Photo: AnnaStills (Shutterstock)
As travel spending hits new pandemic highs, you’ve probably started day-dreaming about an international vacation yourself. But before you start booking away, you should make sure your passport didn’t expire over the course of the pandemic.
Renewing your passport is not only a slog, but it’s also not cheap. The application process alone will run you $130, and that’s before tacking on the fee for your passport photo. The United States Postal Service charges $15 for their passport photo services; Walgreens charges $15.99, and CVS charges a steep $16.99. But did you know that you can circumvent this cost with a smartphone and a pair of scissors?
According to the U.S. Department of State, you must provide one photo with your passport application. The photo must be taken within the last six months, use a clear image of your face (no glasses), be in front of a plain white background, and cannot be a “selfie.” Additionally, the photo must be printed with 2-inch by 2-inch dimensions. If you think you’d be able to take a photo like this without the use a professional photographer, you’d be correct. Instead of going through the rigmarole of scheduling an appointment at any of the aforementioned locations and paying a $15 dollar fee, just grab a friend (or a flexible tripod) and take the photo yourself.
Once you have a shot you like, run it through the State Department-provided photo tool to make sure it meets all of their criteria. The argument those make about using a professional service like USPS versus taking the photo yourself is that they’re less likely to take a photo that ends up getting rejected during the application process—but this tool makes that a moot point. By running your photo through their tool, you’ll have peace of mind that your photo is good-to-go before you even send it in.
Once you have your State Department-approved photo, simply use one of the many free Passport Photo websites (I’m partial to 123passportphoto.com) to form it into a two by three collage, and get that image printed on a 4-by-6 photo (you can do this at Walgreens for 37 cents, or CVS for 39 cents). Once you have your photo, simply cut your collage into six 2-inch by 2-inch photos, choose your favorite one, and you’re all set. You’ve circumvented the $15 price tag and acquired a photo for your passport application for less than a dollar—all that’s left to do is make sure you’re not hitting any overrated tourist destinations.
