Passport renewal

[DealorNoDeal]

Glad you found it a breeze I didn't.

I had to use a photo booth to get an acceptable photo

The staff at the Passport Office are incompetent and are unable to write notes so send the same ambiguous email out multiple times.

Getting a photo that would pass was the hardest part.

We found it difficult indoors to get one without any partial shadow. In the end we took it outdoors against the wall of our house (white render).

[_V_]

Although they tell you not to manipulate the photo, any automatic processing by a phone camera is exactly that. I take photos in Raw format. For my passport, I had to up the brightness before it was accepted.

Those photo filters are incredible now.

[NotAllThere]

Even your passport photo was too dim.

It must be Panto season.

[WTFH]

It must be Panto season.

Oh no it isn't

[WTFH]

Getting a photo that would pass was the hardest part.

We found it difficult indoors to get one without any partial shadow. In the end we took it outdoors against the wall of our house (white render).

Don't stand too close to a wall, that reduces shadow, also don't just have one light source pointing at the person.
A well lit room, take a pace in from the wall.

[edison]

I'd recommend going to a Post Office and using their Digital Check & Send passport service. For £16 they take your photo and check it meets the requirements, scan your passport and fill in the form for you. Best of all, it is a super quick turnaround. When the Passport Office was quoting 10 weeks or more during the peak summer holiday season, I got a new one delivered in 10 days. The Post Office Manager suggested it's much quicker than the standard application but it's a bit of a secret.

[ladymuck]

I had mine renewed in Dec 2020 when travel was the last thing anyone was doing. It was pretty quick.

[_V_]

I'd recommend going to a Post Office and using their Digital Check & Send passport service. For £16 they take your photo and check it meets the requirements, scan your passport and fill in the form for you. Best of all, it is a super quick turnaround. When the Passport Office was quoting 10 weeks or more during the peak summer holiday season, I got a new one delivered in 10 days. The Post Office Manager suggested it's much quicker than the standard application but it's a bit of a secret.

I know someone who used the Post Office check and send, waited and then received a letter from the Passport centre rejecting the photos.