Saturday, February 9, 2013

How To Make Sure Your Passport Photos Pass first Time

By David Hawkin


You may feel daunted having your passport photograph taken. Don't be! This simple guide should ensure you don't encounter any pitfalls thus enabling a seamless vacation. Different countries have different demands, here are the US State Department's specifications.

Each passport application requires two identical passport pictures.

The paper your passport photos are printed on must be of special photo-media quality.

You should have color Passport photos.

Only passport pictures taken within the last 6 months are acceptable.

You are required to provide passport pictures that are 50mm x 50mm in dimension.

Your picture must be square to the camera with out anything obscuring the face. Clothing should be simple day to day dress without a head covering or polarised glasses in front of a white screen. As you look at the camera ensure your mouth is closed and your posture is natural with eyes that are open. The photos must be clear sharp and not have a grainy image otherwise they will be disallowed.

The dimensions of your head measured between the bottom of the chin and top of the crown must be within 1"- 1 and 3/8". The position of your head must be central neither looking up, down or off to one side. Your head must cover approximately fifty percent of the photograph area.

A headscarf of covering can be worn for reasons of religion but your full face must be visible.

If you wear eye glasses during the course of the day you may leave them on in your passport photos. The photographer must ensure that there in no reflection otherwise the pictures will be unacceptable. It is also important that your eyes can bee seen clearly in the photographs.

If you wear sunglasses on medical grounds you will be able to leave them on in your photos. However you may be asked to send supporting evidence from your medical practitioner in the form of a letter.

Uniforms in passport pictures should be avoided unless they are being worn on religious grounds.

Having passport pictures taken of infants and young children can be difficult. It is advised that you visit a professional photographer. Parents or guardians must not feature in the pictures neither should any mechanical device supporting their pose.

Obtaining a copy of a photo from your driving license is not allowed. Digitally manipulating your photos using computer software will result in them being rejected.

Photographs copied from newspapers and magazines will not comply with the strict regulations. It is also likely that pictures from most vending booths will be rejected. Photos that are a full length body shot of the subject will also be disallowed.

It is possible to use your own digital camera at home to take your photos if it is of a high enough quality. The camera must be able to take pictures at a resolution of 1 million pixels or more. However when printing your passport photos you should go to a professional lab as most home printers cannot produce a satisfactory result.




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