Cheapo Passport Photos
Now that I finally have an air ticket with a definitive date of arrival in Vietnam, it’s time to apply for a visa. And for that I need 2 passport photos. So I called the USPS (the obvious local agency where most folks go these days to get their passport) to see how much they charge just to take a passport photo. Answer? $15 for two photos.All well and good, but… I’m thinking that I may need quite a few of such photos for traveling ’round Southeast Asia, as well as for a work permit in Vietnam, so I may as well get a half dozen or so just to have plenty on hand. But $7.50 a pop at the USPS is a tad pricey. Besides, what I’d really like is… to have my own digital image so I can print visa photos any time I please.
I considered just taking my own passport photo, but I don’t have a spot with a nice white background and good lighting (I tried hanging a pressed white sheet. tripod, etc. but suffice the results were pretty sorry looking.) Besides, passport photos have extremely specific requirements: 2″ x 2″ of course, but head to chin height must measure no less than 1″ and no more than 1 3/8″. Then there’s the eyes – these need to fall within 1 1/8″ – 1 3/8″ above the bottom of the photo. Additionally, the photo must be full frontal, no hat, neutral expression, yada, yada.
So I called a few other places to cost passport photos – Rite Aid was the cheapest at $7.50 for 2 photos, but… then I called good ol’ Walgreens. They charge $10 for 2 photos but – when I asked if there was any chance that I could also get the original digital image (by bringing along a flash drive) he suggested I bring my own camera and “WE CAN TAKE IT WITH THAT”!!!
Needless to say I was thrilled, and hurried down to Walgreens with my Panasonic Lumix camera. The photo guy pulled down a white screen, I showed him how to use my camera and – click! – he took the passport pic. At that point he would have let me leave with no charge whatsoever, but…
As I was so appreciative that Walgreens would be so flexible and kindly to allow me to use my own camera, I told them I’d be happy to pay the $10 they normally charge for 2 passport photos. Instead, they simply took the SD card from my camera, plugged it into their nifty passport photo machine to get the dimensions juuuuuust right – and then printed out 2 photos for me for $10.
Kewl! Now I not only have the original image to use as often as I please, but I have two perfect passport photos to use as a guide to create more of my own.
Granted, it took a bit of digital daring-do, but suffice that fiddling in my graphics software I managed to replicate the Walgreens photo and produced an entire sheet of *12* visa photos!
So that’s $10 (plus a sheet of Kodak glossy photo paper and a smidge of printer ink) for 14 passport photos. That’s just .71 each – more than *10 TIMES LESS* than the $7.50 at the Post Office.
| Alternately, for those not up for whittling graphics, I also found a site (Onlinepassportphoto.com) that seems to have all the bases covered – where you can upload your own photo and get 6 passport photos for just $6.95 (apparently you likewise pick up your finished photos at WALGREENS!) |
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
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Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
Ah sorry, just noticed your reply, and question, above. I paid for the initial photo – $5 at Costco. That was the simplest way to get a perfect template.
I went in at a time of day when they were totally not busy, hooked up with a very helpful person who was willing to reshoot the initial image (without printing it) til we got something usable. I am very tricky – only one eye works so bad photos of me are the norm, and are really really really bad.
Once we got a digital image that was ok, we printed the paid for two copies but left the 3 1/2 x 6 sheet uncut. I took this home and scanned it with the back of a 4 x 6 under it so when cropped to that outline, I had a perfect 4 x 6 template with the final photos the exact right size, and perfectly positioned for their cutting gadget which they allowed me to use. So total cost was $5 once, then .08 each after that.
Very nice to arrive in Southeast Asia with a pile of passport photos!
@Christine – thanks for the details. And yes, from that onlinepassportphoto.com site I linked above, it appears that (no surprise) different countries require different dimensions for the photo.
Fortunately, the U.S. seems to be the largest size (i.e. 2″ x 2″) but the good thing is that once you have your own digital original, you can resize it to fit whatever country requirements you need.
I absolutely love Vietnam and thought about teaching there myself. When do you leave?
@Lydia – have you been to Vietnam? I know you’re now in China, yes? (love your pics of Mongolia!)
And yes, I’ve been dreaming of moving to Vietnam for nearly a year now, and finally have my (ONE WAY!) ticket to Hanoi on October 29th. But I’ll just be up north a week or so (Hu Long Bay, Sapa Hill Tribes) and then head down to Saigon to take the CELTA, and… ??? 😉
They make photos for passports seem like rocket science with all these requirements. UPS is expensive for a couple of photos. Glad to see you found a better way.
Well every buck a lass can save means a dong or three more for a steaming hot bowl of yummy Phở soup!
(actually, presently – make that 20,822 dong to be exact!) 😉
Good for you for doing it your way and saving…love that!
Yep, once you get a single good photo that meets the passport requirements, printing costs are practically nothing.
Any tips on how you took your original photo Christine? How to get a good background, good lighting, no shadows, and the dimensions just right?
Even the photo the Walgreen’s guy took had to be zoomed and tweaked in their passport photo machine to get it to meet the eye-height, etc. requirements.
Cheaper yet, set up two photos to print as a 4×6 print and have a pile printed up.
Costco did my printing and then allowed me to use their passport photo punch gadget. Cost was .08 per photo.
Yep, once you get a single good photo that meets the passport requirements, printing costs are practically nothing.
Any tips on how you took your original photo Christine? How to get a good background, good lighting, no shadows, and the dimensions just right?
Even the photo the Walgreen’s guy took had to be zoomed and tweaked in their passport photo machine to get it to meet the eye-height, etc. requirements.