How to take a US passport photo of a baby at home

What the State Department allows for babies

It is okay if a baby's eyes are not entirely open; all other children must have their eyes open. Nobody else may appear in the photo — if you support the baby's head, your hand must not be visible — and the face must not be covered by hands or a pacifier.

Everything else matches the normal passport rules: 2×2 inches, head 1 to 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) from chin to top of head, white or off-white background with no shadows, no hats, and no editing with filters or AI.

Step by step

Put a plain white sheet on a bed or over a car seat. Place the baby on their back so the face is level and centred.

Stand over the baby and shoot straight down with the phone parallel to the baby's face, near a window in daylight. Avoid the phone's flash and any shadow from your own body.

Take many shots — babies move. Pick one where the face is sharp and not turned to the side.

Upload it to pixtidy's baby passport photo maker: it crops to 2×2 inches with the correct head size and checks background, lighting and focus (closed eyes only give a warning for babies).

Common mistakes

A parent's hand, arm or shoulder in the frame; a patterned blanket or a coloured car seat showing behind the baby; shadows from the person holding the phone; the head tilted to one side; and a pacifier or toy in the photo. Any of these can get the photo rejected.