HOW do you get a passport photo for a toddler?!

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I need to do a passport photo for my just turned 2 year old. It is a nightmare. When they’re tiny you can lie them on a sheet but over 1 they have to stand up. I have limited white wall space at his height in my house to get him to stand in front of, and he basically needs to have his head touching the wall in order to not have a shadows behind which makes the photo unacceptable. I cannot have anyone in the photo holding him nor a toy in his hand to distract him. Have tried a couple of times and not managed to capture anything even vaguely acceptable following their long list of rules.

Anyone got any tips??

Have considered going to a photo place but can’t help feel it will be the same thing but paying for the privilege. Can’t see how a stranger or a booth will get him to stand still and look vaguely at the camera!

Surely he could still lie down on a white sheet to get a photo. Or hang a sheet over a door and he can stand in front of it

Timpsons are really good at it. Plus, my kids behave better for strangers than me! They got it on first try.

I thought the places like Max Speilman take the photos until you have one that will be accepted

Take him somewhere they will sit him in a seat he won’t be touching any walls

Yes this is a good point, you won’t be wasting money it’s not like the old days where you sat and they printed them, it’s all done digitally and checked before you leave

I went to a professional photographer

Just go to snappy snaps

I have a white wall in one room. Just put toddler in front and took a load of photos until one was good enough. They’re allowed to smile, so was fairly painless.

I always get mine to lie down in the bath!

Ok seems like the consensus is to go to a professional! I will try that this week. Was just hoping to get the application done tonight!

I have tried various walls in my house but the shadow seems to be a problem, I guess it depends where the light is coming from.

i thought the rules said over 1 they can’t be lying down. I don’t think he would cooperate any better with lying still than standing still tbf! He keeps trying to grab the phone.

my daughter was almost 4 by the time we applied and generally a more cooperative child so other the fact she was smiling it was easy to do.

We had a tripp trapp chair so put her in that to do it against a white wall.

It doesnt say over 1s have to be standing, just that under 1s should lie down.

Photos of babies and children
Children must be on their own in the picture. Babies must not be holding toys or using dummies.
Children under 6 do not have to be looking directly at the camera or have a plain expression.
Children under one do not have to have their eyes open. You can support their head with your hand, but your hand must not be visible in the photo.
Children under one should lie on a plain light-coloured sheet. Take the photo from above.

I took 2yo ds to a local photographer. She tried her best with toys and distractions and he screamed his head off for an hour. The passport office won't accept photos with swollen eyes and tears.

Then we gave up. I told ds we were going home. His tears disappeared immediately, little sod. I paid for the hour of her time. Then as he toddled past a pale grey backdrop on the way to the door and she snapped him from behind the reception desk before he could protest. Job done.

How?

With great difficulty....!

Max Speilman is your friend here. And send them with someone else! My DD tried with her first child, gave up and sent me. He was absolutely perfect. She sent me straight away for second child 😂

Can you turn it into a game? Do a kind of stay still challenge? Or bribery?

Tried this. As soon as he heard the word ‘biscuit’ he headed toward the cupboard for the biscuit 😂
he doesn’t understand games and challenges and stuff like that yet really. Not sure if that’s unusual for his age.

If his sister is more cooperative will he stand next to her, not too close obviously, and copy her for a minute?

I took a photo against a white wall but it had shadows… uploaded it to ChatGPT and it removed the shadows for me and slightly straightened the angles of his head! Phot was accepted and I have the new passport…

Snappy Snaps do them. Ask in local Facebook groups for recommendations.

We had an option on google pixel phones to take a photo with a few seconds of video frame saved, so you could go back and forth to pick one where they are actually looking at the camera and not pulling a silly face.

Sitting in a chair can mean that they are more still.

If they have a toy in their hand it will be cropped out, this is fine, but best if they are not looking down. Maybe get someone to spin a toy windmill or blow bubbles in front of them? Or some kind of screen playing a cartoon?

There is a bit of leeway with young children and they relax the rules a bit but check the website. Essentially though you just want to get them in front of a white wall (a few steps away so they aren't casting a shadow on the wall) opposite a window so the light is not making shadows sideways on their face, and snap 100 pictures and one of them will be OK.

I actually found outside was often better for lighting. If you can find a white wall somewhere, against a grey sky, or hang up a light plain blanket or sheet.

IME the website rejects it if their own shadow is on the wall behind them, or if one side of the face is lit while the other side is more shaded, which you get when the light is coming from one side.

The example here is a good one to compare, although I would say the X and tick should be the other way around! The picture on the left would be fine IME for UK passport standards. The picture on the right would be rejected. (TBF I think the graphic is showing you how to take a more flattering photo, not a better passport photo.)

The shadows are actually one of the biggest problems, as he has to stand a specific distance from the wall the minimise them.

The rules specifically say it must not be altered by computer software, interesting yours got through. In the days of AI it feels like the easiest thing would be to upload other photos of him and ask it to produce one which is acceptable for a UK passport and use an AI generated image. Someone has to sign to say it is a likeness after all (and the irony is of course than in 5 years time it won’t be a likeness of him at all as it will be a 2 year old and he’ll be 7).

Tried this (big sister is 7 and very helpful bless her) but he just kept looking at her 😂 and still wouldn’t stand still.

We took the photo at home, here are some tips for taking a baby passport pic that were helpful to us, but we did it exactly because DD just wouldn't cooperate at the photographer's. I think with your DS it might be the other way around and a professionally taken photo will be the better option.