Walgreens, you've lost my drugstore visits!

From a customer-oriented company always thinking about making life easier and cheaper for us, Walgreens turned into a store that censors the content of your photos

Listen to this true story about ePassportPhoto.com and decide for yourself what you think about Walgreens: 

November 2005 - "Birth of free passport photos online" 

Like my other solid business, it all started from a real customer need unmet until them: I needed to renew my passport and send the application with 2 passport photos.  As many have experienced, getting the best passport photo (and not the usual mug-shot) is not that easy.  Definitely given that this photo will accompany you for 10 years.  Plus it costs a hefty sum of money for a simple digital photo when you think about it!   

A casual lunch break got me and a friend Tom thinking: why wouldn't we make this whole process of passport photos totally online and for free for people (and make a dime or two if we can from advertising): digital cameras are all over the place, broadband is ubiquitous, and a good passport photo can only be achieved when you have the time to take a few shots of yourself at your own leisure - we felt there's something here! 

After plenty of brainstorming and decent amount of web coding we brought ePassportPhoto.com to life (back then buying a decent domain name was easy compared to today!).  With zero marketing we got great positive feedback and excitement on the free offering and the way to avoid the usual passport photos rip-offs.  One posting led the another: the Times Online, Popular Science, King5 Network, Lifehacker, Boing Boing, The Consumerist and tech65.org are just a few of the places that spotted how ePassportPhoto.com transforms the passport photos industry. 

We got an enormous satisfaction - It was really heartwarming to see people from around the world in the thousands daily using our service.  It was also fun acquiring the #1 spot for passport photos terms at Google!

March 2009 – The big "W" at work

Believe it or not after more than 3 years of running this service, more than 3 million people from practically every country on earth visited ePassportPhoto - did I mention how much did we spend on marketing? 

Word of mouth played a significant role and here are some of the terrific feedback we've been getting and is captured in the recently opened Facebook page:

In addition to the free do-it-yourself option that we provide, we launched a guaranteed premium service for official passport photos.  We treated all customers as good as it gets – people love us.  Really.  One of the premium service options is for customers to pick their passport photos – or more precisely a 4x6" photo print bearing their passport photos – at a Walgreens store.  We thought that anyone can print what they want to Walgreens photo center – right?   

Well, not  e x a c t l y!  at some point Walgreens' radar picked up on our so called "scam". A few emails were sent to us saying:

We have been getting passport prints from your online service, and we DO NOT print photos that are sent to our store … Customers need to come into the store to have their passport photos taken. We do not allow customers to create their own passport pictures and print them themselves…. It would be appreciated if you would no longer endorse our photofinishing services on your website

Or another example:

Walgreens is not affiliated with this scam or company and will charge your customers a second time for the cost of the passport in store because when they are sent over the internet there is a charge due in store.  We will redirect all of our customers to contact this company for any issues.

Well, I read their policy and it's amazing to see that this goliath can forbid people from printing 4x6" photos according to its content.  In any event, we definitely didn't want to steal their customers (although that as a matter of fact they should probably give us some referral fees for driving customers to their stores)

Not so heartwarming anymore… 

So, heart-shattered, I wrote an email to Walgreen saying:

1. We come in peace

2. We respect Walgreen and we want to work together with your admired great company

3. Show us the right way, how can we change ePassportPhoto to be legit

Walgreens didn't even responded back - nothing

Guys, is there anyone home? Are you people at Walgreens looking down little people's alley?

I've heard of Walgreens acting like a big company but couldn't believe it until now. Perhaps Walgreens is a place where few short minded clerks run the show with policy papers in their hands, not respecting customers anymore.

I don't know if it's CVS or Walgreens for you but if you ask me – Walgreens has lost my drugstore visits.

Hope you enjoy our website

- The ePassportPhoto team

Turkey is a democratic country with huge resources and diversified cultures and climates. The country is known to be a Eurasian nation, as it is located between Europe and Asia.

So, it carries the influence of both the continentals. Also, Turkey is a member to many international organizations such as OECD and G 20. This is a growing economy with a large base of industrial and financial institutions.  For the people, who want to apply for the Turkish passport have to submit two recent identical photographs measuring 35mm x 45mm of size along with their documents.  

As far as the non-immigrant visa of Turkey is concerned, one un-retouched photograph of size 2 x 2 inches (5 x 5 cm) has to be produced along with the visa application. The photographs should be a full face photo with applicant facing the camera directly. The face should cover at least 50 percent of area of the photo with a white background. The dark glasses are not acceptable unless for medical reasons. The subject should be dressed in normal street attire wearing no hat, uniforms and no head coverings obscuring the applicant’s features, hair, or hairline. If at all the head covering is essential, the forehead and ears should be completely visible. No border at the frames of the photo is allowed.

