Renewing a passport..... anyone done it recently?

[Dave7]

Background to this is Mrs D paying £6.00 to sit in a booth and getting 4 photos of the top of her head...... so please dont tell me I can use my phone as she is seriously not interested.
So........
We went to Max Spielman and paid thier rediculous price (and Mrs D is happy-ish).
Spielman's tell me the photos are guaranteed to be accepted.
The photos are in a wallet and they have a code with instructions to fill in the .gov on line form and enter this code.
Just to be sure I understood I phoned Spielmans and asked "are you saying I dont have to send a photo, I simply enter the code and they will accept it".
Answer was... "ahh, they will tell you if its accepted".
Me..... "you told me they were guaranteed to be accepted".
She... "well, its not up to us.....they will tell you if its accepted"

Anyone else done it this way ie with a code?

 

[Heltor Chasca]

When I did mine and the kids’ our local indie photography shop guaranteed the photos. If they were rejected because of the photos themselves, they would pay your rejection expenses and redo the photos for free.

It didn’t stop me looking like a thug in my picture.

As it happened all went smoothly. For a government department, the passport lot seem pretty good.

 

[Milkfloat]

I have never failed DIY - using https://www.epassportphoto.com/

 

[DCLane]

Yes - we've done it that way in the past few months for 3 of the family at Max Speilmann.

 

[bikingdad90]

Do you have a photo drivers license? You can transfer the picture from this to your passport if it is within date and looks like you.

 

[Shadow]

...and looks like you.

??!!??

 

[Dave7]

Yes - we've done it that way in the past few months for 3 of the family at Max Speilmann.

As in you simply put the code in and it was accepted ?

 

[Dave7]

Do you have a photo drivers license? You can transfer the picture from this to your passport if it is within date and looks like you.

Too late now but how can you do that ?

 

[Ian H]

DIY with the phone (actually, I got someone to hold the phone further away). Forwarded it via the website; no problem. It's the first passport photo that hasn't made me look like a convict.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I had to go to Peterborough to get mine done, told them at work mine had less than 3 months to go, no worries they said you won't need to go to the US anytime soon, 3 weeks later, yep you guessed it, we need you to go next week. Anyway took the photos in a booth, went down but they were rejected as I'd kept my glasses on & there was minuscule reflection on them

 

[Heltor Chasca]

??!!??

2 or 3 years ago I was stopped and interviewed on my bike at Harwich passport control returning from the NL. My passport photo looked like one of the Gallagher boys. In reality at the time I looked like a golden, brown haired Jesus.

 

[DCLane]

As in you simply put the code in and it was accepted ?

Yes, on all three occasions.

2 or 3 years ago I was stopped and interviewed on my bike at Harwich passport control returning from the NL. My passport photo looked like one of the Gallagher boys. In reality at the time I looked like a golden, brown haired Jesus.

My driving licence, and previously my passport, have 'fat me' on them. The driving licence expires this year but in 2015 I had trouble convincing the passport control at Heathrow I was the big bloke in the photo particularly as the driving licence was the same photo. My BC licence has my profile photo from 2011 (need a new one as I'm now grey!) which wierdly helped.

 

[I like Skol]

Did mine the DIY way in the last year or two. Just took a picture of myself against a plain beige wall at the middle of the day when the light was good. Actually took the picture with the family digital camera balanced on a chest of drawers and a pile of books using the timer. Had to do it this way as the wife and kids were at work/school when the light was good. Then used the .gov online renewal service (I think this was a beta service at the time and only ran for the first so many applications a day, not sure if it is still an option?) to submit my renewal form and upload the DIY picture. No problems at all.

IMO this is the way to go if you can take your own picture. Photo booths are stupidly expensive when there is a 'free' alternative that can give better results, I photoshopped my picture to give me a full head of hair, a healthy post-holiday tan, removed the bags from under my eyes and a minor nose job, Bl**dy gorgeous!

 

[Cycleops]

When I did mine and the kids’ our local indie photography shop guaranteed the photos. If they were rejected because of the photos themselves, they would pay your rejection expenses and redo the photos for free.

It didn’t stop me looking like a thug in my picture.

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As it happened all went smoothly. For a government department, the passport lot seem pretty good.

Which box did you tick on gender?

 

[I like Skol]

View attachment 448603

You have wonderful cheek bone structure...…