Your Baby’s Passport Photo Was Rejected — Now What?

Read the rejection reason first

The agency letter or email usually names the problem. Match it to the list below before retaking, or you will repeat the same mistake:

Eyes closed or obscured

Babies’ eyes only need to be reasonably open, not staring at the camera. Retake after a nap or feeding; shoot several frames and pick the one with the most open eyes.

Other person visible

A parent’s hand, arm, or reflection in the frame is an automatic rejection. Lay the baby on a sheet and keep everyone out of the shot.

Face covered or shadowed

Pacifier, blanket edge, hat, or a shadow across the face. Remove items and reposition toward even window light.

Background not plain white/off-white

Patterned blankets, crib bars, furniture. Use a plain sheet spread wide, including behind the head.

Head size or position wrong

Head must be 1–1⅔ inches (chin to crown) within a 2×2 inch photo. If the original has enough room around the head, this is fixable with a correct crop — our tool does exactly that.

Blurry, grainy, or low resolution

Cannot be fixed in software. Retake with more light and hold the phone steady, farther away.

Photo edited or filtered

Official rules require an unaltered original. No filters, beautification, or background replacement — crop and layout only.

Photo too old

Must be from the last 6 months. Babies change fast; agencies do compare.

Retake, then check before resubmitting

1. Follow the at-home setup (sheet, window light, shoot from above, 5–10 frames).
2. Add every frame to the free checker and confirm the face on each — it flags blur, darkness, tilt, and framing, and picks the strongest shot.
3. Use the built-in manual checklist (eyes, pacifier, hands, background, recency) before you print.
4. Print at 2×2 on matte or glossy photo paper — our paid session outputs a 4×6 sheet at 300 DPI with exact cut guides.

Our free rework policy

Rejected? We’ll remake it once for free. If a government agency rejects your photo for a photo problem, send your order code and a short note (or a line from the rejection letter). We’ll remake the session once, free. Limits: we can’t promise passport approval, non-photo reasons aren’t refundable, and there’s no double refund.

Request a rework from your purchase panel, or contact jameszhang.build@gmail.com with your order code. Requests remain available after the 7-day download window. A request is reviewed before the one free rework is used; approval restores access for 7 days. Please share only a short rejection explanation, not baby photos or identity documents.