Digital Passport Photos

miller

On my last (postal) passport renewal I sent in physical photos that I had printed by ASDA photo 6 up on 6" x 4" matt prints (cut out 2 of them and sent those, kept the other sheets in case I needed a photo). Worked out pretty cost effective and they were accepted. I took them with a digital camera and stuck a poster on the wall showing the blank (white) side which I stood against. I used a flash and anti-red eye settings on the camera to eliminate shadows.

I am due to renew soon and will submit everything, including the photos as a digital application this time.

Has anyone got any tips to make sure they're accepted or has done similar recently?

43722

I paid £10 at Max Spielmann for a photo, with a code which linked directly to the Passport Office Application process, it all worked very well.

annabanana82

We did ours at home, it would have cost me £50 for my family had I have gone to a shop. 
Follow the guidance on the website, when you upload the photo it will give you an indication of whether it will be accepted or not. 

Luckily we had a freshly painted cream wall that helped. My photo was the only one that got rejected but was quickly remedied with a selfie. Its really not difficult 

Emmia

I got mine done in a passport booth at Paddington station - it produced a sheet of 4 physical photos and a code for the online application - which I used so the photos are a bit redundant.

The booth gave an indication of whether the photo would be acceptable, which it was.

bagand96

If you're applying digitally you can take photos at home and upload them during the application process. So you could do what you did last time, or any modern smartphone has a camera that is good enough. Plain background and well lit with natural light works fine (indoor lighting tends to cause shadows).

The online application process will give an indication of whether a photo is good enough or not.

Ganga

We got ours done at Max Spielmann,s ,submitted them on line and was told by the computer /web site that the photos were not up to spec ,contacted the shop ,checked the photos said they were ok so posted them in ,passports arrived a few days later.

peb

As above, you'll be given an indication as to if they are acceptable when you add them.  Painless 

DullGreyGuy

Note that the online indication is far from perfect, wife's photos are always listed as likely to be rejected but have been accepted each time (think others share the same system as the UK) - dont know if this is a complexion thing given plenty of known issues with AI on photos because of what its been trained on. 

There have also been cases here where online has said it's ok but was rejected later in the process. 

smudge56

Photos uploaded using the code are more likely to be accepted. The Photo Booth gives instructions as you go 

Contessa

I renewed my passport six months ago. Being a money saver we took the photo on a smart camera. It was rejected three times by the system. The last "reason" was that my eyes were closed. As they were open we just submitted it anyway and my new passport arrived just over a week later.

kandy91

Out of curiosity, what happens if your photo is not accepted? Are you given the opportunity to upload a new one, or is the application cancelled?