Our passports are up for renewal and I was thinking of taking our own photos.

I've dowloaded the Passport Office's Photography Guide.

Has anyone else taken their own photos? Has their been any problem with the Passport Office accepting your pics?

Thanks

I've done it for myself and my family and quite a number of other people with no problems.

If you don't have a printing program that has a passport size option, then getting the head the right size can be a little tricky (trial and error).

Make sure you print on good photo quality paper. And one thing they don't tell you on-line that the person taking your application will tell you - they don't want you to be smiling in the picture. I suppose a little grin is OK but once I did a photo of someone, it was a great picture but she was laughing and they said they wouldn't accept it. We had done a couple different shots just in case and they took another one.

If you are a member of AAA, they will take your photo for you, and it is free. If not a member, they still only charge a small amount (like $5 or $10, depending on the specific auto club affiliation).

Having THEM do it eliminates any hassle, and the photos are exactly right.

--Marv

It's tricky to get it just right. They are very particular about the paper it's on, for one thing, as well the exact size of the image. I'd say its worth the $10 to have a pro do it. The one photo I'd brought to the passport office was unacceptable, so good thing I had time to go down the street and have one made at a shop.

When you take the picture, ensure that the image of the face fills about a third of the frame from top to bottom.

Make a 4x6 print (we use the Kodak machine at Walgreen's).

When you trim the required 2x2, the subject will be exactly the right size.

I have done this 5 times with no problem.

We had different experiences. I took my husband's with a digital camera, and his went through, no problem. However, he has an EU passport.

When it came time to renew mine, we took it with a digital and it was rejected by the US Passport office and mailed back to me, with a statement that digital pictures were not acceptable.

With my kids' renewals, we tried to use their school pictures. However, they also got rejected (in person at the post office) because the background was not white, as required.

If you renew in person at the post office, they will scrutinize the photo and tell you whether or not it will pass. If you mail it in, you take the chance of additional delay if they reject it and you need to resubmit.

The application form has the exact dimensions of allowed photo as well as the specifications of your head shot (top of head to top of photo, etc). Passport site tells what is allowed and what isn't (no big smile, no hats or sunglasses, etc).
I had a photo taken at a "passport photo" place. The photo had a glare on it and they told me to smile (both no-nos). Needless to say, the photo was unacceptable. Cost $12, too.

Wasn't a problem taking a digital photo with the dimensions. did a test photo on my printer to make sure it would fit. Then took the disc to a local Ritz while shopping and photos were done when shopping was done. Got extra prints as a back-up too if any other forms need photos. Total cost less than $2.

Forgot to add: no touch-ups or adjustments allowed to be made to the digital photos. Also photos must be done on high quality paper. Most home photo printers quality are not good enough.

When we renewed kast summer, my husband took our photos with no problems whatsoever. He just followed the instructions that were available on-line with the renewal form. AAA (in CA) charges for members as well--$10 members, $15 nonmembers.

Our post office now has a sign posted that they will take passport photos right there. I don't know if they are doing it for the money, or because they can insure the product is acceptable.

There is no rule that you cannot smile in a passport photo. That just isn't true. I was smiling in the one I just had taken last summer (as well as both before) and it was accepted. The state dept's web site even shows someone smiling as one of their examples. Smiling is different than fanny hats or glasses or laughing or things like that. You can't have closed eyes, for example. They just want you to look fairly normal.

My photo was digital, but it followed the rules. I had it taken at a professonal place, a lot of them are using digital cameras now which is nice because if you really hate it when they show you the shot, they re-do it for no cost. The professional places around me often do this for only $8-10, it doesn't seem like much for the convenience if you don't really know how to do it yourself that well.

<i>Peee-pull!</i>

This is not rocket science. Download the DoS booklet and follow the instructions (except instead of placing the camera 4 ft. from the subject, adjust the distance so the face fills 1/3 of the height of the frame). Print it at the drug or camera store for 29&cent;.

<b>http://travel.state.gov/passport/pptphotos/guide.pdf</b>

Christina, the rules about no smiling came out recently, like within the last month or two.

All this to save the $9.95 charge at MotoPhoto and less than 10 minutes of your time?

Thanks for the input.

It wasn't a question of the money. It's just that I have decent digital camera and thought that it would insure that my wife got a pic she was happy with.

Taking the picture and printing it out takes the same 10 minutes whether you pay someone on the other end of the camera or draft your kid to push the button.

$9.95 or 29&cent;? Your call.

In Canada you can't use digital photo's because the back of the photo must be stamped by a certified passport photo center. Also in Canada you are not allowed to smile. It is stated very clearly in the photo guidelines on the passport application. I have stood in line behind a man who's photo's were denied for these reasons after he had waited for 1 hour for his turn. Sounds to me that the USA is more up to date when it comes to passport photos, in Canada ours look more like mug shots.

Judging from people's varied experiences with what photos are and are not acceptable, it appears you can be at the mercy of whomever has to accept or reject it. Maybe the rules aren't enforced identically 100% across the board in all venues.

Why would anyone be so concerned about having a &quot;good&quot; passport photo? The only people who really look at it are those who see hundreds of photos a day! They don't care if you look attractive or not - just that the pic is really you. This sounds like something Bridget Jones' silly mother would be concerned with.

Go to Costco. Cheap and the size is correct. No hassle. Never heard of the smile rule. Gotta check that one out. Mine is up for renewal soon. By the end of the 10 years you look different anyway.