New Zealand Baby Passport Photo

It is important to mention that all children, no matter how old, from infants to older children, need their own identity and travel document. Usually, before a baby's arrival, parents or guardians have to plan everything like getting the paperwork, passports, visas, residency cards done within the first weeks of their child born. It might be stressful but it is important to be ready for welcoming a baby into the world.

The next important thing is a photo document. How to take the right one when a baby is not listening to me, holds a toy and has their eyes closed? Exactly… You have to know what your child cannot do while taking NZ baby passport photos.

New Zealand Passport photo guidelines for babies 

While the process of applying for a passport for your baby might be even more stressful than applying for an ordinary adult passport, you have to prepare for it! But don’t worry, we will help you with the process. You will know everything, from the photo size to the facial expression, head position, background color, quality, what to avoid, what mistakes not to repeat and finally, how to take the right photo of your baby at home! Read these guidelines to meet all the official NZ requirements regarding baby passport photos.

The first important thing to know is that photos should be taken within the last 6 months. If you take a picture of a newborn, we recommend taking it no sooner than 30 days before filing the application – it will show the current likeness.

The general rules regarding children appearance in the NZ baby passport photos:

• The photo should show the full-face front view, exposed entirely and centred.
• The baby must be alone in the photo.
• Holding toys or other items is not allowed.
• Newborns (under 1) do not have to have their eyes open.
• They are also allowed to have an open mouth.
• Children under 6 do not have to be looking directly at the camera.
• Some sort of grimaces are allowed but try taking many photos to be able to choose the best where your child looks fine and the facial expression is as neutral as possible.

New Zealand baby passport photo size

The dimensions of the New Zealand baby passport photo are 35 mm in width and 45 mm in height. These are measurements helpful for the printing and file by mail. The electronic image file should be a portrait photo with a 4:3 aspect ratio or 3:4 on a smartphone in JPG or JPEG format for a baby passport photo online application. The photo size should be between 250KB and 10MB and the pixels dimensions between 900 and 4500 pixels wide and 1200 and 6000 pixels high.

Quality 

The quality of photos is important. They should be high-resolution, not digitally changed, not blurry and in focus. Remember about taking a color photo with natural contrast. It should show the natural color of your baby's skin, hair, and if possible, eyes.

Background

Use a plain, light sheet or a blanket for a background. It is also a good idea to feed the newborn first and to let a baby sleep before any action. Additionally, prepare some toys to catch the baby's attention just for a few seconds.

Lighting

Try to take a picture in good lighting, preferably in daylight. Avoid a flash lamp because of two reasons: first, your child will have a red-eye effect which is not allowed in the passport photos, second, it can distract your baby from posing and the flash can be a little bit of shock.

Accessories

Often, babies hold something from toys in hands to dummies in their mouth. However, accessories or any objects such as items as well as other people or their hands cannot appear in the photo. The child has to pose alone.

New Zealand Baby passport photo at home - do it yourself!

You probably have been thinking about an easier way than carrying your little one to the photography studio. Well, the thing is you do not have to. You don’t have to leave your house at all! After reading this simple 5 steps guide you will know how to take photos of your child by yourself.

1. Prepare the background - a wall with coloured wallpaper will not suit the passport requirements, try to find a light-coloured wall or use a t-shirt, pillowcase, sheet, etc. and put your baby on it.
2. Make sure the light is right - it is best to take a baby passport photo in daylight as the room gets a lot of natural light. Make sure to put your child in a place where no shadows obscure their face and the photo is correctly exposed. 
3. Position your child - now, when your background and light is right, it is time to position your baby. The easiest will be to put them on the bed covered with a white sheet that you can stand up on them and photograph.
4. Keep an eye on your child - make sure that nothing covers their face like toys, baby pacifiers, hands, etc. 
5. Take as many photos as you can - especially little babies, they change their facial expression almost constantly so try to capture all of those to choose the best one!

After the photoshoot, you should try our photo tool which will make the process so much easier for you! Read below, how it works.

New Zealand baby passport Photo Tool

While you meet the above rules and you know how the process of applying for your New Zealand child’s passport looks like, you might want to use our PhotoAiD service. The photo tool, available on the website or in the AppStore for iOS or GooglePlay on Android devices, perfectly crops, edits and verifies your New Zealand baby’s passport photo. All you have to do is:

1. Upload a picture of your baby.
2. Choose a passport as your document you want a picture for 
3. Let the photo editor work for you! It automatically resizes your photo to the official requirements of New Zealand. Then, edit the background and verify if the NZ baby passport photo meets the standards of the chosen document. 
4. If the picture is correct you receive your ready photo via email or choose to be delivered to your house!

The whole process is very simple and it will work fantastically on iPhone or any other smartphone you choose! Moreover, it takes less than a minute and the app is free of charge. Choose the right photo editor!

Sources:

https://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/licences-certificates/pspla/apply-or-renew/what-youll-need-to-apply/