Paintedlady Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 We're going on a trip to Mexico in January and need to get passports for our whole family. The cost of passports alone is over $400 already and the post office says they'll take our passport photos for $15 each, which seems unreasonable. I'm wondering if we could just take a head shot of each family member ourselves and have them developed at Walgreens in the passport size? Is there anything special about the pictures, or do they just need to be a head shot of the correct size? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I think they just need to be the correct size. We have ours taken at the court house when we get the passports for 7 or 8 dollars. They just use a polaroid camera. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 We're going on a trip to Mexico in January and need to get passports for our whole family. The cost of passports alone is over $400 already and the post office says they'll take our passport photos for $15 each, which seems unreasonable. I'm wondering if we could just take a head shot of each family member ourselves and have them developed at Walgreens in the passport size? Is there anything special about the pictures, or do they just need to be a head shot of the correct size? You can do it at home, but there are requirements about the color of the background, and the head in the picture has to be a certain size, etc. I think you can download a PDF from the State Department (Uh, this is a US passport we are talking about?), with all the details. Otherwise, there are a lot of quickie photo places that should do it cheaper than $15, but maybe not by much. Try local camera store, maybe costco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Not al passport size photos will work. The face needs to be a certain size within the photo, the background must be plain, the eyes must be open, etc. It can be tricky with some cameras to get a proper focus for the face to be the correct size. You should be able to check the picture requirements online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Are you a member of AAA? We got ours for free as a benefit of membership. Where are you going in Mexico? We leave for a Mexican Riviera cruise on 9/12!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I took one kid's photo myself after reading the guidelines. Otherwise I get them taken at CVS for ~$7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Check anywhere they do photo processing (CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc). I haven't priced them recently, but it's worth it to get what you need the 1st time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Sears and other places have offered Passport photos in the past fairly reasonably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 CVS does them for 9.99. I also found a $2.00 off coupon online when I had our passport photos done this summer. I think I just googled passport photo coupons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 DH did them at home. We stood in front of a white wall, and he printed them on glossy paper. I don't know if he did a test run on plain paper to make sure that it met the correct dimensions, but it didn't seem all that hard. He used a tripod to be sure that the camera was still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 Thanks for all the replies. After looking at the requirements I think we'll just go to CVS. Looks like that's the best price without me having to worry about it. I appreciate all the feedback. You all know everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I found a free program online that will adjust your photos to the right size. It never worked. I took two dozen photos of dd, moving furniture and lights to remove all shadows from the flash. I took the best (which wasn't that great) to the post office, and they said, mmm, didn't think it would pass, although we could try. After putting a few hours of effort into this unsuccessfully, I finally broke down and took her to CVS. You can find coupons online or in the Sunday ad inserts. It reduced the price by $2, so I think the total was $7. It was well worth it, even times four people. I think you are making the right decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I've seen them taken at Walgreen's before for $8 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 I found a free program online that will adjust your photos to the right size. It never worked. I took two dozen photos of dd, moving furniture and lights to remove all shadows from the flash. I took the best (which wasn't that great) to the post office, and they said, mmm, didn't think it would pass, although we could try. After putting a few hours of effort into this unsuccessfully, I finally broke down and took her to CVS. You can find coupons online or in the Sunday ad inserts. It reduced the price by $2, so I think the total was $7. It was well worth it, even times four people. I think you are making the right decision! I think you just cemented my decision. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 post office says they'll take our passport photos for $15 each, which seems unreasonable. I'm wondering if we could just take a head shot of each family member ourselves and have them developed at Walgreens in the passport size? Is there anything special about the pictures, or do they just need to be a head shot of the correct size? costco was cheaper than the PO. You can take them yourself, they do have to be a specific size of the head within the frame. the website for passports will have all the information on the exact sizing required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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