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.

"Preferred Passport Photographer" in Tampa

The consulates of some countries keep a list. It's a list of photographers that they refer their citizens to for creating their passport photo that is guaranteed to pass their strict specifications.

Not all passport photos are created equal. The US is one of only three countries still using the Imperial Measurement System. The rest of the planet is on the Metric System, thus, their passport photos are measured in millimeters, not inches. If you're a citizen of Canada, the UK, Australia, Greece, or any number of other foreign countries, your passport photo might be 35x45mm, 50x70mm, 40x60mm, or even 33x48mm. The drug stores can't do this, they can only do 2x2 inches (51x51mm).

Newsome's Studio has been one of a VERY few photographers in the entire state of Florida who is on the preferred passport photographer list of SEVERAL foreign countries, and we got that way by doing it correctly over a very long period of time.

Newsome's is located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa, FL and can accommodate your foreign passport photo requests in less than ten minutes.

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

Colombian ID Photographer

There aren't many, but a few times a year I get a surge of Colombians in need of a Colombian ID photo. The size requirement is different than most, 40x50mm with a head size of 25-30mm, so as usual, the drug stores and auto clubs typically won't (or can't) do them.

The Colombian ID photo requirements also call for three, not two photos, one of a very few countries that request more than two.

Another interesting difference, is that while they request a white background, they shift it up a bit if you're bald. Yes, if you're bald, you must go on a blue background. Now why do you suppose that is? I have no clue, but I always have a blue background for all the bald Colombians in the Tampa/St Pete market (and yes, I had one last week).

Newsome's Studio of Photography is the leading expert in foreign passport, visa, immigration, permanent residency, DV Lottery, citizenship, and ID photos in the state of Florida... nay, the SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES!

Located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219 in Carrollwood. Call 813-968-2810 and schedule your ten minute appointment today.

Tampa's Passport Photo Expert

To our foreign citizen friends and neighbors... when the day comes to update your passport for your home country, your choices on where to get you passport photo will be very limited.

If your native country is anything other than the US, Burma, or Liberia, then your passport photos are very likely measured in millimeters, not inches. This means that the drug stores and travel clubs either can't, or won't, be able to correctly provide the images your need.

When knowledge of the metric system is required, and every country has different size requirements, you really need to call someone who is an expert at foreign and international passport photos. Lucky for you, the most experienced and qualified foreign passport photographer in Florida, resides right here in Tampa.

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

By appointment only... call 813-968-2810 and get it right the first time.

International Passport Photographer Tampa

Hey, you're an International traveler, how awesome is that? If you're a US citizen, you'll need an updated US passport (one that won't expire within the next six months). And if you're a citizen of a foreign country, or a US citizen who plans to be traveling to China or some other country where a special visa photo is required, you're going to likely need a visa photo measured in millimeters.

That's where Newsome's Studio of Photography comes in. We are experts at producing customized passport and visa photos for all countries, regardless of size or specs. We've darn near seen it all, and we've got a great track record for making bureaucrats around the globe very happy.

Whether you need a 33x48mm Chinese Visa photo; a 35x45mm Australian passport photo, or a 50x70mm Canadian passport photo, we can take care of you in less than ten minutes. Just give us a call at 813-968-2810 and schedule yourself a ten minute appointment and get it right the first time!

Greek Passport Photographer, Tampa

Fortunately for our Greek friends who live in the Tampa, St Pete area, the Greek Consulate is located in downtown Tampa at 400 N Tampa St, Tampa, FL 33602. This is important because in order for a Greek citizen to renew their Greek passport, they must appear in person at the Consulate.

And again, fortunately for them, Newsome's Studio of Photography in Tampa is on the Greek Consulate's "preferred photographer" list for providing the 40x60mm Greek passport photo they're required to have.

What that means is, Greek citizens from all over the state of Florida will make two appointments that day, one to visit Newsome's Studio to have their Greek passport photo made, then another, just 30-60 minutes later at the Greek Consulate to renew their passport (it's only 20-30 minutes from the studio, depending on traffic/time of day).

Located in Carrollwood's Cypress Point Office Park, at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa (behind Starbucks at the corner of Linebaugh Ave and N. Dale Mabry Hwy), Newsome's can provide your 40x60mm images in about 10 minutes.

We work by appointment only, so call 813-968-2810 and try to schedule it an hour prior to your appointment at the Consulate.

