Indian Visa and Passport Photos

 Interesting thing about India Passports and Visa photos... they're measured in inches, not millimeters.

There was a time though, that the Indian passport photo was measured as 35x35mm (about the size of a postage stamp. It was the smallest passport photo on the planet (that I'm aware of). A few years back, they increased the size to 51x51mm (2x2 inches), the same size as a US passport or Visa photo. Not sure why, but the specs are nearly identical. 

The Tampa market has a very large Indian population and I receive requests for passport and visa photos for India quite a bit these days. If you're in need of a passport or visa photo for India, please give us a call at 813-968-2810 and allow us to provide that service.

Newsome's Studio is located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa (in Carrollwood).

By appointment only. Happy travels!

We're BACK Baby!

So, after a Covid hiatus, the studio has reopened to much fanfare. We had a parade, elephants, a marching band, jugglers, cotton candy machines, and cheering crowds like you wouldn't believe. In fact, the new organizations that covered it were 24/7, surely you saw it on CNN, ABC, FOX, etc, right? RIGHT?

Okay, none of that happened, but yes, we're back open with a whole new set of rules to satisfy the social media mobs charged with governing our thoughts and behaviours.

• EVERYTHING IS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
• ALL CLIENT AREAS ARE CLEANED AND DISINFECTED BETWEEN APPOINTMENTS
• WEAR THE MASK PER GOVERNMENT MANDATES (you can take it off for your passport photo, we're not stupid)
• NO CONTACT MEANS NO HANDSHAKES, NO FIST BUMPS, NO ELBOW BUMPS
• FREE TEMPERATURE TAKEN (if requested)

The message is... we're here and we're doing everything we can to accommodate our wonderful passport clients within the bounds allowable by the laws of government and nature. 

Call us for an appointment! 813-968-2810

US Passport Photos

The US passport photo is only a 2x2" print. The passport office DOES have head size requirements, background requirements, and eyeglass requirements (none allowed), but they just don't seem to have any QUALITY requirements.

If they did, then drug stores, auto clubs, and post offices likely wouldn't bother with them.

Every time someone walks into my studio with a pair of blurry, underexposed, off center, greenish passport photos and screams "HEEEELLLLP!" I know what has happened.

I highly encourage people to seek out Tampa's Best Passport Photographer before venturing into the path of point and shoot held by someone who can't tell you the difference between an aperture and an FStop.

I don't sell toothpaste. I sell photographs. And passport photographs are with you for TEN YEARS! Do it right. Call Newsome's Studio at 813-968-2810 and schedule a ten minute appointment today.

That Just Doesn't CUT It!

In the past month, I've had at least three clients come in holding their passport photos taken at a drug store. In every case, they'd been printed (close) to the correct size, but the drug stores refuse to cut them. Why? Because they were foreign passport photos which are measured in millimeters, not inches. Apparently, drug stores now appear to have the "software" to create SOME foreign sized passport photos, but they don't have the capability to CUT them to the exact size, leaving it to the CLIENT to do that with a pair of household scissors!

Yeah. That just doesn't cut it.

I have no idea what a chain store's budget is for providing the correct tools for their employees to do their job, but a paper cutter at Walmart runs about $20. Of course, you have to have a bit of know-how to use it and your cut must be precise, being millimeters and all, but STILL... they don't own or know how to use a PAPER CUTTER???

Let's just skip the headache and go straight to the professional photography studio that foreign consulates around the globe recommend... Newsome's Studio of Photography.

By appointment only, 813-968-2810. Call today.

German Passport Photos

German passport photos are the same size and specs as the UK and France. All three call for two 35x45mm images taken on a light gray background with a head size of 32-36mm.

Because (like most of the planet), they're measured in millimeters, you're not likely to be able to get them from your local drug store or auto club. The measurements are very precise and must be custom cut and sized correctly in Photoshop to meet those requirements. In short, you really have to go to a professional photography studio that specializes in foreign passport photos.

Newsome's Studio of Photography, located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa (Carrollwood), has been providing passport photos for foreign citizens for several years. Having successfully done passport photos for over 75 countries and counting, we've yet to find a country's specs we couldn't create.

By appointment only, please call 813-968-2810 and schedule your 10 minute appointment to update your foreign passport photos.

