I need to take two photos for non-Swiss passport and I'm looking for a not-so-expensive photo studio. Last time, I used the Foto Stuber in Bern (Christoffelgasse 3), great service for a bit less than CHF 30.- and they already had my country's specifications in hand. However, it appears to have closed down.
I stumbled upon this older thread , recommending FotoPro Ganz in Zürich (Rennweg 26), which also appears to have closed down.
Could you recommend a photo studio either in Zürich or Bern that could take passport photos for an affordable price? (e.g., CHF 30-50) A photo booth won't do the work, my embassy demands to be taken at a studio.
I'm not sure why anyone needs professional photos for a passport. Just take a snap on any half-decent phone, edit it to get the correct stated size and print it on your bog-standard 70 franc photo quality printer.
I've done this for UK passport renewals at least four times that I can be sure of, no problem, even with the more stringent requirements for the biometric jobbies.
I work on the assumption that everyone these days has a printer, given how cheap they are, but if you don't have one yourself you must know someone who has.
Because some countries insist on it; when I renewed my US passport photos from photo booths weren’t acceptable. Had to be done by a professional studio. Don’t know if that’s still the case these days, but it was back when I was an American.
But how would they know? Even professionals these days would use inkjet or similar printers onto photo paper, so it's not like there's any giveaway. Yrd, photobooth ones might be easier to spot.
Photo booth pics are probably acceptable now provided they're the right size. When I last renewed, they even had a photo booth in the Embassy for those who didn't have the right size photos. The machine took cash only, 10 Francs.
Because some countries ( such as Canada ) require that photos conform to certain standards and are validated to be less than 6 months old by a professional photog. I'm more surprised that so many countries allow you to submit any old photo that could be years out of date.
Greek passports are issued by the Greek police, not the government or a passport agency, and you have to prove the photos were taken within 6mths. In my partner's case, we had to make 2 or 3 visits in person to the Embassy in Bern where the photos were varified as being a true likeness. Anyone who's dealt with Greek bureaucracy will know that it's better to get things exactly right first time if you don't want to spend ages chasing your tail. I'm a professionally qualified photographer and did the photos for all my partners work passes, etc, over the last 9yrs, but I won't do his Greek passport photos. Far more hassle than it's worth. For the sake of CHF27 (which is what my partner paid a couple of years ago), you might as well get a pro studio to do it.
You're comparing a postal passport service with the Greek police to the UK passport agency when they're worlds apart. UK has one of the loosest photo requirements, and I'm applying to renew my passport at the moment. Just got to wait until OH has a free moment to take my mug shot for the digital upload. No printer required now.
Thanks a lot, that was exactly what I was looking for.
For the very reason that I'm quoting below:
To add to that, the Greek Embassy scrutinizes the photos with an appropriate ruler to make sure that they fit the Greek Law Police's specifications. The photo booths don't produce the required specifications and/or it's very tricky to get them right on your own. So, for CHF 29.- it's not really worth one's time.
We took photos on my husband's phone and used a digital machine compatible with android phones in Manor. You could print them off in different sizes, I needed the passport size for an Irish passport application.
But some countries will NOT accept that. My previous passport issuing agency had very specific requirements impossible to achieve in a booth. For my Swiss Passport I had to go to my Canton’s Digital office where the took my photo, my fingerprint and signature. A booth photo would not work.
I had to have a professional one for my current British passport back in 2012 as it was at the time they were introducing new security measures. My OH renewed his 2 years ago and it wasn't necessary.
Pretty much what I did also. The Swiss machines couldn't fit my face in the right place, even for Swiss standards and it was clear I'd have to spend a lot of money before I got it right.
For Americans, there's a link on the embassy website to a photo cropping tool, with suggestions on how to take your own photo at home and get it the right size, etc. It worked well for me, and they accepted my home-printed photo this week.