I did this about a month ago for my wife's passport, epassportphoto.com was great, very easy to use with clear instructions. I sent the file to my local Target and picked the photo up an hour later for $0.19. They are still processing her passport but they cashed the check I sent in so hopefully the photo was fine.

Walgreen's passport photo camera is just a specialty poloroid camera that makes two copies. Then the photo guy cuts the two photos with a little tool.

Drug stores should be looking into replacing photo labs with something more profitable.

I might pay $8 for a strawberry-scented passport photo. But a regular one? Not so much.

I have used photos from a carnival booth for a passport. Trimmed to the proper dimensions, they worked fine.

Careful with those passport photos, a co-worker of mine had his rejected by the gubbermint because of shadows behind him like in your sample photo there.

This reminds me of the nightmare I had trying to get a Visa to China accepted. Long story short, USPS took 7 days to deliver an overnight delivery and I almost missed my flight. I know, I know, nothing to do with original article, I just get steamed when I think about it

You think that's bad, when i worked at Ritz, we charged _$15.99_ for these same stupid things. I guess the rounded cutter for 2x2 pics is expensive...

Corporations want to make money? Seems standard. We forget they are not in existance to serve us, but to profit from us.

You could always just toss it in with the latest batch of vacation pics. Are they really going to check 40 or so pictures for a passport look alike photo?

This is just another way that Walgreen's is trying to make money off of people. Use their service or pay a steep price. As long as the photos are not copyrighted you can have them printed at Wal-mart chepaer than 7.99.

I posted on this yesterday and couldn't believe Walgreens called ePassport Photo a "scam" - especially when ePassport Photo doesn't charge ANYTHING for their site. (they make money off ads.)

Seems to me the scam is Walgreen's charging for photos based on content rather than minding their own business and charging for quantity and size. The content of a photo is irrelevant and should not create any decision whatsoever on Walgreen's part.

If you wanted to challenge Walgreens you could send your 4×6 headshots in and say they're for your work security badge or future mug shot. Try it and then see what track the logic train ends up on.

[www.futuregringo.com]

People that find ePassport photo's site are STILL going to use it, so in addition to being a bully Walgreens is screwing themselves out of money derived from regular photo printing. They're also losing money from people like me, who having learned of this nonsense will take my photo printing elsewhere when needed.

I've used their site a few times- not for actual passport photos, but for "passport size" photos for visas.

I get my prints at CVS. Instant prints are 29¢, one hour prints are 19¢. No problems at all. Never tried walgreens, and now I'm glad. Between this and ending their rebate program next month, I'm going to be done with wags pretty soon.

@ Randy Treibel-

That's not the point. The point is that I'm coming in to print a 4x6 photo, not use THEIR photography/passport service.

They content of my photo should be considered irrelevant. I'm simply using their PHOTO PRINTING service.

That's why I said tell them "I'm printing a work badge." and see what they try to charge you...

Printed mine at wal mart a year ago. No problems. I used a photoshop template I found online.

It does take a little prep with the camera and lighting to get it right. Go to the US passport page to get the facts on that stuff.

I had to set up a small lamp between the back of the subject and the wall in addition to using a flash on the camera to get the lighting right (no shadows).

@Underpants Gnome: Exactly. There are all kinds of arcane and Byzantine rules about how a passport photo must be composed; how much space must be left around your head, color of the background, size of your head in the frame, and on and on. Any one miscalculation can result in a rejection. I'd much rather pay $8 for a sheet of them and know it was done right then try to do it myself and fail.

And honestly, compared to all the other costs I incurred preparing for my trip to China a few years ago, $8 was a bargain.

Also, I got my passport photos taken at CVS Pharmacy and got a sheet of 8 or 10 photos for $8.

If you are a member of AAA, they do it for you for $2 I think. Super fast and easy.

For the record, Canadian rules are different.

the photo you submit must have an information stamp on the back with the date, location and a signature indicating that the photo is of who they say it is. A retailer taking passport photos puts their integrity on the line, leading to the higher cost for a couple of photos

Saying that, you can still get it done inexpensively, there is no need to pay upwards of $20 for your passport photos.

@Mooshie: Actually walgreen doesnt even do it that way anymore, they use a regular digital camera and the software arranges 2 on normal photo paper.

@Randy Treibel

"We forget they are not in existance to serve us, but to profit from us. "

Who can forget when we have people like you to blame the consumer for wanting some sort of value from a company?