Why the Sad Face?

There's a prevailing theory on why government officials do not want you to smile in your passport photos...

They want you to look like you're going to look after traveling all night in a packed airplane, surrounded by screaming children, irritated travelers, being fed peanuts for dinner, and crammed into a seat meant for a short, skinny, waif.

You need to look angry, hungry, tired, frustrated, disheveled, and worn out.

Okay, maybe not quite that bad, but you get the idea. They want your photo and your face to look similar once the machine at the customs counter tries to match you to your passport photo. But that doesn't mean you REALLY have to look that way. In fact, here at Newsome's Studio, we pride ourselves on providing you the very best passport photo on the market. We light it properly, we make it razor sharp, and we allow your eyes to smile without forcing your mouth to follow suit. It's the best of both worlds!

Located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa, in Cypress Point Office Park behind Starbucks at the corner of Linebaugh and Dale Mabry Hwy.

By Appointment Only... 813-968-2810

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.

Russian Passport and Russian Visa Photos

Hey, speaking of Russians...

They sure seem to be in the news a lot lately, but leave it to the circus, formerly known as "the media," and you'd think Russians are just a bunch of Boogeymen. Fact is, I've met many, and nothing seems to be farther from the truth! 

The Tampa area has plenty of ex-pats from Russia, as well as plenty of current Russian citizens. I know, because they come HERE to update their Russian Passport photo and their Russian Visa photo. 

A Russian citizen cannot go to the local drugstore, the auto club, or the post office for those photos, because the size of the photo is very specific - and it's measured in millimeters, not inches. A Russian Passport photo must be 35x45mm on the outer edge, with a head size of 30mm from the chin to the crown of the head. It must have a white background and you're not allowed to smile - closed mouth only. This looks NOTHING like the standard US passport photo, so our Russian friends are forced to go to someone who is an expert at creating foreign or International passport photos that adhere to a given foreign government's stated requirements.

Newsome's Studio of Photography, located in North Tampa (Carrollwood), at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, has been providing high quality passport photos for Florida's foreign residents for over 30 years. 

Don't waste your money and precious time going anywhere else for your passport photo, come to the experts and get it done right the first time!

By appointment only, 813-968-2810.

Specialty Passport Photos

At Newsome's Studio, we're not fond of saying "we specialize in..." because it's overused terminology in the photo industry. HOWEVER... when it comes to specialty passport photos, such as those required by foreign countries... Australia (35x45mm), Canada (50x70mm), Greece (40x60mm) or even Chinese Visa Photos (33x48mm), Newsome's Studio of Photography is not shy, nor exaggerating, when we say "we specialize in specialty passport photos."

If you're a citizen of another country, living or temporarily posted here in the US, and you're in need of updating your foreign or international passport photos, you might as well save time, money, and aggravation, by having your specialty passport photos taken by Tampa's Foreign Passport Specialist! There, I said it. And I've got the track record to back it up!

Located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 2019, Tampa, we work by appointment only, so call 813-968-2810 and you'll be in and out in less than ten minutes with your finished specialty passport photos.

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

Chinese Passport Photos, Tampa

We discovered a new "guideline" this week regarding Chinese Passport Photos... they 'prefer' you to wear a dark colored shirt as opposed to a white one! WHO KNEW? They didn't have that guideline in their paperwork and I'd never encountered that in the past, leading me to believe it might have simply been an overzealous bureaucrat in the Chinese passport office, but none the less, if that's what they want, that's what they're going to get.

So, from now on... all Chinese Passport Photos taken here at Newsome's Studio will be required to wear a black shirt (even though you can barely see the collar)!

Give Newsome's Studio of Photography a call and schedule your appointment to update your Chinese passport photo. Located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa (Carrollwood). We are behind Starbucks, at the corner of Linebaugh Ave and N. Dale Mabry Hwy, in Cypress Point Office Park, just north of Busch Blvd.

By appointment only, 813-968-2810. 

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!

International Foreign Passport Photos, Tampa

If you're in need of International Foreign Passport Photos in the Tampa, St Pete area, your choices on where to go are limited. Your local drug store isn't going to do it. Oh, they might TRY, bless their hearts, but to get it right will often require an experienced studio photographer who can customize your image to your country's specific needs.

