American Passport Photos Are the Worst

If the planet had a ranking system for which country had the best passport photos, the US Passports would rank dead last. WHY?

Because their standards are just deplorable. I don't know "why" that is, it's just a fact. If it weren't so easy to get bad passport photos to pass the US Passport officials in America, then drug stores and auto clubs likely wouldn't be doing them. Why is it those places don't do foreign passports? Because they wouldn't pass the discerning eye of passport officials in foreign consulates, that's why.

Although the US Passport office has written and published "standards," they almost NEVER reject images that don't meet those standards. Poor lighting? Who cares. Out of focus? No big deal. Color balance out of whack? So? Head size incorrect? No. One. Cares. Certainly not the US Consulate.

So, allow me (someone whose job it is to successfully meet the passport photo standards of consulate officials all over the planet) to rank the top five BEST passport photos on Earth...

1. Australia - they have the highest print resolution on the planet and provide an opaque overlay to confirm the correct head size. Newsome's Studio is one of only a dozen photographers statewide, approved by the Australian consulate to create an Aussie passport photo.
2. Canada - the largest passport photo on the planet (50x70mm) and their head size, lighting, and expression are closely scrutinized by the Canadian Consulate. NO SMILING!
3. Jamaica - they're the only country that requires a matte finish and they have three background options based on skin tone and hair color. They might've been smoking something when they wrote those specs, but they'll darn sure reject the images if those specs aren't followed to the letter.
4. China - at 33x48mm for the outer dimension size, they have the oddest sized passport photo on the planet. In addition, one is required to wear dark clothing with a conservative neckline. Quite often, I loan these clients a black high school graduation gown to meet that standard. 
5. Greece - another unusual size (40x50mm), and their consulate will inspect it closely to see that it matches and the quality must be superb. Fortunately, I've visited with the Greek consulate in downtown Tampa and they're very happy with the images taken at Newsome's Studio.

Out of the 195 countries on the planet Earth, I'm confident that the US consulate's standard of quality for passport photos would place America at #195. So, "Yay America!"

All of this doesn't mean that your US Passport Photo HAS to be horrible, just that it CAN be. If you'd rather have a GREAT passport photo, call Newsome's Studio of Photography at 813-968-2810 and we promise to apply Aussie-like quality standards to your face and make custom agents around the world raise an eyebrow of approval at every border.

Newsome's Studio is located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa, FL.

Jamaican Passport Photos

Jamaican Passport photos have a fairly new requirement.... matte finish paper. Most of the rest of the planet requests glossy, and at one time, so did Jamaica. This changed and we found out the hard way when one of our photos was rejected due to the glossy finish.

Most sources for the paper we use for passports only carry glossy, so we went on a global search for the perfect photo paper with a matte finish that could be paired successfully with our printers. WE FOUND ONE!

If you're in need of a Jamaican Passport photo with a matte finish, you've come to the right place. Newsome's Studio of Photography, located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa can do that for you.

Please call 813-968-2810 for a convenient 10 minute appointment!

An Honest to Goodness "Thank you"

I'm pleased to say that here at Newsome's Studio, we receive the occasional thank you note for work we've done. It's always gratifying to know that we deliver a quality product that our clients are thrilled with.

Recently, I photographed Carol for her Jamaican Passport. It was sized and cut to their stated specs, but oddly, although their stated specs called for a vertical image (35x45mm) with a head size of between 25-35mm from the chin to the top of the head, the sample photo that the Jamaican consulate provided Carol, showed a 2x2 inch image. I followed the vertical route and was confident it would pass. It didn't. They requested to be able to see more of her shoulders, meaning her head size would need to be smaller than the 25mm minimum. It was a catch 22.

She called me, very distressed, because she knew we'd provided them with exactly what they'd asked for, but didn't know what to do. I immediately resized the images so her shoulders were more evident, putting her head size slightly below 25mm. I mailed the images to her the same day, at no charge to her whatsoever (we guarantee our work here).

It passed.

She was extremely happy, and shocked that I wasn't going to charge her anything extra - not even postage! So much so, she hand-wrote me a Thank You note! I LOVE Thank You notes!

So Thank YOU, Carol, for your lovely note of thanks, and I look forward to assisting you and your family members with any of their photographic needs in the future!

Jamaican Passport Photos, Tampa

Well, you gotta love the Jamaicans.

Passport Photo requirements across the globe are all a bit different from one country to the next, but Jamaica has the best sense of humor of them all.

Aside from all the normal specifics required by most countries (size of image, size of head, height of eyes within the image, etc), Jamaica goes outside the box on background color. Most countries request white or light gray. In fact, nearly ALL of them require white or light gray. Jamaica, however... well, I'll let them explain it. This is a direct quote from their list of photo requirements:

"Applicants of light complexion should avoid wearing white clothing and should have the photographs taken against a pastel-shaded background.
Applicants of dark complexion should wear light-coloured clothing and photographs should be taken against a white background.
Applicants whose hair is grey should have photographs taken against a light blue background."

Now, suppose they didn't read this prior to getting dressed in the morning and a grey-haired woman with a dark complexion walks in wearing a dark blouse. Can you say "conundrum?"

I think a couple of hysterical little fellows in the passport office over in Kingston were just having a bit of fun - no, make that a LOT of fun - when they wrote out those requirements. Somehow, it accidently made it all the way to the PDF posted by the Jamaican government, and now we photographers are left trying to make sense of it.

Either way (make that "any of the three ways") you slice it, Newsome's Studio of Photography will help you get through it. So far, we're batting a thousand with Jamaica. Give us a call at 813-968-2810 and we'll figure this out together.