Getting a good passport photo is crucial for a smooth passport application process. For all passport applications, you must provide a recent photo taken within the last six months to ensure it accurately reflects your current appearance. Many applicants struggle with meeting the strict photo requirements set by the U.S. Department of State, leading to delays or rejections. You can take your own photo at home as long as you follow the official guidelines. This guide will help you understand how to take a passport photo that meets all official guidelines and where to get professional photos taken if you prefer. Whether you’re renewing your passport or applying for a new one, following these practical tips will ensure your photo is accepted without hassle. Learn about the size, background, lighting, and attire requirements, plus the best places to get your passport photo done in 2025. Don’t worry—by following these tips, you can avoid common mistakes and submit a photo that meets all requirements.
Key Takeaways
- Passport photos must be 2 x 2 inches, in color, with a plain white or off-white background.
- Photos should be taken within the last six months and show your current appearance.
- Eyeglasses are generally not allowed unless accompanied by a signed doctor’s statement.
- Multiple affordable options are available for professional passport photos, including drugstores and shipping centers.
- Taking your own passport photo is possible but requires strict adherence to passport photo rules.
How to Take A Good Passport Photo – Practical Tips for Making Passport Photo Acceptable?
Professional Passport photos have very specific size, color, image framing, lighting, and more requirements! Not meeting these requirements may cost you a rejection of your passport application, whether it’s a passport renewal application or a new passport application.
Passport photos have very specific size, color, image framing, lighting, and more requirements!
The best advice for achieving a natural and flattering passport photo is to keep your makeup simple and authentic, avoiding dramatic or glamorous styles. Focus on looking like yourself, as authenticity is key for official identification.
Your US passport photographs must meet the following requirements per the State Department:
- The passport photo must be In color.
- 2 x 2 inches in size.
- Printed on thin, photo-quality paper.
- Taken within the past six months, showing current appearance.
- Full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background.
- Between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.
- Taken in normal street attire: Uniforms should not be worn in photographs except religious attire that is worn daily.
- Do not wear a hat or headgear that obscures the hair or hairline.
- If you normally wear a hearing device, wig, or similar articles, they should be worn for your picture.
- Eyeglasses will no longer be allowed in passport photos unless you can provide a medical doctor’s note indicating it’s needed.
- Dark or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are unacceptable unless you need them for medical reasons (a medical certificate may be required).
- Articles worn for religious or medical reasons should be accompanied by a statement.
- Makeup should not be used to cover or conceal distinctive marks or features; your natural appearance should be visible.
- All facial features must be clearly visible and not obscured by accessories or makeup.
- The face must be fully visible, with no hair or accessories covering any part of the face.
When taking your photo, position yourself to achieve the best lighting—ideally using natural light—to ensure your face is evenly lit and free of harsh shadows. This helps the camera accurately capture your skin tones and keeps your facial features clear.
Maintain a neutral expression in your photo, avoiding both angry and overly cheerful looks. A slight, natural smile is acceptable, but your facial features should remain relaxed and neutral.
For the best result, use a confident, natural pose. Keep your head straight, shoulders relaxed, and look directly at the camera. This helps ensure your facial features are fully visible and your photo meets official requirements.
The person being photographed should be centered in the frame, with their head and jawline clearly visible. A professional photographer can help ensure proper alignment, best lighting, and compliance with all passport photo standards.
Best Passport Photos Near Me:
Generally, the photo that doesn’t create any hurdle in your passport application approval is the best picture to apply with. Truthfully, the US State Department is quite strict regarding your passport pictures, and we have discussed passport photo requirements multiple times.
If you are taking pictures at home, you should click multiple shots, keeping the US passport photo requirements in mind.
Otherwise, search for the best passport photos near me, and you’ll find multiple good passport photo-taking services. However, this will cost you some bucks; in the end, you’ll cash out a much more professional approach. The professional photographers at the services set your posture and expressions with a system perfectly aligned with US photo guidelines. A photographer ensures proper lighting, takes several shots to meet all requirements, and makes the process easier and more reliable than self-taken photos. Moreover, you can take a perfect photo for printing from 2-3 or multiple shots.
Additionally, there are online photo tools, such as the travel.state.gov photo tool, that can automatically crop and improve your passport photos to meet official requirements.
