Passport photos?
 

The guidelines for British passport photos clearly state they must be exactly 45 mm x 35 mm and must not be cut down to size. They also acknowledge it is not a standard size outside the UK and provide no further guidance. Everyone who contacts the passport office is simply told to follow the guidelines without any further clarification. I've spent the last couple hours reading every thread I could find on the forum, and I still have no idea what I should actually send.

It seems most people either send larger uncut photos or just have them cut and hope for the best. What do I ask for if I go somewhere like Shoppers Drug Mart? I had Canadian passport photos taken there recently, and they were cut to size by hand from larger prints. Do I just ask them to give me the uncut print and hope the passport office will crop an appropriate 45 x 35 image from it?

It's truly amazing how many questions these vague guidelines have generated over the years without any clear answer.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Shoppers is recommended highly on here for UK passport photos, and Costco will apparently do British passport photos as well.

Re: Passport photos?
 

I'm planning to get photos from Shoppers, but I really want to be certain I ask for and receive the correct thing. Most people just say they sent in whatever the store gave them without specifically stating whether they were cut or left with a large border.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Yup. That's what happens. When you go in, bring a printout of the UK passport photo requirements, and specify that you need British passport photos, not Canadian ones. They offer a guarantee I believe, if the photos are rejected then they will take new ones for free.

Re: Passport photos?
 

I had some photos taken at Shoppers. Their passport photo manual has the printed acetate sheet for UK passport photos and instructs the photographer to cut out the photos with their hand trimmer. They are not identical since they're hand cut. I am anticipating my application being returned in a few weeks :rolleyes:

The photo guidelines are pretty ridiculous. There is no way I could have a photo prepared exactly as instructed unless I imported equipment from the UK.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Print out the spec and take it with you. Got mine done at Japan camera and they Photoshopped the background colour in and made them the correct size and they were accepted no problem.

The trick is to find a place that does this sort of thing routinely.

Re: Passport photos?
 

I struggled with this recently in Calgary. Tried Blacks, AMA, London Drugs, Walmart, Shoppers and all said they couldn't do it. Ended up using Magenta

Re: Passport photos?
 

I had the spec sheet with me. They had the spec sheet in their instructions book along with the Passport Office clear acetate template and a list of instructions that included cutting to size. All their passport photos are cut to size because they print a much larger photo than required. It's likely anywhere else producing photos of the exact required size is also cutting them in-store.

It also looks like the background is too bright. Somehow people are having these photos accepted by the Passport Office? I feel like I threw $14 and a few weeks of waiting and postage down the drain.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Yes. Apparently they cut a little slack to international applicants since most photo places don't have that sort of background. There are people on here who have done a whole family of UK passports with bright photos. Not one have reported failure.

Re: Passport photos?
 

I got mine done at wallmart last year and they cut them down. The pictures passed and passport was approved. Since returned to uk

Re: Passport photos?
 

Just got wife's passport back and had pics done at Blacks, no problem they said as they do UK passport pics all the time.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Yep. 5 passports, soon to be 7, all done at Shoppers, all fine so far, using their standard background. If anyone says they can't do it, ask to compare your photo spec sheet to the one they will likely have for a temporary resident visa photo on their file. They are very similar, just a couple of mm difference in the top of head to bottom of chin allowance. Since they have outlines appear on the screen of the camera to show the tolerances, they can get close enough.

Re: Passport photos?
 

I've had British passport photos variously produced in Blacks, Shoppers, and Walmart. All of them had a bunch of different specifications and just looked through for the UK ones. All of them also printed on larger (4x6?) paper and trimmed to size against a template. All were taken against a white background. None were rejected by the passport office. One was done when the passports were sent via Ottawa, one when it was centralised in Washington, one more recently when everything goes to the UK.

It's a particularly stupid regulation that they "must not be cut down from a larger photograph." If the extra bits have been cut off and what remains meets the specifications for overall size, chin-to-crown dimension, etc, how could the Passport Office possibly know that there used to be some extra background in frame?

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I suspect what it really means (rather than what it really says) is dont clip your passport photos out of some left over copies of some other photos...

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I didn't post my application yet because I was worried about the Shoppers photos being rejected for the uneven hand cutting. I tried Blacks today since they seem to have a fairly good reputation for non-Canadian passport photos. I asked for British passport photos and paid their crazy fee ($26!). They gave me untrimmed 53 mm square photos with the stamp on the back that's not allowed in the photo specifications. So much for that.

Should I send both sets of photos and hope they choose whichever one they prefer, or what? I can't believe it's so hard to get photos that match the specifications.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Take the photos back to Blacks, they should redo them or refund you. We've used Shoppers 5 times for UK passports now with no issues.

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Agreed 53 mm pics are of no use whatsoever, go back with the printed format and ask for some one who can read a Little

Re: Passport photos?
 

