Passport photos for babies and newborns

Photographing an infant to a biometric specification sounds impossible, which is why most authorities relax several rules for young children. Knowing which ones are relaxed saves a great deal of stress.

What is relaxed

• Expression. A baby's mouth may be open and the expression does not need to be neutral.
• Gaze. Very young infants are not required to look directly at the lens, though the face must face forward.
• Eyes. For newborns, eyes may be closed in many jurisdictions, including for UK and Canadian applications.

What still applies

• Plain, uniform background of the correct shade.
• Nobody else in the frame, including hands supporting the child.
• No toys, dummies, blankets over the face, or patterned clothing filling the frame.
• Full face visible, unobstructed by hair or fabric.
• Correct photo dimensions and a head height within the published range.

The lying-down technique

Lay the baby on their back on a plain white sheet, then photograph from directly above, holding the camera parallel to the sheet. This solves head support, background and lighting in one move, and it is what most passport offices recommend.

Make sure the light is even and that you are not casting your own shadow over the child. Natural light from a window works best. If the sheet is creased or slightly off-white, background replacement will clean it up.

Keeping hands out of frame

If the baby needs head support, use a rolled white towel rather than a hand. If a hand does creep into the edge of the shot, use the crop position sliders to move the frame until it is excluded, then check that the head height is still inside the allowed range.

Head height for infants

The same millimetre rules apply, and they are easy to overshoot because a baby's head is large relative to their body. Photograph from far enough away that there is space around the head, then let the crop be calculated rather than filling the frame with the face.