Soon I will have to take a photo of my infant for a USA passport. I've never taken passport photos previously. Matter of fact I have always avoided it because I don't want my applications refused because I screwed up the photo. This time I have no choice I have to do it myself. Any suggestions from anyone that has had to do this before....especially for an infant. Thanks

The rules are here:

http://www.epassportphoto.com/Wizard.aspx

Typically you hold the infant in front of you, above you and to the right (or left).

Some guidelines I found...

If you’re traveling abroad with your infant, you’ll need to apply for a child passport before you go. So, you’ll need to get acceptable passport photos. Many parents soon discover that getting a passport photo of a baby is more challenging than it sounds. Here are the US Passport office’s requirements for infant passport photos:

The photos must be 2 inches by 2 inches.

The photos must have been taken within the past 6 months.

Baby must be facing forward, looking at the camera and set against a white or off-white background.

The size of the head in the picture must be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches.

No hats, headgear or cute little baby bonnets, please.

The baby should have a “natural” expression-i.e. mouth closed, not laughing, screaming or crying.

The photo itself must be good quality, clear and in-focus.

The baby must be the only thing in the picture-nothing used to support the baby can appear in the picture’s frame. That includes you, your hands, your arm or your baby’s car seat.

Pacifier’s are a no-no.

I have just completed the same task. The advice below is spot on. Follow those guidelines and you should be fine. I took several photos, each with a duplicate, just in case they refused one, I had another option. They did refuse one as the computer scanner could not detect the ears well enough!!!! The second version worked well.

When I took my baby for her thai passport, they took the picture in the office. They used a towel between myself and the baby to hide me and my hands. It was quite effective.

Good luck.

Typically you hold the infant in front of you, above you and to the right (or left).

Some guidelines I found...

If you're traveling abroad with your infant, you'll need to apply for a child passport before you go. So, you'll need to get acceptable passport photos. Many parents soon discover that getting a passport photo of a baby is more challenging than it sounds. Here are the US Passport office's requirements for infant passport photos:

The photos must be 2 inches by 2 inches.

The photos must have been taken within the past 6 months.

Baby must be facing forward, looking at the camera and set against a white or off-white background.

The size of the head in the picture must be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches.

No hats, headgear or cute little baby bonnets, please.

The baby should have a "natural" expression-i.e. mouth closed, not laughing, screaming or crying.

The photo itself must be good quality, clear and in-focus.

The baby must be the only thing in the picture-nothing used to support the baby can appear in the picture's frame. That includes you, your hands, your arm or your baby's car seat.

Pacifier's are a no-no.