomes soft and less intense. In the case of a single window on the other hand, you can create another light source by placing white blankets or sheets over chairs positioned evenly on each side so that they reflect the light. 

If there is no way for you to get good natural light in, try using overhead lighting. Position your baby on a flat white surface right below the light source, making sure that your camera is being held parallel to your baby’s face. 

TIP: Try to avoid using flash, because it may scare your baby, and also create an unnatural looking, overexposed photo with unnecessary shadows. 

Positioning your camera 

The rules are simple: the camera has to be parallel to your baby’s face, and there needs to be some space between the camera and your baby’s head. Your digital camera or smartphone shouldn’t be placed at an angle - your baby should be able to look directly at it. Remember that the ‘parallel’ rule is very important here, because your baby’s passport photo must show his face straight on, from the frontal view. You can attach your camera or smartphone to a tripod and adjust it so that it’s positioned parallel to your baby’s head. Make sure the camera is securely and properly mounted to the tripod! There are plenty of YouTube tutorials to use as guidance if you’re not sure how to do it. 

Additional tips 

• You can record your baby and find a good moment in the video when he’s looking directly at the camera - pause the video and take a snapshot.
• Leave a significant amount of space above your baby’s head in case the photo needs cropping.
• If you’re worried about your baby’s appearance changing and him not looking exactly the same way he did in his photo from a few months ago, don’t worry - a baby’s US passport is valid for several years. You don’t have to retake your baby’s passport photo every time his appearance changes, otherwise you’d be taking a new photo every month!
• Pay attention to the camera focus. You don’t want to take a photo with a blurry face or with the focus on some other part of the body. If you are using a phone, tap on where your baby’s head is on the screen to lead the focus to your baby’s face.
• The “live mode” in the camera takes many shots one after another, and may help if the baby is moving or moody. Then just pick the one that is the best. 
• Because babies tend to fidget and move around, and the photo must be high quality, it would be helpful if you used a fast shutter speed of at least 1/200 to avoid blurring.

Printing baby photos for U.S. passport

Congrats, you’re at the last step of the process – printing the baby passport photo that you’ve just successfully taken! With our photo tool you can easily get digital images of your baby sent straight to your email that you can later print at any drugstore or photo printing center, or order ready printouts to be shipped to your home. 

If you decide to print the photo(s) yourself, you’ll need to make sure that they’re printed on high quality photo paper. Prepare a 4x6 inch photo template with Passport Photo Online and print your pictures at any photo department, store, or studio for the price of a simple photocard (very often it costs less than 30¢).

There’s another option, if you don’t want to leave the house and want to enjoy a professional service, try our full service that includes a digital file and a printout conveniently sent to your preferred address. 

Our verification process and money refund guarantee

All of the infant’s photos uploaded to our app go through a meticulous photo verification, first by our AI system and then by a human expert. The purpose of this verification is to make sure that baby’s photos are 100% compliant with the official US standards regarding passport photos. However, if for whatever reason your photo doesn’t get approved by the passport authorities, we will issue you a double refund. 

Last update: 11/24/22