Irish Passport Photo for Babies and Children

The Irish passport is a document issued by the authorities of Ireland to all its citizens. Having a passport is not only a privilege but, in instances such as international travel, a necessity. If you want to leave the country you need to have a valid passport, regardless of your age. 

If you wish to take your newborn baby on board a plane your child will need to have its very own passport, just like you. Even if your baby has just been born, a valid passport is necessary for any international travel. 

Taking a photograph of a little baby, who is constantly moving around and knows very little about standing still and posing for pictures, might come as a challenge. But you may perform this task yourself with nothing more than a smartphone, using PhotoAiD. 

Guidelines for a baby passport photo in Ireland

If you know what guidelines to follow when taking a passport photo for your kid, the activity becomes more trivial than it seems at first. Especially when you know that the rules and regulations regarding baby passport photos are less strict than the ones for adults.

In order for you to have the best understanding of Irish baby passport photo requirements, we have prepared a brief summary of the most important aspects.

Irish passport photo for babies and infants - the requirements

What criteria does the baby passport photo need to meet? Let’s look at the technical requirements:

• the picture cannot be older than 6 months,
• the minimum size for a baby passport photo is 35mmx45mm, with a maximum size of 38 mm x 50 mm,
• the photograph needs to be printed on high-quality photo paper, printing on an inkjet printer won’t do,
• the photo must be in colour if submitting a digital photo, but it can be in black and white if you are applying with a paper application and physical photo, sharp, and with no pixelation,
• the background of the photo must be white, with no objects in view.

Background in Irish baby passport photos 

As the official passport photo regulations say, the background must be white. It does not have to be perfectly white - some light greyish colours are acceptable as well. 

If you are about to take an infant passport photo yourself, there are some tips you can follow, not only to make the task easier for you, but also to enhance your chances of acceptance. 

The background must be white and it should not have any objects visible within it. However, instead of trying to put your newborn baby against a white wall, you can simply follow these easy steps:

• prepare a white blanket or bed sheet,
• position your baby in a lying position on the blanket/sheet,
• take multiple pictures, so that you can choose the best one.

This way you make it more comfortable for the child, give yourself better chances at getting the perfect shot and, on top of that, you are fulfilling the baby passport photo requirements. 

Positioning the baby in the passport photo

If you have a little baby you might find it quite challenging to make your newborn stand still, not to mention pose correctly for the passport pictures. Luckily, not only are the regulations concerning baby passport photos less strict, but there are also some smart tricks you can try. 

What you need to know is that the child does not have to pose perfectly. Their mouth can be opened a little bit, their eyes do not have to look straight at the camera, and their facial expression might be in a slight grimace.

Simply make sure that your baby is not expressing any strong emotions, such as crying or anger, and do your best to capture the child with its eyes open. Holding your child is forbidden, as well as the usage of any dummies or toys. 

What you can do in order to increase your chances of taking a suitable passport photo, is to lay your baby on a white blanket. This is a universal solution for you to achieve both the proper background and a good pose. This way, because the baby feels comfortable, you get the best chances of capturing the right moment. 

You may also use a car seat to position your baby for the picture - just make sure to put a white blanket in between the child and seat.

Lighting conditions in Irish baby passport photos 

When it comes to the lighting the requirements are rather easy to follow, as you just have to make sure that the picture is neither over or underexposed. If you are taking the picture yourself, you should know that most cameras or smartphones can perfectly adjust the balance automatically.

One important note is that there cannot be any shadows visible, either on the face of your baby, nor in the background.

Natural daylight is the best source of light for passport photos, as it does not alter your skin tone, nor does it cast any strong shadows. 

Taking Irish baby passport photo yourself

You can take the baby passport picture yourself. And to do so, you do not need to possess any professional equipment. Your smartphone is more than enough to perform this task. 

For this, you may use the services of professional online passport photo apps, which will guide you through the process and alter your pictures so that they become legitimate passport photos. 

PhotoAiD - perfect passport photo of your baby

PhotoAiD transforms your phone into a pocket-size photo booth. It is a software designed to help you get your passport photos with the least amount of steps and, at the same time, making sure that your pictures are going to be accepted. 

With our software, you simply need to snap a picture of your baby, upload it to the website or mobile application, and decide whether you like the photo or not. PhotoAiD automatically recognises whether the image meets the official requirements, and then adjusts it accordingly - making sure the size, resolution, dimensions and proportions are correct. 

What makes this app extra convenient is the fact that you can take the picture almost anywhere, even on a sofa, as the software has the ability to remove the background in your kid’s photo and replace it with a plain white one. 

On top of that, you can upload countless photos of your baby and see how they look once they have been adjusted to meet the baby passport photo requirements. Once you find the most likeable one, you can then order it either digitally or in a printed format. 

PhotoAiD works smoothly on PC, and devices with Android or iOS - the way that is most convenient for you. 

Desirable results 

We are certain that passport photos created using our software will get accepted. Thousands of people have already transformed their home-made photographs into passport photos using PhotoAiD, with a nearly 100% success rate. 

In case your passport photo gets rejected, you are eligible for a double money refund.

Sources:

https://passportonline.dfa.ie/Apply/Passport