Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs)
How
does Online Passport Service work?
I need passport photos urgently. How can I get them
quickly?
What are the official guideline for Passport
Photos for US Passport applications?
How can I take better pictures at home for Passports?
How can I take PROFESSIONAL QUALITY pictures at home
for Passports?
What
kind of Digital Camera do I need?
Do
I have to open Google Checkout or PayPal account to use your service?
How do I pay for multiple photos/persons
in single checkout?
I
don't use credit cards online. Is there a different payment format available?
What
is your privacy policy? How long are our photos stored on your servers?
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One customer
comments:
"As you
know, the average price at most photo outlets for 4 passport pictures
could be anywhere between $16 up to $20. The service that you
offer provides significant savings for what seems to be a very
simple process of producing small portrait-like pictures - yet
the photo outlets charge an arm and a leg for this stuff.
Your response
time to my inquiries was excellent; the process of taking my own
digital shots and sending them to you via email was simple; and
the end result was exactly what was needed. All this and big dollar
savings too (especially in my case where I needed pictures for
a family of 6).
Thanks again,
and good luck with your venture.
Ilias (Boulder,
Colorado)
Nov 7, 2007
|
|
How does
Online Passport Service work?
We are glad you
asked us. We know US Passport Agency's requirements for a
good passport photo and we strive to put your best picture on your
passport or on your Visas. We achieve this with our talented people,
in the USA as well as in India, who are expert with photo editing
software like Adobe PhotoShope, Picasa etc. They use high-tech photo
techniques to adjust subject, background, light, contract and if needed,
sharpen the photo too. Then the photo gets cropped to passport photo
requirements- 2 x2, face from 1 to 1 3/8 inches etc. Then 6 copies
of cropped passport photo gets printed using professional photo printing
equipment. The end result is- one of the best passport photos in the
world delivered to your home.
I need passport photos urgently. How can I get
them quickly?
No problem. Mailing
is the one which causes most of the delays for us. For urgent needs,
we can email you back a high quality converted passport picture usually
within 24 hours. Download it to you thumb drive and take it to your
local Costco photo, rite-aid photo, Wall-green's photo or Kinko's,
or to a 1-hour photo lab and get it printed on a 4 X 6 paper. One
sheet will get you 6 copies! So for around 20 cents, you will be able
to print 6 copies (You can order 3 sheets and will have 18 passport
photographs for less than a dollar). This makes particular sense if
you need photos for the whole family. Count the savings!
What
are the official guideline for Passport Photos for US Passport applications?
Two
Passport Photos (Don't
worry. OnlinePassportPhoto.com will take care of this)
Your photographs
must be: 2x2 inches in size (Don't worry.
OnlinePassportPhoto.com will take care of this)
Identical
(Don't worry. OnlinePassportPhoto.com will
take care of this)
- Taken within
the past 6 months, showing current appearance
- Color
Full face,
front view with a plain white or off-white background Between 1 inch
and 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head
(Don't worry. OnlinePassportPhoto.com will
take care of this)
- Taken in normal
street attire Uniforms should not be worn in photographs except religious
attire that is worn daily.
- Do not wear a
hat or headgear that obscures the hair or hairline. If you normally
wear prescription glasses, a hearing device, wig or similar articles,
they should be worn for your picture.
- Dark glasses
or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless
you need them for medical reasons. A medical certificate may be required.


Good Passport Pictures
How can
I take better pictures at home for Passports?
* Find a place
that has a white wall to use as background or use white bed sheet
as a background
* Try taking the photos at a time when there is good indirect natural
light.
* Keep camera around 4 feet away from the subject (person whose photo
is being taken) and at subject's eye-level
* Force the camera to apply flash. When you are around 4 feet away,
the camera's flash would be more effective.
* Keep around 2 feet distance between subject and the background wall
to avoid shadows.
* Keep your mouth closed and eyes open (Good tip for a successful
marriage too LOL)
How
can I take PROFESSIONAL QUALITY pictures at home for Passports?
- Position light
sources on both sides of subject to avoid shadows on face. (Desirable
but no need to worry about it. Use can use a while wall. Stand 4 feet
away from it and fire Flash (Flash Fill in) to take a nice picture)
- Use a light
source to illuminate background behind subject to avoid shadows in
background.
- Camera/ Subject
Position Place camera approximately 4 ft (120 cm) from the subject.
- Have camera
at subject's eye level. Position subject facing the camera.
What
kind of Digital Camera do I need?
Even 1 mega-pixel does the job when it comes to passport
pictures of US Passport:
Digital cameras are principally characterized by their image resolution
or mega-pixel capacities; from low-resolution (less than 1 mega-pixel)
to high-resolution (greater than 1 mega-pixel) to advanced high-resolution
(4 mega-pixels or more). The camera's resolution is the most critical
feature in producing high-quality photographs. For U.S. passport and
visa photographs, a digital camera with a resolution of 1 mega-pixel
will be more than adequate for capturing the image and producing the
final photo that conforms to the dimensions specified on this web
site. These cameras generally have automatic features for controlling
many of the photographic qualities emphasized on the preceding web
pages. Care should be taken not to rely totally on these controls
since each subject — facial characteristics, clothing, facial movement,
etc. — can vary and may not be accommodated for by the automatic settings.
Do I have
to open Google Checkout or PayPal account to use your service?
Not required. With PayPal, you can pay directly by
clicking on the PayPal payment account page link shown in the image
below:
(This is just an image of what you will see after you click on the Pay
Now button above. The link below is NOT an actual link. You will need
to click on the button above first to see the actual page similar to
image shown below.)

How do
I pay for multiple photo/people in one checkout?
For Google Checkout,
click on the drop-down and select right quantity.
For PayPal, once
you clik on the PayNow button, it will take you to the checkout page
where enter right quantity as shown below and click on the Update
Totals button:

I don't use credit cards online. Is there a different
payment format available?
Don't like
to use credit cards online? Here is a simple process for you too. Send
us an email to following email address, attaching your full resolution
picture(s) and full shipping address. We will reply back with where
to mail a Money Order/Banker's check. Here is email address: 
What
is your privacy policy? How long are our photos stored on your servers?
We do not sell your
email address or any personal information to any one else. Period.
The photos uploaded by customers are also deleted after 14 days from
our server. Regarding credit card information, we don't even have
your credit card information. Your payments are very securely processed
by Google Checkout and Paypal. They don't even share your creditcard
numbers with us. So rest assured.
Where do I find US Passport
application forms?
The best place
to find Passport forms is travel.state.gov
website. For you convenience, you can click
here to go directly to download latest forms for applying or renewing
a US passport
Where do I find US Passport
information?
Click here
for information about applying or renewing a passport in the USA