How to Choose the Best Photo for a Personalized Children's Book
A personalized storybook is only as good as the photo it starts from. Every page of a Brave Star book is illustrated from one photo of your child, so the clearer that photo is, the more your child looks like themselves on every page. Here is what works, what to avoid, and why.
Think school picture day
The best photo has your child looking at the camera, with the whole face clear and evenly lit, and no one else in the frame. Close enough that you can see their eyes, hair, and smile. Any age works, as long as the face is easy to see.
Photos to avoid
These are the photos that most often make a book look less like your child. If one of these is all you have, it is worth taking a new picture first: it takes a minute and makes the whole book better.
A 30-second checklist
- Your child is the only person in the photo.
- They are facing the camera, not turned to the side.
- The face is in light, not shadow, and not covered by a hat or sunglasses.
- The photo is sharp, not blurry.
- It is recent, so the book shows your child as they are now.
Questions
Can I use a photo from my phone?
Yes. A recent phone photo works well, and iPhone HEIC photos are fine. Use the original photo, not a screenshot, when you can.
My child wears glasses. Should I take them off?
No. If your child wears glasses in the photo, they wear the same glasses on every page of the book.
Does the photo need to be professional?
No. A school picture is a great example of what works, but any clear, well-lit photo of your child looking at the camera does the job.
What if a page doesn't look like my child?
You see every page before anything is printed, and you can redo pages that aren't right. Nothing prints until you approve the whole book.
What happens to the photo afterward?
It is used only to make your book. We never sell it and never use it to train AI models, and you can ask us to delete it.