diff --git a/telegram/files/inputfile.py b/telegram/files/inputfile.py
index d4739c838..a82cae699 100644
--- a/telegram/files/inputfile.py
+++ b/telegram/files/inputfile.py
@@ -86,6 +86,10 @@ class InputFile(object):
                 else:
                     self.mimetype = DEFAULT_MIME_TYPE
 
+        if sys.version_info < (3,):
+            if isinstance(self.filename, unicode):  # flake8: noqa  pylint: disable=E0602
+                self.filename = self.filename.encode('utf-8', 'replace')
+
     @property
     def headers(self):
         """:obj:`dict`: Headers."""
diff --git a/tests/test_photo.py b/tests/test_photo.py
index 610debf47..8647b0935 100644
--- a/tests/test_photo.py
+++ b/tests/test_photo.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ from telegram import Sticker, TelegramError, PhotoSize, InputFile
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope='function')
 def photo_file():
-    f = open('tests/data/telegram.jpg', 'rb')
+    f = open(u'tests/data/telegram.jpg', 'rb')
     yield f
     f.close()