Where to Get a Passport Photo? Get The Best Passport Pictures Near Me:
There are many places to get a passport photo. At least one photo is required when applying for most passport photo services. Where you get a passport photo is important because submitting an unacceptable picture that doesn’t meet the requirements can be a reason for your passport application to be delayed. So, let’s dive into your choices.
Drug Stores and Pharmacies for your Passport Photo
The three largest pharmacy chains in the United States are CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. All three chains and more can provide good passport photos for you. These 3 chains have over 20,000 locations, so you should have no problem finding a location to take your passport photo. The price for a passport photo is typically in the $15 range.
Shipping Centers like FedEx and UPS
Both FedEx and UPS offer passport photo services. FedEx Office Print and Ship Services and UPS offer passport photo services similar to the Drug Stores in that you can walk in and spend around $15. In 15 minutes, you can have professional passport photos taken that meet the standards provided by the State Department. Ensure to check with the UPS and FedEx stores, as not all offer these services.
Do you need a Passport within eight weeks?
Passports and Visas.com will help you with your passport application. It’s easy, painless, and fast.
Passport Acceptance Agents like Post offices
When applying for a new US passport, you must visit a local post office, court clerk, or library to complete your application. The passport acceptance agent (postal worker, etc.) can sometimes provide these passport photo services. Much like the FedEx and UPS stores, ensure this service is available. Don’t assume these services are available.
Retail stores for your Passport Photos
Walmart and Costco both provide professional passport photos. In the case of Costco, you have to be a club member, but generally, the images are slightly less expensive, and it’s one of the cheapest places to get passport photos.
Passport Photos Near Me – Cheap Passport Photos Taken With Ease:
As you know, there are various places where you can get your “US Passport Photo” done. However, there are factors to consider, like cost, location, timeframe to get your photos, discounts or packages, etc.
Usually, good passport photos don’t cost you above 20$ for a pair. Yet, if you want to squeeze price more and want to leverage passport photo processing at much cheaper rates, below are some most affordable places to print photos;
AAA Passport Photos:
Does AAA do passport photos? Definitely, yes, the price varies for members and non-members. Some clubs make membership mandatory to use their photo service, yet AAA has priced its service differently for every type of user they have. For non-members, you need to pay $ 15$, whereas members enjoy the same service with a $5 discount, making it $ 10.
But AAA further divides the membership into levels, adding benefits to the member’s bucket accordingly. With two levels of memberships, PLUS level subscription has the advantage of a free 1 set of 2 passport photos yearly. On the other hand, the PREMIER level membership also costs you 10$ but will raise the Yearly benefit from 2 shots to 4 per household.
Costco Passport Photo – Does Costco Do Passport Photos?
When you search for passport photos near me, you’ll probably still see Costco listing among the photo services. But does Costco do passport photos? Costco was one of the cheapest passport photo options until Feb 2021, costing only $5+ for a single picture.
But then, the brand informed its users it is stopping four services, including services for passport pictures. So, you can’t use Costco’s physical store, but you can still use their online passport photo printing service.
Passport Photos at Target:
When you want to take great care of passport photo quality, Target is no exception here. The Target passport photos cost you under $10, showcasing incredible sharpness, balanced saturation and color mixing, and great Kodek paper quality.
However, you don’t get a passport picture right after you click in, yet your photos get parceled in a much– okay unbranded envelope by Target. Target is among the most viable options if your deal-making points are quality.
Staples Passport Photo:
In July 2022, Staples announced a same-day passport photo service at 1000+ stores. You can get your professional photos in a couple of minutes. While Staples offers both photo printing and taking benefits, you have to walk in Staples stores in both cases. There is no appointment for these mentioned services.
Unfortunately, Staples is a bit expensive, offering a pair of passport photos at 21.99$. You can find staple passport pictures near me via an online store locator.
Walgreens Passport Photo:
The country’s most extensive network has over 8,000 photo services stores. It’s a common perception that Walgreens is available at every corner of 1 out of 3 streets in the United States.
So, you can walk in and get snapped for your legal documents without any hassle. If you want to get good passport photos in less than an hour, Walgreens offers you swift service at 14.99$, which is market competitive pricing.
Walmart Passport Photo:
One more suitable option to get cheap passport photos is at Walmart. The e-commerce giant sells everything, including passport picture services.