This is from the ePassportPhoto.com site (not official or legal)

The official Canadian requirements state that the name of the photographer, address and date is provided on the back of one photo. This information may be handwritten by the photographer. Note that ePassportPhoto.com cannot provide this signature as we are not the photographer

@Mooshie: When I got new passport photos 2 years ago at Walgreens they used a digital camera then printed it on their regular photo printing equipment.

@Radi0logy: I had a nearly identical experience at one point (except it wasn't China). That's when I learned that USPS "delivery guarantees" are essentially meaningless. Yeah, they refunded my postage when they delivered my package really late, but that wasn't my main concern. My main concern was the reason I sent it via Express Mail in the first place. If speed is a concern, USPS is not the place to go.

@redskull: It isnt that hard. From the gov travel website.

1) Frame subject with full face, front view, eyes open

2) 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)

3) Center head within frame (see Figure 2 below)

4) Make sure eye height is between 1-1/8 inches to 1-3/8 inches (28 mm and 35 mm) from bottom of photo

5) Photograph subject against a plain white or off-white background

6) Position subject and lighting so that there are no distracting shadows on the face or background

7) Encourage subject to have a natural expression

I mean really if you would rather trust a guy making 7 bucks a hour to know better than you, sure go ahead. But even a dunce should be able to follow the guidelines and do this. Its not hard.

And better yet if you do it yourself you can guarantee the guidelines are right, I have heard of people having store bought passport photos rejected all the time.

pay the 8 dollars. The Govt. is very strict. I usually go to a professional photographer in town, he does a great job and charges 10 dollars.

Walgreens photo kiosks are pretty archaic to begin with. Their staff are super nosy, they look at all your personal photos and make conversation. I went to get my photos done at a Walgreens because of a coupon I got in the mail, despite what I saved in $$ the experience was terrible. It took them 50mins to print out some 25 photos. They screwed up my total bill, so I left with a few stapled receipts. I'm done with Walgreens. I hope CVS brings them down like Best Buy did Circuit City.

Don't bother trying to take a nice picture. I just had my passport renewed and they go through lengths to make even a nice photo horrible.

They now scan the photo, badly, blow it up until you can see the pixels and re-crop it so your head fills almost the entire frame. I was never vain about my passport photo before and had the last one done at Kinko's (as an example). But the way it appears on the passport now is so warped that it doesn't look like me at all. My head looks huge with red blotches all over my face.

My mother didn't even think it was me.

@Onion_Volcano: yeah, I'm sure the "professionals" at Walgreens never take passport photos that get rejected...

I work in store management at a large drugstore chain (Not Walgreens) and while I personally don't care what people print I can see how others can be concerned- not rightfully, but when it appears that someone is circumventing one of their biggest moneymakers (7 dollars for a few cents worth of photo paper?) many people freak out.

My own thinking is that the $7 is paying for the digital passport camera, the time of the employee taking the picture, and (if you go to the right store) the care and diligence in making sure the picture fits all requirements. If someone is printing a 4x6 off of a kiosk, they can go ahead; they'll get no help or advice from us on U.S. passport regulations.

@Underpants Gnome: It isn't hard if you can competently follow directions. In 2004 my wife and I took and printed our own passport photos following those same specs listed by Jim T. No problems whatsoever.

But I'm not saying any dimwit could do it...

@Shadowman615: Sad part is that the rejected photos were the $6 "professional" ones from the Costco photo center.

I blame the OP for sending in a headshot of his (adorable) kitteh by mistake.

Also, if you have AAA, they will take your passport photos for free. FREE! All you have to do is find one of their retail branches, which is pretty easy in most urban/suburban areas (much more difficult in rural areas).

@Randy Treibel: They don't make any profit without offering goods and/or services.

You can't have a "because we want more money" fee and not expect customers to go elsewhere. It's not like customers exist just to fork over cash.

@ IvanaOtter

You're right - but I don't think in these cases people were printing their 4x6s then asking Walgreens to proof them. They want to walk in, print their photos (which is their own GD business,) pay and walk out.

The specifications and details come from ePassport photo, and they even offer an acceptance guarantee.

Also in my experiences "care and diligence" are not words I'd use to describe the traits of most Walgreen's staff. Sorry.

Interesting. Last time I had a passport photo done, you couldn't get it done yourself as it required a stamp on the back indicating it was a passport photo, and a signature/initials of the technician who took the photo.

I suppose you could somehow get such a stamp, but I expect it would be regulated by the government somehow.

This has changed somehow?

