Costco Passport Photos for the Family

(Last Updated On: November 21, 2019)

Costco Passport Photos are quick, affordable and easy!

I stressed when it was time to get photos for passports for my family.

Time is of the essence! We are headed on an epic trip abroad this summer. Israel, France, Italy,  and a cruise that takes us to Greece and Turkey.

That’s a lot of stamps in our passports!  Can you see the twinkle in my eyes?

Vanity aside, there’s no room for error when you are submitting these photos. They have to be perfect.  The number one reason passport applications are  delayed is because the photos fail. Here’s some reasons why passport photos commonly fail:

• The passport photo background is dark or too light
• The photo/crop is too close or too far away
• The passport photo is over or under exposed
• The photos were taken more than 6 months ago
• The passport photos include glasses or “headgear “
• Part of your face is obscured in the photo
• There’s a uniform showing in the photo

And then yes, of course there is the misery of ten years with a crappy photo. Ten years is a long time to live with a bad photo. At least for the kids it’s only a five year sentence!

Passport photos can be pricey, and I don’t trust everyone to get it right, let alone get a good shot of me.

We did a lot of research. There’s a lot of places that advertise passport photo service. There’s even several apps that you can use to DIY your photo. But these made me very nervous. Passport photos are rejected all too often for me to wing it!

Friends and family raved Costco’s passport photo service. They are technically skilled in the do’s and don’ts of passport photo requirements. Plus they also seem not to suck at getting decent pix.   Bonus, I was already headed there… again.

These are my sons’ first passports.  My passport just expired, so it’s time to renew. Of course I waited till the last possible moment to take care of this.  Maybe I just had passport photo ptsd.  I had been stuck with a photo I hate for a decade!

In life and passport pictures there are no guarantees so I tried to keep my expectations realistic as we headed off to Costco for photos last weekend.

Does anyone really know what to do with their face when getting a passport photo? My five year old had a really hard time with the whole smile, don’t smile thing. He’s at that age where he really doesn’t get the concept of a “neutral” face. He’s either smiling so hard it makes *my* cheeks hurt or frowning menacing-like at you as if he just caught you eating all his candy. That’s the two faces.

I, on the other hand, seem to have only one passport face. Somehow I managed to make the *exact same face* as I did for my pictures ten years ago. This, my friends, is my official passport smile. Oh well. I opted for the hair au naturel because odds are, I won’t be flat ironing if I go trekking through half the places I’m hoping to go with this new passport.

The 8 year old seemed to fare the best. He pulled off that passport pic like pro. That kid is going places…. (ha ha, forgive me!)

Word to the wise: The fluorescent lights in Costco do little for your beauty.  But it’s still so much better than the old one! I don’t look shiny!

We were able to get our passport photos done at Costco painlessly,  without going out of our way. I picked up groceries at the same time. Two birds, one stone.  I really appreciated that the photos only take a few minutes to take. They were ready in less than an hour. We walked out with our photos after we were done shopping.

Here’s some passport posing tips for your family if you are seeking new passport photos:

• Wear solid colors. They just photograph better against a white background. Opt for a higher neckline so that you don’t look naked when the photo is cropped.
• Bring a brush or comb so you can comb hair away from everyone’s faces.  All features including your eyebrows should be visible for your photo to pass. It will also make you more recognizable and makes your face easier to scan at kiosks, which can save you time when traveling.
• Remove your glasses – passport photos should be glasses free. Same goes for hats, headbands, headscarves.  If you cover your hair for a religious reason you will need to submit a letter.Your photo will still need your facial features to be visible.
• Avoid ponytails and elaborate hairdos unless you think your hair will in that exact same ponytail every time you travel for the next ten years. They also might get the photo rejected if they are viewed as “headgear. “
• No uniforms!
• Do not be tempted to submit an old photo, no matter how great – photos need to have been taken within the last six months
• Feed your kids a non messy snack before they take photos. Fed kids are happy kids.
• Do your makeup! Nothing too fancy, just enough so you don’t look washed out.
• Do not submit a selfie with a filter. Passport photos have really specific requirements. This is why we left our pics to the pros at Costco!

We’ve filed out all our paperwork. Soon we will have passports for the entire family. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. We’re all finally documented. We can pick up and go anywhere, anytime. I don’t even know where that is. But it could happen.