Australian Passport Photo Studio Tampa

You're an Australian citizen and your passport needs to be renewed. You're going to need a 35x45mm Australian passport photo that will pass muster with the Australian consulate. Why not follow the advice of the Australian consulate and go to their preferred photographer in the state of Florida? Newsome's Studio!

The reason Newsome's Studio is the preferred photographer in Florida, is because they invested in a high quality printer that conforms to the strict Australian passport photo requirements. Drug stores have been unable to meet the printing standards for the land down under, but Newsome's CAN!

Newsome's Studio of Photography is located in North Tampa (Carrollwood), at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 2019, Tampa, FL (Cypress Point Office Park). 

All photography is by appointment only, please call 813-968-2810 for a convenient time.

That's How it Works!

If you want your leaky faucet fixed, do you call a dog trainer?
If you want your tires rotated, do you call a real estate agent?
If you want your house painted, do you call a shoe repair shop?

No. So why, when you want passport photos taken, should you go to the drug store? Well... you shouldn't.

You want a quality photograph? Go to a quality photographer.
You want cough medicine? Go to the drug store.
See? That's how it works. Even if my electrician offered half price apendectomies, I still wouldn't call him to remove my appendix.

I can't count the number of times I've had clients walk into my studio crying "HELLLLP!" while holding passport photos they'd just had taken at a drugstore. You want it done right the first time, go to an expert. Drug stores LOSE money on passport photos. They know this, and they don't care, because they profit off your visit when you pick up hairspray and toothpaste while you're waiting for your poorly exposed passport photos to be printed... that's how it works!

Newsome's Studio of Photography, located in North Tampa (Carrollwood) at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa, FL 33618 (in Cypress Point Office Park, behind STARBUCKS at the corner of Linebaugh and Dale Mabry Hwy).

By appointment only, because THAT'S HOW IT WORKS! 813-968-2810

UK Passport Application Change

Recently, the British Empire shifted their requirements regarding updating your UK Passport. No longer are subjects allowed to apply at the consulates in foreign countries. Beginning in 2018, anyone needing to update their British Passport must do so via snail-mail directly in the United Kingdom. You must now MAIL your renewal application and photo to England!

This can take much longer than applying here at a consulate in the US. This also means that if you send them a photo that doesn't meet their exact requirements and it gets rejected, your passport faces a considerable delay in getting issued!

If you want to eliminate any worries about your passport photos being rejected, costing you time and money, call Newsome's Studio of Photography and get it right the first time.

Newsome's Studio is located in Carrollwood (North Tampa) at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, behind Starbucks at the corner of Linebaugh Ave and N. Dale Mabry Hwy.

By appointment only... 813-968-2810.

He used a CELL PHONE?

A recent client for a Canadian Passport photo had just come from a local drug store. She was holding a pair of very underexposed, blurry, orange photos of her on a pink background, that were taken by the nice young man behind the photo counter and hand-cut to an incorrect size for Canada. They were shot with his cell phone.

Here... let me repeat that... THEY WERE SHOT WITH HIS CELL PHONE!

Seems the drug store camera wasn't working that day, but he assured her that his cell phone "takes great photos." Yeah, that's right... "great photos." However... indoors, under tungsten lighting conditions, in a dark corner of the store, with a shaky cell phone being hand held by a nervous young store clerk, his cell phone "takes pretty bad pictures." (that's not an opinion, that's a fact - I SAW them).

She reluctantly paid for them, then went outside and immediately Googled "BEST PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPHER IN TAMPA." Newsome's Studio of Photography came up number one in the Maps, and numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 9 in the organic listing. She called me immediately and drove straight over.

In less than ten minutes she was holding two perfectly exposed, color corrected, razor sharp images, on a pure-white background, and machine-cut to an exact 50x70mm size.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, she paid me, tipped me, hugged me, thanked me, and wrote me a glowing five star review on Google.

I love Canadians. They're so polite (although I know how much they dislike hearing that). And when they want the very BEST PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPHER IN TAMPA, they know who to call.

Newsome's Studio of Photography, where cell phone pics will never EVER be good enough for our clients.

Canadian Passport Photos are the BEST

Tampa's Canadian citizens really do have options when it comes to updating their Canadian passport photo.