@Jim Topoleski: I went to the local photo/frame store, mainly because they are a mom and pop business and I like to patronize neighborhood places. These instructions are by no means difficult, but I also know that the proprietor is a pro (lighting included).

I set aside a day for passport photos and want to make sure my hair and makeup are perfect (remember, 10 years!). I try to be as relaxed as possible, because there's nothing like a JFK customs inspector LAUGHING at your passport upon arrival...it's not like you can be a smartass since that will guarantee a thorough searching of your bags.

Since most photographers hold the copyright for photos they take, it must be that Wallgreen's is mad because they 'should have' held the copyright on the photos you're printing... at least that's the only twisted logic that I can see they would allow them to charge more.

@Vanilla5: Just make sure you don't get the "dog food" or "chopped meat" scented paper, cuz then Customs might take longer than normal.

Passport photos are an enormous ripoff. I paid the $7 thinking I was getting the knowledge about how to size it correctly and profesional equipment. The clerk at CVS pulled out a dinged up antique digital camera, took my picture against their super-special pull-down screen, uploaded it into their customer photo computers, touched three buttons on the screen, and charged me for her forty-five seconds of work.

I was the head photo tech at walgreens for a while. digital cameras are what we use. the software does put it into two or more (depending on location) and yes we cut them. which btw is a pain cause you cant have ANY uneven edges.

Also you are not supposed to have any shadows, the picture on here would be denied most likely. That was the worst when someone came back cause it got denied.

LoL. I actually work in a Walgreen's photo lab. The big deal is that we take the picture in the store. Then we can make the background stark white. You might not be able to do that at home. Also, we have a handy little tool that punches the pictures out of the paper perfectly, in case customers can't work scissors properly.

It's all very legit.

That is not a big deal. I had my Canadian passport photo done at a US Costco as I was unaware that options like this existed. I myself wrote on the back of one stating that it was from Costco and I wrote their address. My Aunt signed to state the photo was me as it does not state the photographer has to. I had no problems. The rules have been relaxed now that they have had to get just about everyone a passport. 75% of Canadian adults now have them. If you are one of the few that doesn't though, the one thing they are incredibly anal about is the photo itself. No shadows, no smile and all the other regulations. An option like this epassport thing seems good as you can take in a couple different ones and let them chose to prevent being sent away.

I don't know about the US, but in Canada the photos must have the name & address of the photographer on the back. There are stringent rules about size and shadows and many photos are rejected and have to be retaken - wasting weeks of processing time.

If you have a photo printer and digital camera, why even bother with ePassport.com? Guidelines for photos:

[travel.state.gov]

Have someone take your picture:

Use a room with a lot of natural indirect sunlight filtering in. Stand at least a foot from a LIGHT colored wall, off-white, eggshell, etc., preferably a flat, non-reflective finish. Have the photographer take your picture about six feet away from you using NO FLASH. Use your favorite photo editing tool, apply any brightness, color correction, cropping, sizing, and print according to the reqirements above. Cut the pics to a 2x2 size.

I've done this several times for friends and family without a problem.

Digital Photo sent to Walgreens for passport: $.19
Argument with Walgreens over if it is for passport, resolution: $7.99
Coming back from a month traveling abroad with thousands of digital pictures needing processing and driving past the Walgreens that shafted you for your passport picture: PRICELESS

The only difference between hindsight and forethought is when you bother to think things through.

You don't even need to send the photos to the drugstore to be printed, you can print them yourself with a good inkjet printer.

This FAQ from the US Dept of State:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/guide/digital/digital_880.html

says that it's perfectly fine to use a digital camera and a digital printer to make passport photos, so long as the result is "high quality and photo-like in appearance".

I recently did passport photos for my wife and myself. I used a Canon A590 point-and-shoot camera, sized the photos at epassportphoto.com, adjusted the brightness a little bit in Photoshop Elements, and printed them on glossy paper on a Canon Pixma 6600 printer. The resulting pictures were better than the off-center ones I got for free at AAA, and the Passport Office apparently had no issues with them, as we mailed our old expired passports in and got our new passports with our home-made photos back in a bout 3 weeks.

@SnickerDoodle: "A retailer taking passport photos puts their integrity on the line, leading to the higher cost for a couple of photos" LOL. That does not make a simple photo more expensive.

This whole discussion is rediculous. In the U.S., if you follow their photo guidelines at the State Dept. website, anybody with a basic point-and-shoot can snap a passport photo that qualifies. You can also print it yourself on just about any $150 inkjet printer. I have taken dozens of PP pix for friends & relatives over the years with all types of cameras, & haven't a single reject!