Passport Photo guide
How to take a baby passport photo at home
Lay the baby on their back on a plain sheet in the colour your document asks for, and photograph them from straight above in daylight, with no hands, toys or dummy in the picture. Some rules relax for babies: for a US passport a newborn’s eyes may be partly or fully closed, and for a UK passport a baby under 1 needn’t have their eyes open.
Step by step
- Choose the document first. Pick it in Passport Photo so you know the background colour. A US passport wants plain white or off-white; a UK passport plain cream or light grey.
- Lay a plain sheet. Spread a smooth, plain sheet in that colour on a bed or the floor, near a window for even daylight. No flash.
- Lay the baby on it. On their back, head straight, with nothing else on the sheet: no toys, no dummy, and no hands in view.
- Shoot from straight above. Hold the phone flat over the baby so the face looks straight at it, with the whole head and the shoulders in view and room round them. Take lots: a baby gives you a second at a time.
- Let the app fit it. Add the best one, turn on It’s a baby’s photo, check the fit, then print it or save the digital photo.
What the rules relax for babies
A baby’s photo is the same size as an adult’s, and most of the rules still apply. What changes, document by document, in each office’s own words:
| Document | For babies and young children | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US passport | Lay the baby on a plain white or off-white sheet. A newborn’s eyes may be partly or fully closed. No one else in the photo, no dummy, no hands on the face. | travel.state.gov |
| UK passport | Under 6: they needn’t look at the camera or have a plain expression. Under 1: their eyes needn’t be open. No toys or dummies; support the head without your hand showing. | GOV.UK |
| UK visa | Under 1: eyes needn’t be open. Lie the baby on a plain light sheet and take it from above. | GOV.UK |
| Australian passport | Under 3: an open mouth is fine. No other person or object in the photo. | passports.gov.au |
| New Zealand passport | Lay the baby on a plain light sheet and take it from above, eyes open, no one else visible. Plain and light, but not white. | passports.govt.nz |
| South Korean passport | Up to 36 months the mouth may be slightly open. | passport.go.kr |
| Dutch passport or ID | Under 6: some rules are relaxed (head straight, looking at the camera, mouth closed), but the eyes must be open and no supporting hand may show. Up to 10: chin to crown 19–30 mm. | Rijksoverheid |
| German passport (abroad) | Under 10: the face may be 22–36 mm. Under 6: some leeway on head position, expression and the eyes. | Bundesdruckerei |
| Japanese passport | Babies may be photographed lying on a plain light sheet from above. If the face can’t be 32 mm tall, show the whole face with the ears. | Osaka Prefecture |
| Canadian passport | Newborns may have a range of expressions, and may be photographed in a car seat with a white blanket behind the head. No hands may show. | canada.ca |
| Indian passport | Children under 4 bring a photo: their face should fill 80–85 % of it. | Passport Seva |
| Brazilian passport (under 5) | Eyes closed are accepted only for newborns. Nothing covering the face. The photo is 5 × 7 cm on white. | Polícia Federal |
| Malaysian passport (under 4) | One 35 × 50 mm print on a shadowless white background, with the face 25–30 mm. | Imigresen |
So closed eyes are not fine everywhere: the Netherlands wants them open, New Zealand asks for eyes open, and Brazil accepts closed eyes only from newborns. Canada’s passport photos must also be taken by a commercial photographer, whatever the age.
No hands, toys or dummies
Every office in the list wants the baby alone in the picture. The US says no one else in the photo, no dummy and no hands on the face; the UK says no toys or dummies, and to support the head without your hand showing; the Netherlands and Canada say no hand may show; Australia says no other person or object. Lying the baby down solves most of this: there’s nothing to hold.
The background still counts. Match the sheet to the document: white or off-white for a US passport, cream or light grey for a UK passport, pale blue, grey or cream (never white) for a New Zealand passport. Smooth it flat so creases don’t throw shadows.
How the app helps
- The fit. It finds the face, turns the photo so the eyes come out level (handy when the head lies a little to one side), and sizes the head, chin to crown, to the document’s range. Drag or pinch to adjust, or press Fit again.
- The baby switch. For documents with baby rules, turn on It’s a baby’s photo: closed eyes, an open mouth or a smile become notes instead of problems, and the document’s own baby rules are shown.
- The other checks still run: one face only, centred, looking straight at the camera, a plain background, even light and a sharp picture.
- Private. The photo stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
The fit uses the document’s usual head size. That sits inside Germany’s and the Netherlands’ wider ranges for children. India’s under-4 photo wants the face to fill 80–85 %, so zoom in a little; the head-size check may then mark it, and India’s rule is the one to follow.
When you’re happy, print it (see printing passport photos at home) or save the digital photo for an online form.
Common mistakes
- A parent’s hand, arm or sleeve at the edge of the picture.
- A patterned blanket, or a creased sheet that throws shadows.
- Flash, which gives hard shadows: use daylight from a window instead.
- Shooting at an angle instead of straight down, so the face looks turned.
- Too close: the top of the head or the chin cut off. Leave room; the app crops it.
- Replacing the background in an editor. The US says not to change the photo with software, and Australia doesn’t allow the background to be removed or replaced.
Questions
Can a baby’s eyes be closed in a passport photo?
For some documents. A US passport allows a newborn’s eyes partly or fully closed, and a UK passport allows closed eyes under 1. The Netherlands wants the eyes open, New Zealand asks for eyes open, and Brazil accepts closed eyes only from newborns.
Can I hold my baby for the passport photo?
Not in the picture. The UK says to support the head without your hand showing, and the US, the Netherlands and Canada don’t allow hands in view. Laying the baby on a plain sheet and shooting from above is the easy way.
Can my baby have a dummy in the photo?
No. The US and the UK both say no dummy, and the UK says no toys either.
Can I take my baby’s passport photo at home?
For many documents, yes: the US and UK describe laying the baby on a plain sheet. Canada’s passport is the exception: its photos must be taken by a commercial photographer.
What background should a baby passport photo have?
The same as the document asks of adults: plain white or off-white for a US passport, plain cream or light grey for a UK passport. New Zealand asks for a plain light background that isn’t white.
Is a baby’s passport photo the same size?
Yes, the photo is the same size. A few documents have their own head rules for children, such as Germany (22–36 mm under 10) and the Netherlands (19–30 mm up to 10).