Passport photograph for Passport

medical

Where is the best place to take photos for our passports. Are the ones taken at automatic photo machines for £4.00 acceptable ?
pls help
Medical

Felix

Yes.

Any of the photome booths. The quality isn't great but it acceptable. I had mine done there and they say they are passport approved.

o_t_e

Actually you have to be careful with those booths - there is one in my local post office and I've seen the counter staff reject photos from that machine more than once, not because of quality but composition. They put a guide over the photo to see if your head is in the right place, not too big or small etc - they are quite strict now. If you get a passport application form there should be a guide included as to what is required of a passport photo.

If you know anyone who has a decent digital camera and colour printer I would go down that route - you can give experiment until you have a picture the correct size/composition and then give them the £3.

BernadetteN

Your passport photograph has to conform axactly to the standards of having face forward, head in the right place etc. The reason for this is that an iris scan will be taken from the photo and this scan and the photo and your bio-data details will all be encrypted onto the smart chip in your new passport. You can only get a good iris scan if you are facing the right way.

Previously the Passport Office would accept very poor photos - I have seen people with photos cut down from larger photos where you can other people on them and photos where the eyes are closed or photos where half the head is missing. I no longer see such bad photos (check passpots for a living).

We go to a photo printing shop and get our photos done there. There are loads of these shops around and generally they keep taking the digital photos until they get them in accordance with Passport Office instructions but you pay for only one printed set.

Rikki

medical wrote:

Where is the best place to take photos for our passports. Are the ones taken at automatic photo machines for £4.00 acceptable ?
pls help
Medical

We have ours taken at the chemist. They know what the specifications the passport office require. Give a few a ring.

zappahey

BernadetteN wrote:

The reason for this is that an iris scan will be taken from the photo

I very much doubt it.

pennylane99

guidelines for passport photos....

The standards for passport photos

The photographs must be:

identical;
recent (taken within the last month);
45 millimetres (mm) high x 35 millimetres (mm) wide (please do not trim your photographs to meet this condition);
taken against an off-white, cream or light grey plain background so that your features are clearly distinguishable against the background;
printed on low-gloss, plain white photo-quality paper (with no watermarks, embossing or printing on the back);
undamaged, for example, by creases from paperclips;
of you on your own (no toys, dummies or other people visible);
a close-up of your head and shoulders so that your head, from the bottom of your chin to your crown is between 29mm and 34mm high; and
clear of writing on the front and back.

The photographs must also:

be in sharp focus and clear;
have a strong definition between the face and background; and
be printed professionally. Photographs printed at home are not likely to be of an acceptable quality.

The photographs must show:

no shadows;
you facing forwards, looking straight towards the camera;
a neutral expression, with your mouth closed;
your eyes open and clearly visible (with no sunglasses or heavily tinted glasses, and no hair across your eyes);
no reflection or glare on your glasses, and the frames should not cover your eyes (you may find it easier to remove your glasses);
your full head, without any head covering, unless it is worn for religious beliefs or medical reasons; and
nothing covering your face. Please make sure nothing covers the outline of your eyes, nose or mouth.

http://www.passport.gov.uk/general_photos_standards.asp

monkeyspanner

As o-t-e says be careful of the booths. I had photos from a booth in a post office rejected by the post office screening process because the subject did not take up enough area of the photo even though the booth said Passport Office approved photos. Their solution "lean forward". When I asked for a refund of the cost of the photos I was told it wasn't their machine and therefore not their responsibility.

alison99_2

I recently had my picture taken at a photo processing shop and I was very impressed by the quality of the photos and so was my local post office.

All the photo processing shops in my nearest town offer this service, so I guess there should be at least one in most towns.

It cost £4.00, so no more expensive than the photo booth and the waiting time was about 10 mins.

Hope this post is some help and happy holiday.

stamford

Rikki wrote:

We have ours taken at the chemist. They know what the specifications the passport office require. Give a few a ring.

yes £3 or £4 for good quality polaroids at my local chemist 10 minute job and he knows what spec is now required by the passport office. A lot easier and better results than machines

horsenailbucket

Go to a local photo shop or chemist which does this but will also give a guarantee free of charge if your photo is rejected. This happened with me but I got another set done foc.