 The photo must be taken with single reflex camera using film required standard processing and hence, the instant-type or digital-quality photograph is not acceptable. Though the guidelines for the photographs required for Turkish passport and visa are very simple to be matched, still you should be careful while getting the photographs printed for the getting Turkish visa or passport.

The Korea is one of the leading economic powers in Asia. It is steadily advancing technologically and scientifically, step by step with other rapidly growing countries. Korea is a place rich of culture and diversity, and is now respected all over the world for its rapidly growing industries. If you are living in Korea and you want to apply for a passport, you need to submit your application along with two identical colored passport photographs other than the desired documents.

There are certain norms that need to be fulfilled for the photographs. The photograph with white background should not be more than six months old and the measurement of the photograph should be of 3.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm high. The face should display the front of the applicant measuring approximately 2.5 cm wide and 3.5 cm high. The hats, head-gear, and sunglasses are strictly not allowed. While applying for the extension of the validity one year before or after the expiry date of the current passport, you are required to submit one color passport photo. The remaining requirements the about size and composition of the photograph are same as for the new application photograph. 

In case of applying for a travel certificate, two colored identical photographs have to be submitted all other requirements being similar to the photographs for new passport. Beside passport photographs, all applicants are required to furnish their exact residential number of Korea along with their permanent residential address in country. Otherwise, they are required to submit their Family Census Register. Male applicants between the ages of 18 and 35 years have to submit the proof of extension from military services. However, those who have completed their military service are not required to submit this document.

 If you are applying by mail, you are required to send the application enclosed with all documents and a stamped envelope with a return address. Do not forget to mention your preferred mailing service for the secure arrival of your passport.  If you are a foreign national and want to apply for Korean visa, you have to furnish one recent colored photograph measuring 2”X2” along with copy of your passport and other documents.

The Federative Republic of Brazil situated in South America is the fifth largest country in the world. Brazil is blessed with beautiful landscapes and soothing climate throughout the year. ]

The country with rich cultural and traditional values is also famous for its festivals and carnivals. The specifications of the Brazilian passport and visa are unusual and unique in the world. Thus, you have to be very careful while selecting a studio for a shoot up for the passport and visa photos. Although, different Brazilian consulate specify different criteria time to time but the common specifications are as given below.  While, applying for a Brazilian passport 3 identical and recent photos of size measuring 5x7 cm are to be submitted along with the passport application. The full front view with light background color has to be shown. The passport booth instant photos are not accepted for the passport.

The photograph requires a date to be shown on the photo, but the digitally added dates are not acceptable.  Brazilian passport & visa photo are similar to the US visa standards. The photos for the Brazilian visa should be recently taken with a measurement of 2” x 2”. The photo should show the front view of the face. The background of the photos should be white. The snapshots and computer pictures are not allowed. Though, these specifications are the most recent, still you should confirm the specifications for the photographs while applying for the Brazilian passport and visa. There are many countries of the world, whose citizens do not require the visa to visit Brazil, such as Belgium, Bolivia, Ecuador, France, Finland, Malaysia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.

A trip to China is a big deal.  If you’re going there, chances are pretty good that you’ve been planning your trip for a while.  No doubt you are looking forward to seeing family and friends that you’ve been away from for years.  Or, perhaps you’re going to explore and experience China for the very first time.  That’s why you don’t want to risk any issues from an improperly prepared passport.

Beginning in 2007, Chinese passports are now valid for 10 years from the date of issue.  If you're planning to visit China for the 2008 Olympic Games and are not a special guest, you want to consider beginning the process for updating and applying for your passport immediately to avoid any delay.

The passport photo for China has specific requirments that you must adhere to if you will have your passport approved:

• Photo must be 48mm x 33mm
• The head height must be 8mm - 33mm
• The head width must be 21mm - 24mm
• Background may be white or light blue

  You can create your own passport photo using the photo wizard on epassportphoto.com

While traveling abroad, you must carry extra passport photos with you. This is because you are required to submit passport photos for a Visa or for any other application forms. If you have extra passport photos handy, you can save both- money as well as time. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep the passport photos with you while visiting any other country.

You must check the passport photo guidelines of the country you are traveling to and ensure that you follow them.  If you are really looking for an economical solution, you can get few passport photos printed using your home-printer. In case you are doubtful about the size of passport photos you should carry with you, log on to ePassportPhoto, and select country-specific dimensions to print your photos. 

If you can experiment with your passport photos by using Photoshop, you can try another interesting option. You can get your passport photos converted into business cards. This means that you can put your passport photo on a business card while including business-related information, such as name, home address, e-mail address, and your mobile phone number. You can even print these business cards at home by using inkjet photo printer.  This business card would serve two purposes. Firstly, you can give them to your business associates and they would remember you due to your passport photo. Secondly, you have a passport photo handy if you require it for getting passport, visa, company, bank or tourist passes. You can simply staple the entire card to the application or cut it out to submit along with an application form. 

