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I have a simple question. Where can I take photos with Schengen standards in US? (FYI, I live in San Diego, CA). I tried Imprint and Fedex office. Both told me that they only take 2x2 inch photo which is specialized for American passport. For Schengen visa application, I need 6x4 cm photo.

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Consulates of Schengen countries in the US usually accept US passport photos even though they are of different size. –  R-traveler Jan 5 '13 at 3:09
Do you have a digital camera, or know someone that does? Get someone to take your photo, and print it out at your nearest Walgreens/Target/Walmart/etc - should cost about 10 cents. –  Doc Jan 5 '13 at 6:58
Who told you about 4x6? Looking at the requirements you will need a standard passport photo. immihelp.com/visas/schengenvisa/photograph-requirements.html –  Karlson Jan 5 '13 at 17:58
This is from consulate website: eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edactr/usa/embwas/… –  Mohammad Moghimi Jan 5 '13 at 21:54
Did you try going to a professional photographer? Or a high-end camera shop? I've had luck with getting unusual sized photos from both in the past (but in the UK not the US, so it might be different). Generally they've been very reasonably priced –  Gagravarr May 14 '13 at 9:48
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4 Answers

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One option you have is to find a shopping mall or a supermarket that offers a photo booth. For instance, in the UK there is a chain called Photo-Me that sets up such booths in major shopping areas, and where you can get 'correct size' pictures printed for visas. On a per picture basis this is an expensive option but nothing beats its ease-of-use.

A more DIY method is to use an online service - there are many; ePassportPhoto being one of the major ones - where you can upload a digital picture taken by yourself and then it formats the picture into the correct size for a passport / visa for a given country as multiples on standard photo printing sizes that are supported by photo print shops. You can either get this printed directly by them (this is how they make money) or just download the file and take it to a print shop at your convenience. The site also provides guidance on photo requirements (such as glasses on/off, etc).

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I went to CVS. Took 2x2 inch photo and cut it to the desired size and it worked with the consulate :) –  Mohammad Moghimi May 14 '13 at 23:49
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You can take your own photo at home using the general passport photo guidelines here. There are tips on how to prevent shadows at the background.

The following are the checklist for generating acceptable passport photos:

  1. Frame subject with full face, front view, eyes open, mouth closed

  2. Center head within frame

  3. Photograph subject against a plain white or off-white background; Usually using smooth white cloth as background should be OK.


  5. Encourage subject to have a natural expression. No smiling. As reported by timesonline, smiling babies contributed to 400,000 passport applications being rejected by The UK Passport Service (UKPS) towards the end of 2005. So no smiling, just natural expression.

  6. Ensure light on the face is even.

After you take the photo, upload it to 123passportphoto and select Switzerland (Schweiz) in the country list. According the information at Yahoo answers, Schengen visa photo is 45mm high x 35mm wide, which is the same as Switzerland passport photo size.

Next, crop your photo using the online crop tool. You will get multiple passport photos on a 4R sheet. Download the 4R sheet. Print it at home or any drugstore such as Walgreen.

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AFAIK, smile is allowed, as long as it's not grinning. Rule of thumb is that the mouth cannot be open. –  vartec May 14 '13 at 9:43
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Log on to iPassportPhotos.com and follow the instructions for getting your passport or visa photos. All instructions for "how to take photos for passport at home" and how to order, is given there. We just have to follow the steps. There are three simple steps to get passport or visa photos in any size, for any country.

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It is always advisable to use 35×45mm sized photos for Schengen. I know a friend who sent 2×2 inch photos, and they were rejected. See the link here. Some consulates accept 45×45mm, 50×50mm (which is like 2×2 inch). The best source is the instructions you get with your visa application. Regarding getting photos in, say, 35×45mm size, I would advise against sites like epassportphot.com etc. who offer free online cropping. Most of our photos are not that well taken, so you need a full service passport photo website like Online Passport Photo who will enhance exposure, remove shadows and fix your photos to make them look like professionally taken photos.

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