A Canadian passport photo is 50x70mm. A British or UK passport photo is 35x45mm. A Greek passport photo is 40x60mm. A passport photo for India is 35x35mm. And for each of these outter dimension sizes, the head size is different as well.

When it's time to update your foreign passport photo in Tampa, call the experts, Newsome's Studio of Photography in Carrollwood (North Tampa), located at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219, Tampa, FL 33618. 

by appointment only... 813-968-2810

Proper Size for Foreign Passport Photos - Tampa

A Passport Photo has certain quality requirements, set forth by the various governments around the world. Contrary to popular belief in the states, the entire planet does not use the Imperial Measurement System (miles, yards, feet, inches). In fact, the only countries still using that system are the US, Burma, and Liberia. The rest of the planet is on the Metric System (kilometers, meters, centimeters, millimeters). Thus, when a foreign government sets it specs for that country's passport photos, it's measured in millimeters, not inches.

A common size for many European Passport Photos is 35x45mm. The Canadian passport photo is 50x70mm. The passport photo for India is 35x35mm and for a Greek passport photo, it's 40x60mm. These are not sizes that can accommodated by the local drug store or post office. All that most of them are capable of doing is 2x2 INCHES.

If you're a citizen of a foreign country and living in the US, you'll need to go to a professional photography studio who specializes in passport photos that can be custom sized in millimeters.

Newsome's Studio of Photography in North Tampa (Carrollwood), located 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) can provide you with the exact size specified by your country's passport office.

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

Dutch (Netherlands) Passport Photographer, Tampa

The Dutch Passport for the Netherlands states an outer dimension of 35x45mm, pretty much the standard size for a lot of European passport photos. The head size is between 26-30mm, slightly smaller than most, but not too far off. The Netherlands Passport Photo requirements also state that the eyes must be between 22-32mm from the bottom of the photo.

Specs like these cannot be met by anyone other than a professional photographer who can customize the size precisely at the point of photography. Drug stores? No. AAA? Nope. The Post Office? Forget about it.

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

Call for an appointment 813-968-2810 and in less than 10 minutes, you'll leave with the correct sized images - in hand!

Dutch Netherlands Passport Photographer, Tampa

International Passport Photos - Tampa

Lemme guess... you went to the drug store to get your Greek, Canadian, or UK passport photos taken and either came away with a pair of useless 2"x2" photos, or (if you were lucky), were told they cannot produce a passport photo that meets the size or background requirements of your particular country, right?

Where to go... where to go... Well, you COULD go to your respective consulates, they MIGHT do it. Of course, you may be taking a rather long car drive to Atlanta, Miami, or even Washington DC.

HECK WITH THAT!!!

Your answer is right here in Tampa. Newsome's Studio of Photography, located in Carrollwood (North Tampa) at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219 (behind STARBUCKS at the corner of Linebaugh & N. Dale Mabry Hwy in Cypress Point Office Park).

Call for an appointment, 813-968-2810. We do a lot of work on location and cannot guarantee we are always here. An appointment WILL guarantee it!

Passport Photos, Foreign Passports, Tampa

Newsome's Studio of Photography is Tampa's most experienced provider of foreign passport photos. The entire planet, with the exception of the US and Liberia, is now on the metric system. That means their images are measured in millimeters, not inches. If you're a citizen of a foreign country and you need to update your passport, you cannot go to the drug store for a your passport photo - you MUST go to a professional photography studio who can provide your images, customized to your country's specifications. Don't waste your time even asking the druggist if they can accommodate a 35x45mm or a 50x70mm passport photo - they can't.

Give us a call at 813-968-2810 and let Newsome's Studio ease your pain!

Greek Passport Photos, Tampa

My good friends at the Greek Consulate here in Tampa have been wonderful. My son attended St John Greek Orthodox Day School from K3-8th grade, so I've had a good connection to the Greek community for over 20 years.

The Greek Passport photo is a unique size. While many European passport photos call for 35x45mm, and the Canadian passport photo are 50x70mm, the Greek passport photos fall in between at 40x60mm. This is not something that can be obtained at a drug store, you must go to a professional photography studio who can customize your images for you.

Newsome's Studio of Photography, located in North Tampa at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219 (Cypress Point Office Park in Carrollwood), can provide you with high quality passport photos, guaranteed to make the Greek Consulate smile when they see them.

Call for details, by appointment only. 813-968-2810