Question re: passport pictures

[Badly Drawn Girl]

I just recently had a whole heap of passport pictures taken for various identification cards that I will need while travelling. Only problem is that I'm smiling in them. Can I use this for my British visa photograph or do they require you to not be smiling? I'm just trying to be cheap because those pictures cost me $19.99 for a sheet of eight, lol.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by Badly Drawn Girl

I just recently had a whole heap of passport pictures taken for various identification cards that I will need while travelling. Only problem is that I'm smiling in them. Can I use this for my British visa photograph or do they require you to not be smiling? I'm just trying to be cheap because those pictures cost me $19.99 for a sheet of eight, lol.

Well,most places that take passport photos ask you not to smile,also the size of these photos can vary dependant on where and for what they are required .Twenty bucks for eight photos ? Here in S.E Asia i Pay $2.00 for 4 photos mmmmmm . Colin .

[El Capitan]

For UK passports, the photo requirements are now very strict as photos are "digitised" the web site http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/downloads/photos.pdf gives all the details including exact measurements. From the web site :

The photographs must be:
• identical;
• in colour, not black and white;
• taken within the last month;
• taken against a light grey or cream background;
• 45 millimetres (mm) high x 35 millimetres (mm) wide (however, please do not trim your photographs to meet this condition);
• fit into the template, with your eyes positioned in the area marked by the shaded band;
• undamaged, for example; not torn, creased, or marked;
• free from shadows;
• taken with your eyes open and clearly visible (with no sunglasses or tinted glasses, and no hair across your eyes);
• free from reflection or glare on your glasses, and the frames must not cover your eyes (where possible, we recommend that you remove your glasses to avoid the possibility of rejections);
• free from ‘Redeye’;
• of you facing forward, looking straight at the camera;
• with a neutral expression, your mouth must be closed (no grinning, frowning or raised eyebrows);
• of you on your own (no babies’ dummies, toys or other people visible);
• taken of the full head, without any covering, unless it is worn for religious beliefs or medical reasons;
• taken with nothing covering your face;
• free from copyright (for example, do not send school photographs as these are produced under copyright).

[attuk]

do they require you to not be smiling?
Unfortunately yes ! Even babies cannot smile !
When you take a photo in the UK (obviously not in a photo booth), they ask you , rudely, not to smile !
$20 sounds a lot for 8 photos

[Badly Drawn Girl]

Originally Posted by attuk

do they require you to not be smiling?
Unfortunately yes ! Even babies cannot smile !
When you take a photo in the UK (obviously not in a photo booth), they ask you , rudely, not to smile !
$20 sounds a lot for 8 photos

Wow, how annoying. And I agree, $20 was a ridiculous amount to pay for passport photos (that's the price of supporting a Kiwi-owned New Zealand business I suppose). I wonder how hard it will be to find a place in the States that will comply with these regulations...unless the rules for American passport photos are the same now?

[Bevdeforges]

It's not hard to find a place to do passport photos in the US. Even CVS and Walgreen do them. But the US does a slightly different size photo than the rest of the world - they do a 2 inch square picture - so pay close attention to the comment about not trimming the photo yourself. (And of course the US won't accept the standard "rest of the world" size photo.)

As of a couple months ago they didn't have the rule about no smiling in the US - but just to be sure, I didn't. In your case, you still have to meet the UK requirements, and it's up to you to know what those are.

I paid about $7 for 6 photos, I think it was. More or less instant processing.
Cheers,
Bev