If you want, you can also put your passport number on business card - without specifying that it belongs to your passport. You are required to mention your passport number to the hotel where you stay in. If you want to conceal the passport number, you can add null numbers or alphabets either at the beginning or towards the end of the passport number printed on your business card.

Often you need to pay hefty amount of money to your local photographer for a passport photo with an expressionless face and a plain white background. While taking a passport photo is one of the easiest things to do, ironically majority of the U.S. photo studios tend to charge a lot of money to print a set of four identical passport photographs.   

If you are looking for an economical solution, you can give a serious thought to printing your own passport photos using home-printer. That’s true. You can save an enormous amount of money by getting passport photos printed at home. If you have a photo printer at home, you can easily convert any of your digital pictures into a valid passport-size photo meant for your passport or visa applications. In fact many of you, who are fond of photography, must have already printed your own passport photos at home. Those, who have never done it earlier and need more time to learn this art, can either send the digital photos to a friend, who knows can print them for you. Alternatively, you can also look for some online photo service providers, who can send you free prints of your passport photos. 

If you are worried about the sizing requirements of passport photos of in your country, you can log on to ePassportPhoto. The website allows you to upload your photo, resize it, select the country-specific dimensions, and save it as a .jpg file. Now you can either print it at home, or send it for free printing to international photo service providers by using the links on the website. If you are a computer-freak, you can even cut and paste an image, edit it, and get a simple but satisfactory product while sitting at home. Now it is possible to get multiple passport photos at the cost of buying one by using your home-printer. 

A biometric passport is equipped with enhanced security features to verify the citizenship of travelers. For past few years, various countries have introduced a wide range of procedures and computerized methods to avert passport scams to address the concerns related to international business and personal security.

A biometric passport has intricately designed passport pages, complex watermarks and a data chip. This chip contains all crucial information related to the passport holder such as digital signature data, which helps in authenticating the passport.  The biometrics are considered more personal and reliable than a passport photo or a PIN, as it uses personal traits such as facial or eye maps and fingerprints as primary identification features. These biometric features were accepted by The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after analyzing multiple other biometrics including retinal scan.

The ICAO has also described the standardized file formats and communication practices that should be used in passports. For example, the contactless chip used in a biometric passport can store a digital impression of each biometric feature preferably in JPEG or JPEG2000 format. This contactless chip allows you to store minimum of 32 kilobytes biometric data and uses the interface compliant with the ISO/IEC 14443 international standard. The biometric features stored in the passport are compared by electronic border control systems or e-borders. These standards ensure not only the interoperability among various countries, but also among different makers of passports.

The contactless chip would store the same data, which is visible on the photo page of the passport. In addition, the chip would also include a digital photo of the passport holder, which would facilitate the process of biometric comparison by using the facial recognition technology. The new US passport carries a new look, and would enable international security agencies integrate crucial anti-fraud and security features in the passports.

It is expected that by 2015, ICAO would have a database of over a billion people worldwide. With a sudden rise in fraudulent methods, it has become mandatory for international security agencies to reinforce security features in passports. Therefore, a biometric passport helps in preventing the theft of identity and fraud. The ICAO suggests facial recognition as the principal biometric followed by iris and fingerprint recognition. The biometric information stored on passport helps in identifying fraud and automating immigration checks in future.

While applying for passports or visas, Germans have been asked to maintain serious expressions on their face. This is done to allow biometric scanners pick right facial features of the passport holders. Besides, the authorities have been directed to accept only those photos for passports, which are taken from the front to allow the “most natural facial expressions possible.”   

These security measures have been taken after September, 2001 attacks to consolidate the security network in Germany as well as around the world. The German Interior Minister Otto Schily says that the facial identification systems can only match the natural features of a person with his or her mouth closed. The United States, Canada, and Britain have already followed these specifications and have already started issuing Biometric passports.

German officials recently exhibited the new passports based on these guidelines. The officials accept that such passport photos would be very tough to manipulate. From March 2007, the German passports have also been carrying two scanned fingerprints stored on a chip.

Remember, U.S. passport photo specifications are different from that of German passport photos. And, not many photographers in Germany are familiar with these specifications. Therefore, you must take a print out of these requirements for U.S. Passports and explain them to your photographer. 

While posing for your passport photo, you should always ask for a complete frontal view of your face. Look directly into the camera and maintain neutral expressions without any smile on your face. Never use the photos that have reflections on the face or with red eyes. The background of the passport photo should be light-colored so as to provide adequate contrast to the face and your hair. The passport photo must be printed on a high-quality paper with around 600 dpi resolution sans any marks or stains on it.