Before you upload
The photo guide
The book is only as good as the photo. Thirty seconds here saves a redo later.
The one photo that works every time
- Face on, looking at the camera — both eyes visible.
- One child in frame. If others are in it, crop first.
- Daylight or a bright room. No harsh shadows across the face.
- Close enough that the face fills a good part of the frame.
The five photos that trip us up
Drawn, not photographed — we never keep real examples of real children.
Side profile
We can only draw what we can see. Half a face makes a stranger.
Group shot
We cannot be sure which child is yours. Crop to just them.
Too dark
Shadows hide the features that make them them.
Too far away
A tiny face has too little detail to learn from.
Hat or sunglasses
Hair and eyes carry most of the likeness. Uncover them.
Got it wrong? It costs you nothing.
You see four takes of your child before paying a cent, and if the finished book still misses, the first redo is free.
Start with a good photo