However, call Walmart first to make sure your nearest Walmart store is offering photo services or not. Lower than Walgreens, CVS, and Staples, Walmart’s U.S. passport photos will cost you $ 7.44$ in quick 1-hour delivery.
UPS Passport Photo:
Another giant service network in the country, UPS offers quick passport photo processing with its 4700+ stores. You can call UPS to book an appointment and get your 2×2 pictures done for 11.99$, which is quite cheaper than its main competitors, including Walgreens, USPS, and Staples.
FedEx Passport Photo:
Drugstores are pretty famous in the U.S. when you ask where to take passport photos. FedEx is a prominent campaigner regarding the best passport photo quality and inexpensive pricing. As a direct competitor of Walgreens, FedEx offers a set of passport photos for 14.95$.
So, these are some of the best and cheapest services when you search for where to get passport photos. Apart from this, some other good services like CVS, Rite-aid, and Sam’s Club deliver photo-taking and printing services.
Can You Take Your Passport Photos?
You don’t have to go to a passport photo center and pay extra for official passport photos, but if you take them yourself, you must know the rules and requirements of an accepted passport photo. Capturing a high resolution photo is essential to ensure your image is clear, properly sized, and meets official standards for quality and clarity. Selfies are a challenge, so ensure someone else is taking the photo. Taking your own photo at home is acceptable as long as all requirements are met.
Step 1: Prepare Your Setup
Choose a plain white or off-white background with good natural light. Natural light is your best friend when setting up for a passport photo, as it helps achieve the best lighting. Avoid shadows on your face or background. Use a high resolution camera or smartphone.
Step 2: Position Yourself Correctly
Face the camera directly with your head straight and eyes open. Keep a neutral facial expression with your mouth closed or a slight smile.
Step 3: Frame the Photo Properly
Make sure your full face is visible, including the top of your head and bottom of your chin. The head size should be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches from chin to crown. The photo must be 2 x 2 inches with a square aspect ratio.
Step 4: Dress Appropriately
Wear normal street attire. Avoid uniforms unless religious or medical purposes apply and are accompanied by a signed statement. Remove hats and head coverings unless worn daily for religious or medical reasons with documentation.
Step 5: Print on Correct Photo Paper
Print your photo on thin, glossy photo-quality paper to meet passport photo rules. Avoid using regular paper.
Comparison Table: Popular Passport Photo Services
Service Provider | Price Range | Locations Nationwide | Same-Day Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Walgreens | $14.99 | 8,000+ | Yes | Widely available, quick processing |
CVS | ~$15 | 9,900+ | Yes | Large pharmacy chain |
FedEx | $14.95 | 2,000+ | Yes | Good photo quality |
UPS | $11.99 | 4,700+ | Yes | Affordable, appointment recommended |
Walmart | $7.44 | Varies | Yes (1 hour) | Cheapest option, check availability |
Staples | $21.99 | 1,000+ | Yes | More expensive, no appointment needed |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I wear glasses in my passport photo?
Eyeglasses are generally not allowed unless you provide a signed doctor’s statement indicating a medical necessity. Dark or tinted glasses are not acceptable.
What background color is required for a passport photo?
The background must be plain white or off-white without shadows or patterns.
How recent must my passport photo be?
Photos must be taken within the last six months to reflect your current appearance.
Can I wear a head covering for religious reasons?
Yes, head coverings worn daily for religious or medical purposes are allowed but must not obscure your face. A signed statement may be required. For medical exemptions related to head coverings in passport photos, a signed doctor’s statement is required.
What size should my passport photo be?
The photo must be 2 x 2 inches with a square aspect ratio. The head size should measure between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.
Can I take my own passport photo at home?
Yes, but it must meet all official requirements including size, background, lighting, and facial expression. Having someone else take the photo is recommended over selfies.
What type of photo paper should I use?
Use thin, glossy photo-quality paper for printing your passport photo to ensure it meets official standards.
What expression should I have in my passport photo?
A neutral facial expression with your mouth closed is required. A slight smile is acceptable in some cases but avoid exaggerated expressions.
How do I ensure the photo lighting is correct?
Use natural sunlight or bright, even lighting to avoid shadows on your face or background.
How can I find passport photo services near me?
You can visit pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, shipping centers like FedEx and UPS, retail stores such as Walmart, or use professional photo services online.