• they can go to Canada to have it made (not very economical); 
• they can go to a drug store (they'll tell you they do them, but they don't really know the specs and will very likely just give you a US passport photo which will be rejected); 
• they can go to a package shipping company (who will try, bless their hearts, but have no more business offering photos than I do of offering overnight shipping);
• or they can come to Newsome's Studio of Photography (and be guaranteed to get a high quality, perfectly exposed Canadian passport photo, that will match the Canadian passport specifications to the millimeter).

So consider your options, and employ a little common sense (something our neighbors to the north are famous for), and call us at 813-968-2810 to schedule your ten minute appointment to update your Canadian passport photo. Serving all of Tampa, St Pete, and indeed - the entire Central Florida population for all foreign and International passport, visa, citizenship, permanent residency, and ID photos for the entire planet.

Located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa, FL 33618

US Passport Photographs

You might not know it, but the specs for a US Passport Photo have changed dramatically in recent years. Even I hadn't noticed it, but recently, I came in possession of all my mother's old passports. The style of the passport itself hasn't changed much, but the photo in it has.

Her oldest one was from the 1960's when she and my dad took a trip to Paris. Her passport photo was black and white (naturally), but it wasn't a close up, square to the camera, no glasses, and no smile. In fact, it was taken at an angle, sitting in a chair, 3/4 length (to her waist), and smiling like she'd just won a game of Monopoly!

As the years went by (every 10) her photos slowly began to conform to what we're all used to seeing today; they were slowly getting closer to the camera, more square to the lens, in color, but still smiling (smiling is something that is not allowed in foreign passport photos, and the US is starting to "frown upon" as well).

Nowadays, people practically look like they'd look if they'd just gotten off a nine hour plane ride full of screaming children, eaten nothing but peanuts, had no sleep in the last 24 hours, and were ready to kick a puppy! I suppose the custom agents just want us to look like we're going to look when we reach the customs desk, ya think?

US passport photos don't HAVE to look horrible, but evidently the border patrol WANTS them to.

Make the best of it and call Newsome's Studio at 813-968-2810. We'll help you look your "passport best!"

Chinese Visa Photos for Travel Groups

More and more, we're getting calls for Chinese Visa and Chinese Passport photos. I suspect there's a big push for tourism there, because many of the calls I'm getting are from people who are registered to go visit China with a tour group.

The Chinese Visa photo is an odd size, 33x48mm, making it impossible for drug stores to accommodate (they basically only do US anyway, and that's measured in inches - or 51x51mm). To ask them to cut a 2x2 down to 33x48mm is akin to asking a barber to only trim three millimeters off your hair, and then attempting to measure it to see if they did correctly.

If you're part of a tour group, or know of one that is planning a group excursion to China, give us a call. We can easily accommodate the Chinese Visa photo for them in less than 10 minutes and they'll walk out with their finished images in hand.

Newsome's Studio is located in North Tampa (Carrollwood), at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, in Cypress Point Office Park behind Starbucks, at the corner of Linebaugh and Dale Mabry.

Call for an appointment, at 813-968-2810.

In a World, Where Professional Passport Photographers Rule...

If I were King of the World...

• All drug stores would stick to selling hairspray and toothpaste. and forget trying to sell passport photos.
• All auto clubs would stick to selling car and travel insurance, and forget trying to take passport photos.
• All on-line websites that claim to be able to convert your poorly lit, out of focus, cell phone selfie into a passable passport photo for any country, would just go away - maybe just become telephone solicitors, because they're just as annoying.

When it comes to passport photos, they're rarely described as "art," however, there IS an art to nailing the proper specifications for creating an Australian passport photo that the Australian government will accept. Same with the Canadians. There's a bureaucracy in place that is guaranteed to confound most citizens into supplying the wrong photos for their foreign passport nearly every time. That's because foreign passport photos are not measured in inches (the common measurement of US passport images supplied by drug stores and auto clubs), they're measured in millimeters (the prevailing standard of measurement everywhere on the planet except the US). 

So, when it comes to obtaining a properly sized passport photo for anywhere - INCLUDING the US, you'd be best served contacting a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, not a dime store clerk or a travel agent!

Newsome's Studio of Photography - by appointment only - 813-968-2810.

Will the US Ever Accept the Metric System?

