Passport Question

[glenn beck]

Getting my first passport, I see on the gov website you can take your own picture for it, has anyone done this before? I can just print the 2"X2" image out at Wal-Mart or someplace and that would be acceptable(digital camera btw) I just hate getting my picture done at say the MVA and it looks really bad and they don't give you an option to take another one.

 

[PepePeru]

i just paid 8 bucks for mine at Walgreen's.

Alls they did was take a headshot with a neutral screen background with a digital camera.

However, I'm pretty sure there are requirements that must be met (no background, dimensions, show entire face, etc etc).

 

[FoBoT]

there are very specific criteria and if the photo you send doesn't meet it, your passport will be delayed

i'd recommend having it done , pay the $10 at Kinko's or a photography store and you won't have to worry about having your passport delayed

 

[MixMasterTang]

There are some software packages out there to help, I believe they have been discussed on this forum. You cant send in just a regular photo, it has to meet their requirements of face size, background color, etc. They should have a list of what the requirements are on their website.

 

[Vette73]

Yep easy to mess up and delay things.

Costco does it cheap.

 

[boomerang]

i just paid 8 bucks for mine at Walgreen's.

Alls they did was take a headshot with a neutral screen background with a digital camera.

However, I'm pretty sure there are requirements that must be met (no background, dimensions, show entire face, etc etc).

This

I think you're not supposed to smile now too - seriously.

 

[glenn beck]

yeah there were the requirements, okay I will just have it done at Wal-Mart, I want to get the passport with no delays

 

[Demo24]

I tried to do this and go down the 'free' route, but it ended up being a giant pain in the ass. So I just got it done at Rite-aid for like 7 bucks and saved a lot of the hassle. The problem is taking the picture so it all lines up correctly, no shadows, right height, etc. Just go get it done and call it a day.

 

[FoBoT]

http://travel.state.gov/passport/guide/guide_2081.html

7 Steps to Successful Photos

Frame subject with full face, front view, eyes open
Make sure photo presents full head from top of hair to bottom of chin; height of head should measure 1 inch to 1-3/8 inches (25 mm to 35 mm)
Center head within frame (see Figure 2 below)
Make sure eye height is between 1-1/8 inches to 1-3/8 inches (28 mm and 35 mm) from bottom of photo
Photograph subject against a plain white or off-white background
Position subject and lighting so that there are no distracting shadows on the face or background
Encourage subject to have a natural expression

Well-Composed Photos

What pose should the photos show?
The photo should show a clear, front view, full face of the customer. The customer should be in normal street attire, without hat or dark glasses against a plain white or off-white background. The customer’s expression should be natural, with both eyes open, looking directly ahead. Normal, unexaggerated smiles are acceptable, but unusual expressions and squinting are not. Photos in which the face of the person being photographed is not in focus will not be accepted.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/guide/faq/faq_881.html

 

[Blackjack200]

My dad ripped his hair out trying to do his own picture. 'I'm not paying $8 for a digital picture!'

OK

So he spent like half the day taking this picutre, sent it in and it got rejected. 'Uhh, where did you say I could get the picture done, again?'

Yeah.

I love the post offices that have a photo station. One stop shopping, just walk in there with your I.D., your checkbook, and enough cash for the picture/postage, and the application is in the mail a half hour later. Awesome.

 

[JulesMaximus]

there are very specific criteria and if the photo you send doesn't meet it, your passport will be delayed

i'd recommend having it done , pay the $10 at Kinko's or a photography store and you won't have to worry about having your passport delayed

Agreed. Well worth the money IMO to avoid the hassle and delay if your picture doesn't meet their requirements. They are very specific when it comes to the passport photo in what you can and cannot wear, exact size of picture, etc.

 

[spidey07]

Yep easy to mess up and delay things.

Costco does it cheap.

Yep. Like 5-6 bucks and I got the picture in about 10 minutes. Easy peasy.

 

[glenn beck]

Hey 1 other question, I was born in South Korea and then flew here when I was maybe 1 or younger. Obviously I had some sort off passport for me, do they need this info, or has too much time passed for it too make a difference(Question on passport form, have you ever had a passport before)

 

[EGGO]

This

I think you're not supposed to smile now too - seriously.

You have to show ears as well. I know this since I have long hair.

 

[spidey07]

Hey 1 other question, I was born in South Korea and then flew here when I was maybe 1 or younger. Obviously I had some sort off passport for me, do they need this info, or has too much time passed for it too make a difference(Question on passport form, have you ever had a passport before)

I'd answer no. You don't know for certain that you did have one.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Nothing like a DMV photo...I prefer the shittyness of them.

 

[dabuddha]

Cheap to get done by CVS/Walgreens but I took all the photos for our passports using a P&S camera

 

[Ionizer86]

http://www.epassportphoto.com/

Pretty easy to do your own qualifying photos for US passports. This generates a 4x6 with six passport photos, which you can then print at a drugstore for a quarter or so.

Now, if you're doing shots for a Canadian passport... there's a whole lot of rules and regulations. The drugstore couldn't do it so we had to go to Sears for photography.

 

[TheNinja]

You can do them cheaper some places, but since passports are like $100 anyway, I just pay the $8 to have them done somewhere like Walgreens and just be finished with it. It isn't worth the hassle or possible delay to try it myself.

 

[OogyWaWa]

http://www.epassportphoto.com/

Pretty easy to do your own qualifying photos for US passports. This generates a 4x6 with six passport photos, which you can then print at a drugstore for a quarter or so.

Now, if you're doing shots for a Canadian passport... there's a whole lot of rules and regulations. The drugstore couldn't do it so we had to go to Sears for photography.

worked for me

 

[DivideBYZero]

At least you're getting one. :thumbsup:

 

[dullard]

I've done the photo myself once and my wife did it twice (once to renew and once a few months later with her name changed). Easy as cake. You just need to be able to follow the rules FoBoT linked above. And that includes properly sizing it with whitespace so that when you print a 4x6 it comes out with 2 in by 2 in photos inside a 4 in by 6 in print. It takes maybe 5 minutes if you can use a photo editing software.

Of course, don't try to print it yourself on crappy paper with a crappy inkjet. Pay the 10-15 cents to get it professionally printed.

 

[glenn beck]

I've done the photo myself once and my wife did it twice (once to renew and once a few months later with her name changed). Easy as cake. You just need to be able to follow the rules above. And that includes properly sizing it with whitespace so that when you print a 4x6 it comes out with a 2 in by 2 in photo inside a 4 in by 6 in print. It takes maybe 5 minutes if you can use a photo editing software.

well that was what I was thinking, just adjust and size it up in PS, but I may just pay a little and go get it done at Wal-Mart

 

[xanis]

My passport application got rejected once already because I used the wrong form (which would have been the right form had my birthday been 16 days earlier) so I wasn't in the mood to get it rejected again. Definitely worth the couple bucks to have it done right the first time and not worry about it.

 

[njmodi]

Doing it yourself is a piece of cake... the last time I had this done at a Walgreens (or other similar) the person who did it was no expert - they just popped down a white screen - took a digital pic - uploaded to their kodak photo kiosks and then printed "passport photos" - it's a mode only employees can access and gives them a chance to zoom in, put 6 per 4x6 photo, etc... but not more than 10 mins of work to do yourself in photoshop, etc. I just did my son's pics this way... a lot of places like Walgreens won't do infants... just FYI.