Passport Photo Facepunch

[Davids]

I suppose I deserve a facepunch here. It is time for me to renew my passport and I know there are cheaper ways but instead I went to CVS and paid $10.99 ($12.99 less $2.00 coupon) to get a passport photo taken. I look at it as I have to do this once every 10 years so I'll just suck it up and pay the $10.99 for this charge.

[lizzzi]

I have to renew mine, and the post office where I will be going said that they take the pictures then and there, included in the price of the passport.

[jim555]

The USPS charges $15 for a passport photo.  You can print a 4x6" picture with six 2x2" squares using imaging software.

[Nothlit]

I took a selfie in front of a white door and had it printed at CVS for $0.25. Worked just fine.

[StetsTerhune]

 there's a million free apps that walk you through the picture taking process with guides for the head position and then export a photo with 6 shots to print out 4x6 at Walgreen's. Less time and 25¢.

[radtek2112]

You used a coupon at least...so just a minor facepunch.

[johndoe]

I may be way off base here, but if you're worried about a once-a-decade $12 transgression your spending is under control.

[lizzzi]

Hope I don't get a face punch, but the convenience and saving of time and gas by just getting my photo done when I go to the post office is worth the money to me. I'll be renewing my passport in a week or so.

[HipGnosis]

there's a million free apps that walk you through the picture taking process with guides for the head position and then export a photo with 6 shots to print out 4x6 at Walgreen's. Less time and 25¢.

Smart phone newb here;  Thanks for that info (I'm constantly amazed at what apps can do), but..
How do you get your pic from the phone to Walgreens?

[jim555]

I don't know about Walgreen's but at Walmart they have Kiosks where you put your memory card in and it uploads the image for printing.

[slugline]

I may be way off base here, but if you're worried about a once-a-decade $12 transgression your spending is under control.

Exactly what I was thinking. :)  If this is the most facepunch-worthy bill in your life at the moment, you've got the expenses thing on lock.

[jim555]

I may be way off base here, but if you're worried about a once-a-decade $12 transgression your spending is under control.

Exactly what I was thinking. :)  If this is the most facepunch-worthy bill in your life at the moment, you've got the expenses thing on lock.

Should you be added to the Anti-Mustachian Wall of Shame for this transgression?  :)

[Bracken_Joy]

Anyone who has used the apps or web guides for DIY options, could you post links here? It'd make a nice repository of mustachian knowledge here =) Also, I need to do this soon, as I never replaced my passport in my married name.

I'll start by posting the official passport photo guidelines: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/photos/photos.html

Want to take a photo of yourself?
While we recommend you use a professional passport photo service to ensure your photo meets all the requirements, you may take the photo yourself. Hand-held self portraits are not acceptable. Photos must not be digitally enhanced or altered to change your appearance in any way. If you take the photo yourself with a digital camera, the digital image must adhere to the following specifications:

[sailinlight]

Think about the extra $10 that you spent as insurance against taking the picture incorrectly and having to make a new appointment for your passport or worse having it rejected in 8 weeks and having to go through the process again.

[Nothlit]

there's a million free apps that walk you through the picture taking process with guides for the head position and then export a photo with 6 shots to print out 4x6 at Walgreen's. Less time and 25¢.

Smart phone newb here;  Thanks for that info (I'm constantly amazed at what apps can do), but..
How do you get your pic from the phone to Walgreens?

Walgreens and CVS both have apps that let you upload photos directly from your phone into their system for printing.

[Paul der Krake]

When applying for a green card, I spent $22 on approved pictures at the Fedex store and $5.95 for a premium USPS envelope with tracking. Somehow these two items stung more than the $1,800+ in various filing fees.

[TabbyCat]

Costco is $6 or $7 I think

[ltt]

We have four kids and a white living room wall.  We took individual head shots of them and sized the photos to 2x2" size.  The photos came out just fine.  I think it's well worth it to do it yourself if you do not want to spend the money.

[Dicey]

Only facepunch worthy if you paid extra to expedite the renewal.

[tonysemail]

I tried using a free photo app and printing my own passport photo for $0.25 at CVS.
But this morning, I received notice that the resulting photo was under-exposed.
Plus, I smiled in the photo and they say to keep a neutral expression.
I guess the app cannot prevent that kind of user error.
Mustache fail, sadness is my life. 
I'm gonna go fork over $5 to Costco now.

[Duchess of Stratosphear]

I may be way off base here, but if you're worried about a once-a-decade $12 transgression your spending is under control.

Yeah, if it's only a question of $12, I'm going to do whatever takes the least effort. But on the other hand, I'm not FIRE yet, so maybe this is why!

[BlueMR2]

AAA will do it free for members, so that's where I have it done...

[HAPPYINAZ]

Think about the extra $10 that you spent as insurance against taking the picture incorrectly and having to make a new appointment for your passport or worse having it rejected in 8 weeks and having to go through the process again.

I second this.....think of it as insurance....my husband had me take his passport photo and we followed all the directions for size and proportion of the face and all but it was still rejected and then we had to pay to get the photo taken.  This was before there were phone apps for this, so perhaps it's a lot easier now. 

[Undecided]

The prices for renewing that you all speak of are for the photos only, not the actual renewal, correct?

Also, I heard that getting the passport card in addition to the book is the wise thing to do now - does anyone have any more info on that?

The card's convenient if you frequently cross by land (or sea) at the border, but it's not good for air travel. It's $30 on top of the $110 renewal price.

[frances]

There is a tool on the government passport site itself that allows you to upload a pic and position is exactly where your face and shoulders should be and crop it to the correct size. I took the file to my neighborhood Office Max/Depot, whatever it is now, and had mine and my partner's printed on the same page for 99 cents.

[redbird]

Walmart charges $8 for 2 passport-size photos. I just got them done recently.

I don't think it's possible to get any cheaper if you have someone else take the photos and print them. I tried looking. There's ways to get cheaper if you take the photo yourself though, obviously.

[Papa Mustache]

So you are worried about $12 for a passport picture when you are spending thousands to travel to places that needs a passport? Don't be silly!

[slugline]

AAA will do it free for members, so that's where I have it done...

Varies depending on location. AAA Texas charges $9 for members.

[Metric Mouse]

So you are worried about $12 for a passport picture when you are spending thousands to travel to places that needs a passport? Don't be silly!

Not all international travel is expensive.

And some of us use our passports for things other than just travel...

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/dmv-homeland-security-and-my-lost-drivers-license/

[accolay]

It's the principle of the thing, I get it. But it's not that big of a deal. That's 9.1 cents per month for ten years. Do it differently next time. Move along.

[redbird]

So you are worried about $12 for a passport picture when you are spending thousands to travel to places that needs a passport? Don't be silly!

Not all international travel is expensive.

And some of us use our passports for things other than just travel...

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/dmv-homeland-security-and-my-lost-drivers-license/

Yep. The nice thing about passports is you can use them as official govt photo ID for most things that you'd need to show ID for. And you get more privacy because the passport, unlike driver's license, doesn't show your address on it.

[iwasjustwondering]

My passport office takes the photo for free, right there.