19 Month Old and Passport Photos

nedd

Hi All,

So we are going on holidays and need to get a passport for the young fella.

I take it we need to get passport photos for it, has anyone got experience of doing this? He is a very active and can't see him sitting still for a photo.

CaraMay

They Put our fella on a cushion on the floor and managed that way. The photographers are used to it so it will be fine.

Leroy42

Lie him on a bed, like when you go to change his nappy, with a while towel or sheet underneath him and take the pictures from above either yourself or someone else if you have to keep him occupied.

Take a few with a fast action camera cos those little guys move quickly!

nedd

CaraMay wrote: »

They Put our fella on a cushion on the floor and managed that way. The photographers are used to it so it will be fine.

By "They" do you mean the person in the Chemist with the camera?

I suppose I could take it myself at home but are the strict about how the photo is composed? I know with adult photos they can reject them sometimes

CaraMay

Well we went to a photo shop but they put him on a cushion with the white background beneath him. They are strict measurements for baby photos which are outlined on the application form.

C.O.Y.B.I.B

I took the pics myself with my little one lying on a white sheet . Extra person behind for distraction !! Then got them printed in chemist for about 70c once I was happy they conformed. http://www.dfa.ie/uploads/documents/photograph%20guidelines.pdf

Hannibal Smith

you can either sit them down...or hold them up...as long as your hands aren't visible. to be honest I would go and get it done...its either 10 or 20 quid but they generally know what they're doing and the passport office are so particular its not worth the hassle of hanging around for 3 weeks only to be told at the last minute there's a problem with the photo.

pwurple

Two person job if you're doing it yourself. You need someone to distract and get them to look at the camera, and someone to take the photo.

We've done it ourselves once when she wasn't mobile... about 2 months old. Second time we went to the local photographer. He did it for 10 euro.

Hobbitfeet

We got ours done in local chemist as I needed some also. The lady there said yes they are very strict for adult photos but not so strict for babies. My lo has his face crooked a little bit turned iykwim and they accepted it no problems

Gandhi

Once you take the photo you can go to epassportphoto.com, select Ireland Passport from the dropdown boxes, and use their online tools to zoom and crop it to the correct spec for a passport.

meeeeh

We went to the photographer and were charged about 10 euro. They know how to distract kids. We've done it twice with the older one (at 6 months and almost 4 years) and also for the younger one at two months. It is not expensive and you should get proper photos. They can also correct minor flaws. I know that because I had problems with shinny forehead on my photos and the embassy refused my pictures twice (they were a bit too anal) so the studio had to take my photos in the same way as for kids and they edited the shine.

Leroy42

Seroiusly, €10, for one picture! Crazy money. I know it doesn't sound much, but in this day and age its a waste. Photographers know how to distract kids? You're the childs parent, who can possibly be better at knowing the child than you.

With so many free photo software programs out there save your tenner and spend some time doing it yourself. It might take a while to get the right picture of him, but treat it as a game and enjoy the experience. Then whenever you get the passport out you will remember the time you took it. The time it took to get him to sit still, how daddy forgot to open the lens etc etc. You won't get that from retelling the story of going to the chemist!

Hannibal Smith

Leroy42 wrote: »

Seroiusly, €10, for one picture! Crazy money. I know it doesn't sound much, but in this day and age its a waste. Photographers know how to distract kids? You're the childs parent, who can possibly be better at knowing the child than you.

With so many free photo software programs out there save your tenner and spend some time doing it yourself. It might take a while to get the right picture of him, but treat it as a game and enjoy the experience. Then whenever you get the passport out you will remember the time you took it. The time it took to get him to sit still, how daddy forgot to open the lens etc etc. You won't get that from retelling the story of going to the chemist!

if you're happy enough to spend 2 hours building a moment you'll laugh at for years to come by taking a passport photo fair enough. personally id prefer to pay some one to get the job done quickly and properly and build memories by taking natural photos at the park.

meeeeh

Leroy42 wrote: »

Seroiusly, €10, for one picture! Crazy money. I know it doesn't sound much, but in this day and age its a waste. Photographers know how to distract kids? You're the childs parent, who can possibly be better at knowing the child than you.

With so many free photo software programs out there save your tenner and spend some time doing it yourself. It might take a while to get the right picture of him, but treat it as a game and enjoy the experience. Then whenever you get the passport out you will remember the time you took it. The time it took to get him to sit still, how daddy forgot to open the lens etc etc. You won't get that from retelling the story of going to the chemist!

And there will be also a lot bigger chance that photo will be refused and you'll have another playing session. Those stories are especially enjoyable to tell. When you are getting passport made, those ten euros are by far the lowest expense.

lounakin

I had to do passport photos when my daughter was 3 weeks old. She didn't keep still and never mind having her eyes open! We tried on our own but failed so we opted for a professional. All he did was shoot again and again until one appeared right. It only took 5 minutes and it was money well spent. I'd say go to a professional.

Mrs Fox

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

I took the pics myself with my little one lying on a white sheet . Extra person behind for distraction !! Then got them printed in chemist for about 70c once I was happy they conformed. http://www.dfa.ie/uploads/documents/photograph%20guidelines.pdf

I did exactly this with both my tots.
They were about 6 weeks and 4 months respectively. I must've taken about 30 odd photos each, and chose one that would satisfy the guidelines.
Only paid 70c for 2 photos to be printed at the machine.
They're pretty laidback with babies. They understand it's not easy to photograph children.

hoodwinked

Leroy42 wrote: »

Seroiusly, €10, for one picture! Crazy money. I know it doesn't sound much, but in this day and age its a waste. Photographers know how to distract kids? You're the childs parent, who can possibly be better at knowing the child than you.

also its not just one photo, they take loads and print double the amount you actually need, (you need 3-4 photos per application now)

we went to a professional photographer as a friend tried taking them herself, she thought they were ok (eyes open, no hands...etc) but they refused them based on something silly like the dimensions (i think),

they have gotten stricter these past few months with all the changes coming in.

lmahoney79

My boy is also 19 months old and only 3 weeks ago I took my own photos and printed them in chemist and got the passport no probs. I took the pic while he was sitting in his highchair and just put a white sheet over back of the chair.