Do It Yourself
A passport photo (in the US) needs to be 2 inches by 2 inches on a white background, with your head taking about 1 inch from the chin to top of the hair. Any camera over 1 megapixel (essentially all of them now) will meet the US and most European requirements.
For the white background all you need is a white wall or clean sheet (showing no shadows) and your picture will be accepted. So many people worry about their passport photos being rejected and pay a ridiculous markup for poor quality wallet sized pictures just because they are called ‘passport photos’.
Print the pictures on your photo printer or take them to a photo shop with a laser printer. I’d hesitate printing the pictures on an ink jet however. If you don’t have access to a color laser printer, head by the photo store, just don’t mention you’re printing “passport” photos since they may charge you extra, as James warns.
ePassport Photo
There are plenty of other services like ePassport Photo as well as tutorials on taking passport photos at home properly. For example, Minezine links to a detailed guide on making your passport photos using Photoshop.
It’s Not That Hard!
Travelers often spend the money on store bought passport photos thinking that there is some magic requirement met by having someone else take the picture and charge you $4 per square inch of it. Most countries have very simple passport requirements that any amateur photographer (like yourself) can take at home against a white wall. Keep in mind if you wait until the last minute you might save on the cost of passport photos but pay extra for speeding up your passport application.
Have you ever taken your own passport photo or do you still pay someone else to do it? I’m curious to find out, let me know in the comments.
[photo by: privatenobby]