Getting Australian passport photo taken in Baltimore
July 26, 2010 7:38 AM   Subscribe

Where can I get a passport photo taken in Baltimore that fits the requirements for an Australian passport?

My Australian passport expired and need to get it renewed ASAP for work trip to Europe. The photo needs to be 35-40mm (1.4-1.5 inches) wide by 45-50mm (1.7-1.9 inches) high. FedEx Office (former Kinkos) only does 2 x 2 inch photos and are mystified by any other size.

Where in Baltimore can I get a passport photo taken quickly with these dimensions?
posted by tandemrepeat to Grab Bag (12 answers total)
 
I had my Canadian Permanent Resident photo (same requirements) done at a FedEx Office in Dallas after trying at a bunch of different pharmacies. You have to have them cut the photo to the proper size. It may be easier to do the cutting yourself on their cutting board- I found the employees inept.
posted by globotomy at 7:43 AM on July 26, 2010


If you call the closest Australian embassy or consulate (or really, any local embassy or consulate) they can probably recommend a place that specializes in foreign passport photos.
posted by phoenixy at 7:50 AM on July 26, 2010


Call the Australian embassy in Washington, DC and ask them this question.

Tell them that you are an Australian citizen, that your passport has expired, and you are in Baltimore, and you need to get the pictures taken at a certain size, in order to fulfill the Australian passport requirements.

They have heard this question before; they will tell you where to go.

They may tell you a place in Washington, DC, since that is where they are located. Washington, DC is not far from Baltimore.
posted by dfriedman at 7:58 AM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]




freepassportphotos.com might work for you
posted by UltraD at 8:02 AM on July 26, 2010


I got my photo taken at a very understanding Rite Aid Pharmacy. It took 3 attempts to get the photo right, but we got there in the end. Bring the guidelines - there's a handy guide to check you got the head dimensions correct.
posted by zamboni at 8:09 AM on July 26, 2010


Best answer: I'm not from Baltimore, but I've had nothing but good luck with mom-and-pop photo stores in malls -- if they're using a digital camera rather than a passport-photo-polaroid. With digital, they can resize it however they want before printing, presuming they know what they're doing.

One place I went to had a big booklet listing various foreign passport-photo sizes. At another store, I needed an uncommon size and just told the owner the dimensions I needed (of both head and overall photo). Both came out as requested.
posted by astrochimp at 9:15 AM on July 26, 2010


Best answer: In short: go to a place that specializes in photography (rather than shipping/copying/miscellaneous), as (a) it will be more likely to be owned/operated by a photographer, and (b) you'll be more likely get what you want.
posted by astrochimp at 9:26 AM on July 26, 2010


Best answer: Print this out on a color printer and take it to a professional photographer and see if they can do it.
posted by mdonley at 10:32 AM on July 26, 2010


Best answer: Straight from the horse's mouth:
Your lodging office will be able to provide a suggestion of a place near the consulate or Embassy. However, if you are not located near a passport office, you will need to find a local photographer. There are many places capable of producing acceptable photos for Australian passports – eg. FedEx Kinkos, Walmart, CVS, etc. It does not matter if the overall dimensions of the photo are bigger than our minimum requirements – we can easily trim the photos down when we receive your application. The important thing is to obtain a photo with the correct head size, background and facial expression. Click here for more info on photo requirements.
In other words, read through their guidelines, and go to an American passport photo place.
posted by schmod at 11:31 AM on July 26, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks all - great answers from the hive mind.

Didn't think to ask the embassy - have to take the application down to DC in person anyway to get it done in time. I didn't realize they could resize from US format too - that's a useful nugget of info that I completely missed (thanks schmod!). RTFM I guess...

On the recommendation of astrochimp, I found a local photo shop (Techlab) that did it quickly and easily.
posted by tandemrepeat at 12:09 PM on July 26, 2010


I just want to add one thing about australian passport photos:

everyone seems to think you're not allowed to smile, it's not true, you are allowed to smile - you're just not allowed to smile with your mouth mouth open, you're not allowed to show your teeth.
posted by compound eye at 12:12 AM on July 27, 2010


« Older Steel strings vs. Nylon?   |   It's another cheating question! Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.