And now it’s the background of my passport photo that’s the problem
I need to renew my passport, which has expired. That requires a photo that follows all the rules.
Rather than try to do it myself, I went to CVS, which purports to have a service that takes a person’s photo in a government-compliant way. Although the ensuing photo was far from flattering, it seemed to pass muster. And their computer said so, as well.
But alas, when I tried to renew online the government website rejected the photo. Why? The background was too dark, it said. And yet the background was white. Quite white. Was it very, very, very white? Not exactly, I suppose.
So now it’s back to square one. Where do I go now? Walgreen’s or the UPS store? The post office no longer offers this handy dandy service. Where have you had success? Or are you do-it-yourselfers?
What about the Post Office?
A couple months ago I got my passport renewed and photo taken at the UNM bookstore. I paid extra for expediting and received my brand-new passport in five days.
I used the post office, but that was about 4 years ago.
AAA has (as of several years ago, anyway) a free passport photo service for members. Of course, when I used used it, I mailed in the photo with a paper application. So I’m not sure if they still have the service; if so, whether they do it digitally (presumably they’re up to date); and whether they’d be any better than CVS.
Another idea: Save a few copies of the photo on your computer. Paste one of them into MS Word and play with the various photo touch-up features (contrast, brightness , grayscale, etc.) and resave. Maybe you’ll get one variant to work.
AAA worked for me as well. It really is frustrating to deal with the government entities. Getting a permit in Los Angeles, or in this case Beverly Hills? Most recent case, to erect a 3 foot retaining wall which is merely a replacement following a tree removal, used to take 15 minutes over the counter. We are on week four (and paid $1,600 to expedite) and are now being required to provide a soils report. I could go on here, but you get the idea.
Uh oh. Got to renew my passport soon, too. Let us know what ends up working, please!
Neo: The Delete button in this comment feature doesn’t work. I intended to delete my earlier comment and redraft it. Instead, Delete seems to fix the comment in place and remove the buttons to edit/delete/save.
Anyway: Simply copy the photo file on the Desktop or in its folder, then paste that directly into Word (in Print Layout view). Then select the photo. A special Picture Format menu should appear. The Adjust section on the left has various submenus that may help.
Of course, if you have something like Photoshop, that would be even better.
Walt:
I adjusted the background but they still wouldn’t accept it.
No post office anywhere near me will do it.
My wife renewed her passport early this year. We used the online application. I was unable to get a good do it yourself picture. The background had reflections and too much texture. We then went to AAA. They gave us a thumb drive with a digital image as well as a printed picture. Unfortunately their software was new and it cropped the digital image too much. We went back and had them redo the picture using visa specifications which create a larger image. This worked and she got her passport about 2 weeks later.
Had to do a background check 2 times and did it at AAA
I got mine at Walgreens four years ago and it worked fine.
I’ve heard good reports about the Post Office passport services. I think they would be competent to do this.
You could go back to CVS and ask them to re-do it or refund your money.
Did it at Walgreens, no problem.
Was pleasantly surprised when my new passport arrived 10 days after I filed the online application. I guess sometimes Federal government works well
We just did this last month – we took many, many pictures of each other with our iphones, ensuring the required 1:1 aspect ratio, the head making up the required space in the photo, etc. My photo was accepted by the site but my wife’s was rejected as too dark. We lightened it until it looked very washed out and it was accepted. Passports arrived a few weeks later. It’s probably just hit or miss.
I need to renew a passport too, and the photo part has me stumped. But, I was at my local AAA office last week, to pick up a paper map (remember those?), and they have a white panel for photo backgrounds that appears to be illuminated, so that it is super, super white. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know what would. I am going to try this when I get back from vacation next week.
I went to FedEx Office. I imagine the UPS store would also work.
Our Walgreens was successful where your failed so I have not suggestions.
AAA worked out well for me
The Fireflies have always used Walgreens.
State Dept checks photos for digital modification; no mods allowed so PS (and other such) aren’t allowed. I’m going through the same process.
My first passport picture was taken by a Boeing photographer. The paperwork was submitted at 3:00 pm and the passport was in my home mailbox by 11:00 am the next morning. I never knew government could do anything that fast.
My husband and I did our own and they were accepted just fine. We were against a white wall in our hallway, followed all the instructions and it was good.
Ditto Walgreens.
When I did mine a few years ago, it took forever to have it rejected. The Passport staff were still working from home because of Biden and Covid. It did take two pictures. And seemed like several months. Used Walgreens the second time.
There’s a Staples nearby that I’ve used successfully. Also AAA as others have mentioned, though you may need to be a member.
What organization is “AAA” and where are offices located?
Has the State Department gotten stricter on background checks for passports? 🙂
= = = = = = = =
AesopFan –
American Automobile Association aka Triple-A
“AAA is a federation of regional clubs located throughout North America.”
https://www.aaa.com/stop/
I just went through the process at the USPS. I needed it for a planned trip, so I paid extra for expedited shipping. I was hoping to get the Trump version. I didn’t. But it is an impressive credential with some history tucked inside.
Don’t forget Neo as with.all.internet/computer things, it’s for our convenience!
Problems, ye’ say?
Cynical Publius…again.
(This time it’s the armed forces—or parts thereof…):
https://instapundit.com/831105/
(All this being said, I have every confidence you’ll solve the white-background issue in short order.
And every confidence DJT will solve this one.)
I am too old to travel internationally…
My wife and I did our pictures at home and didn’t have a problem. Years ago we had a flight scheduled to leave for Germany around 5pm and realized in the morning that my daughter’s passport had expired. At the time we lived in Maryland just outside of DC so my wife and daughter went to the State Department and got a new passport in about half an hour.
Air travel is such a nightmare these days. I spent a grueling hour and a half sweating through online checkin last night.
Is it worth it? Or is it just a bean counter’s way of saving five minutes of work for airline personnel at the counter?
Then I got to Air France and I was working the machine to print out my boarding passes. First there is one scanner for your passport, then a different one for the QR code on my phone image labeled “BAR CODE” that one can’t press the image against it, but must find the right distance a few inches away for it to read properly.
How is everything an intelligence test these days?
I guess if one does it regularly it becomes easier.
Hahaha… sorry, but I ran into the same problem, exactly. Slowed me down. I don’t remember where I ended up, but seeing your story tells me to go somewhere else (now that I have two instances establishing, to me, a pattern) in 2032…
We DIY-ed, no issues, maybe 4 years ago. If I needed passport photos now I would take a few pix, upload them to ChatGPT and prompt it with the requirements. I’ve used it a few times to retouch some photos that were blurry and such. It’s better than Photoshop in that I didn’t have to fuss with Photoshop controls, just type in a few instructions.
Load it into chatgpt or similar and ask it to lighten the background to be compliant – failing that back to cvs
I used our local County Clerk’s office when I first got my passport. They had a backdrop for pictures, and took it using a digital camera (not a phone camera, lol!) and then just attached the file with the application. I’m sure they let anyone use the background for renewals, and I bet they would even help if needed, they are tremendously sweet and helpful.
It’s the website. I’m mailing mine in.