I’m often asked if we can do passport photos – yes of course we can, we can do almost anything.
But, really the question should be “Will we do passport photos?”
Have you ever looked at the Passport Authorities guidelines for passport photos? In these technologically advanced days when they want all of the images to uniformly suit their automated scanning processes the guidelines have become increasingly strict.
The rules for passport photos – from Direct.gov
The photographs you supply with your application must:
- show you with a neutral expression and your mouth closed (no grinning, frowning or raised eyebrows)
- show you on your own (babies should not have toys or a dummy, and there shouldn’t be other people in the photo)
- be in colour, not black and white
- be identical
- be taken within the last month
- be 45 millimetres high x 35 millimetres wide – this is the standard size when you have a passport photo taken in a photo booth or studio (you should not trim a larger photograph to meet this condition)
- be clear and in sharp focus, with a clear difference between your face and the background
- be taken against a plain cream or plain light grey background
- not show you with red-eye
- be of you facing forward and looking straight at the camera
- not be torn, creased, or marked
- be printed on plain white photographic paper
- be free from shadows
- be taken with your eyes open and clearly visible (no sunglasses or tinted glasses and no hair across your eyes)
- be free from reflection or glare on your glasses, and the frames must not cover your eyes – the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) recommends that, if possible, you remove your glasses
- be professionally printed (photographs printed at home are not likely to be of an acceptable quality)
- show your full head, without any head covering, unless you wear one for religious beliefs or medical reasons
- be taken with nothing covering your face – you should make sure nothing covers the outline of your eyes, nose or mouth
- be a close-up of your head and shoulders with a recommended head height (the distance between the bottom of your chin and the crown of your head) between 29 and 34 mm
- not have any writing on the front or back – except when one of the photos needs to be certified
So really we should be thinking what’s the point in making life difficult for ourselves by shooting it manually, adjusting the head size in Photoshop, sending it to the lab for printing.
Today I had to get new passport photos, do you know what I did?
I didn’t go into the studio, shoot myself against a white background, etc, etc – I went to the shopping centre, put £4 in the machine and had the photos in a couple of minutes – easy.
If you really insist on doing it yourself try these websites:
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