I decided to take a different tack and try doing my own photos. I was able to take a nice dour self-portrait that met all the lighting and background requirements, and I used a couple of automated services for cropping and creating passport images with the appropriate spacing. I had them printed at two Zehrs/Loblaws Photolab locations and two Wal-Mart locations to cover my bases. All four sets of prints were unusable. The Photolab ones all had visible light lines running through the prints, and Wal-Mart magnified the printed image just enough to put it outside the face framing specifications (head too big).

Back to Blacks to get their useless $28 photo replaced. I can't believe what a saga this has become.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Did you try using your home printer? Most do photo paper these days. Failing that i'd just do it at shoppers.

Re: Passport photos?
 

I can't believe what a saga you have turned it into. Have you ever, in fact, had a passport application returned because the photos were out-of-spec?

Everybody else who has commented on this thread has had passport photos taken at any of several outlets throughout Canada. All of us have submitted applications with these photos. All of them have been processed. If you'd sent the photos you had done back in August you'd have had your passport back months ago. Just send the damn thing.

Re: Passport photos?
 

I had mine done a couple of years ago with London Drugs ones. They were cut down to size, and the passport was issued no problems at all. Makes sure you have the spec sheet (print from website) and make it clear you need British ones, although London Drugs also had the spec sheet as it turned out.

Re: Passport photos?
 

Had our done in Walmart last year. There was no problem with them except they made me take my glasses off :eek:

Re: Passport photos?
 

What you doing Bob?
It sounds like you're making a mountain out of a molehill!

Honestly, just go to a Shoppers or Walmart Supercentre as everyone is telling you. Why are you trying to do it yourself????
I went to a Walmart Supercentre earlier this year and I didn't even have the spec sheet. I asked if they did UK passport pictures, they said they did. It took literally all of 5 minutes. I didn't even check my photos to make sure they matched the specs because they all have these special cameras these days.
I had no issues getting my British passport back.

So, stop worrying and get it done!;)

Re: Passport photos?
 

To update, I decided to just send the original Shoppers photos to Durham by courier since it was coming up on the 90 day limit. They received the delivery last Friday (31 Oct), the online status system showed the declaration as received on Monday (3 Nov), and as of today (Friday 6 Nov) my passport has been dispatched. So much for a six week turnaround! It was even a first time overseas application where I sent scanned prints of my Canadian passport because I need to travel soon.

I definitely should have sent the photos back in August, but I was in no particular hurry and the photo guidelines were worrying. The photos I sent clearly didn't meet the requirements as written. The backdrop was bright white with bleed into my face, they were hand cut unevenly from larger prints to the point my face was actually outside the template on one copy, and one of the dimensions was almost a mm out. It makes me wonder just how bad they have to be before they are rejected.

It is worth noting you need to make it very clear you don't want the back of the photos stamped, because both Shoppers and Blacks tried to do it. I was impressed my guarantor actually managed to fit the written declaration on the back of such a small photo since my full name is fairly long.

I'll reply back when I receive the passport. I gather they send it out by DHL, which is often pretty slow.

Re: Passport photos?
 

You sent it to Durham ????? I sent mine to Ottawa had it back inside a month, my pictures where wal-mart specials and no problem.

:blink:

Re: Passport photos?
 

All passport applications from Canada must be sent directly to Durham as of August 2013.

Re: Passport photos?
 

did mine early last year so just missed that then lol

Re: Passport photos?
 

What is so monumentally difficult about this?

Re: Passport photos?
 

This is the first passport photo thread that's gone on for longer than 3-4 posts :unsure:

Re: Passport photos?
 

With all due respect,I don't think you guys read my latest replies to the thread. I sent in the declaration weeks ago and my application was already approved and dispatched. I only replied to let you and anyone reading the thread in the future know I took your advice and it worked out fine. If no one is interested in an anecdotal point about current processing and delivery times to Canada then I won't make any further replies on the subject.

I know from having thoroughly searched the forum that there are numerous older threads about passport photos with as many or significantly more posts. This is something that a lot of people worry about because it's so hard to get photos taken that actually meet all the written requirements. Most people simply send the first photos they have taken and hope they don't get rejected. In most older threads it was specifically noted that the British embassy in Washington wasn't very picky about passport photo requirements, and many people were able to get absurdly out-of-spec (e.g. totally uncut) photos approved. Many forum members aren't aware that as of August last year, all applications go to Durham, and the photos are now potentially subject to the same level of scrutiny as regular UK domestic applications.

As I said earlier, I should probably have just sent the Shoppers photos back in August, but the application wasn't urgent and it got put off for a couple of months because of family matters. I wanted to make sure it was approved, so I had the second set of photos taken at Blacks in October, and I only bumped the thread back up because they turned out to be so utterly useless.