When it comes to stubbornness, the good ol' USA has GOT to lead the pack. Nearly the entire planet uses the Metric System as their standard tool of measurement. The only countries still clinging to the Imperial Measurement System are the US, Burma, and Liberia!

LET IT GO!

The Metric System is easier! One of these two Presidents attempted to force the US to change, Ford or Carter, I don't remember which, and it failed miserably. The closest thing we got to it was a two liter bottle of COKE! Of course, our medicines are all measured in grams and milligrams, but as consumers, we have no idea what the heck that really means.

Now, what does any of this have to do with ME? Well, as a professional photography studio that offers passport photos, we're called on regularly to create passport photos for citizens of foreign countries that live here in the US. Their country's specs for passport photos are measured in millimeters, not inches, therefore, the drugstores and auto clubs cannot accommodate them. Those folks haven't got the time nor inclination to learn the specs on some 200 countries around the planet, they can barely get a 2x2" US passport correct, much less a 33x48mm CHINESE VISA photo!

So that leaves our foreign citizen friends with little to no choice on where to go... ALMOST! Because Newsome's Studio of Photography has been providing foreign and International passport services for over 30 years, we've perfected the process. Don't waste another second calling someone who stammers just trying to SAY the word "millimeters." Call Newsome's now!

All work guaranteed, and by appointment only. 813-968-2810

US Passport Photos Available in Tampa

You actually have a choice. You can go to the drug store or your local auto club office and have your US Passport photo made, or you can go to Newsome's Studio in Carrollwood (North Tampa).

Be aware though, that there will be differences. For instance, the cameras and lighting used by non-professional photographers will vary greatly. They are largely very simply "point and shoot" cameras using "auto" settings that produce a low resolution image. The lenses on those cameras cannot be manually focused, and if the settings have any manual availability at all, the operator likely has little to no experience with it, meaning if your image looks orange, they may not know how to fix it by changing the settings on the camera (yes, this is a very common problem).

At Newsome's Studio, you're being photographed by a 30+ year professional who uses only the very best photography equipment, camera, and lighting available. Face it folks, you're going to be looking at that image for 10 years... TEN YEARS! Get it done right. Go to Newsome's Studio at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa.

Passport Photo Business is BOOMING!

I have no idea why. I don't know if the recent political developments have anything to do with or not, but the passport business is on FIRE right now.

During the course of a normal week, I'd say we provide passport photos for about five Canadians, two UK, one Australian, and maybe one or two from lands around the planet.

During the last month, I'd say we've provided passport photo services for at least 25 Canadians, 15 UK, a dozen Aussies, and maybe ten or more from parts unknown.

I'm not complaining, I'm just making an observation and wondering "why?" Whatever the motivation might be, I'm proud to be able to meet so many wonderful people from around our fair planet, and provide them with the very best passport, immigration, citizenship, permanent residency, green card, visa, and ID photos in the world.

Newsome's Studio of Photography, located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa (in Cypress Point Office Park, behind Starbucks at the NW corner of Linebaugh and Dale Mabry).

Call for an appointment - 813-968-2810.

Need Passport Photo Reprints?

It happens. You get your passport photos taken, go home and set them aside, then a week later attempt to finalize the paperwork and discover you've either misplaced the 35x45mm sized images and can't find them, or they got crumpled into the bottom of your purse and are deemed unusable.

Don't panic.

At Newsome's Studio of Photography, we maintain the digital files of your passport photos and can easily and quickly reprint them for you. All you need to do is call and we'll have them ready for you to pick up within minutes, and all at a price that will make you smile. :-)

Newsome's Studio prides itself on being Central Florida's Passport Photo Expert. People come from as far away as Atlanta, Orlando, and Miami, just because they want their foreign or domestic passport photo done correctly. Consulates from around the world have put Newsome's Studio on their "preferred photographer list" because they're familiar with the quality of work we do, and their vote of confidence is welcomed.

Newsome's Studio is located in North Tampa (Carrollwood), at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219 in Cypress Point Office Park (behind Starbucks at the corner of Linebaugh Ave and N. Dale Mabry Hwy, just north of Busch Blvd).

Call for an appointment. It only takes ten minutes and you'll leave with your passport photos in hand.
813-968-2810