Passport Photos - B&W?

[mr magnolia]

Great excitement in magnolia mansions as we prepare to contribute to global warming by flying away in the summer!

I need a new passport, and for reasons entirely connected with general cussedness, my last passport photo was black and white.

Popular opinion from the post office and the nice lady that takes the photos suggests that B&W is no longer acceptable, but the 'official' guidance makes no mention of this - it just shows only colour photos.

Does anyone know if B&W is actually acceptable?

ta in advance

[tiermat]

http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/downloads/photos.pdf

Second line of "Photographss must be"

[Polar Bear]

I had problems renewing last year. Having very pale hair the top of my head disappears in photos from those passport booths.   In fact it doesn't but the contrast was not sufficient for those nice passport office people.  I had to have a photo done at the local photographer.

It was 1000 times better than the booth picture though for only twice the cost.           

[Greenbank]

You can get them done (by a person) in a High St photo developing place like Snappy Snaps or Jessops.

That way you get to look at the photo before it's printed and can get as many retakes as they have patience for.

[rafletcher]

Indeed our local Chemist's offers the service, and they preview digitally before printing to make sure they're acceptable.  And all seem to be in colour these days.

[Martin]

the driving licence ones are now B/W when they were colour  ; I wonder if this will have a knock on effect on their acceptability on internal flights.

[Greenbank]

What do goths do?

"I'm sorry, we can't take black and white photos."

"It is colour. Look at me. Do you see anything but black and white?"

[mr magnolia]

http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/downloads/photos.pdf

Second line of "Photographss must be"

That's an odd one - that document seems to be a slightly different one from the hard copy guidance that you get (well, we got) in the envelope that you pick up from the GPO.  That document has the same list and the same photos but I couldn't see the line about colour, not B&W - i'll have to have another look tonight.

I suppose 'colour' can't be taken to mean 'infra red' or 'blue' can it?...

[tiermat]

It maybe that the doc you got from the PO was an outdated one that got mixed up with the rest.

I think it would be safe to assume the online version would be the most up to date.

[Jaded]

I've done our own passport photos for the last 5 years or so. Taken against a neutral background, printed o the colour laser, cut to size with a craft knife.

[iakobski]

I suppose 'colour' can't be taken to mean 'infra red' or 'blue' can it?...

 

Only visible light has a "colour", so infra red is not a colour.

A blue photograph would be a monochrome photograph, not a colour one.

[mr magnolia]

http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/downloads/photos.pdf

Second line of "Photographss must be"

and if you open the guide for professional photographers you can see that 'black and white or colour photos are acceptable'

ho hum

I suppose 'colour' can't be taken to mean 'infra red' or 'blue' can it?...

 

Only visible light has a "colour", so infra red is not a colour.

A blue photograph would be a monochrome photograph, not a colour one.

  yeahbut, I mean a print of an infra red photo - that comes in colours, innit?

 

[mr magnolia]

My Query by email:

Good afternoon.

I wish to submit a passport application with a Black and White Photograph, as all my previous ones have been.


*   Your printed guidance obtained from the Post Office makes no
mention of whether photos should be Colour/Black and White
*   Your web page 'standards for passport photographs' makes no
mention of whether photos should be Colour/Black and White
*   Your PDF web guidance for individuals says they should be
colour.
*   Your PDF web guidance for professionals says they may be Black
and White or Colour


Can you confirm to me that Black and White photography is accepted by you?

thanks in advance

The Reply:

Thank you for your enquiry

We will accept black and white photos provided that they meet all of the other guidelines stated on the photo leaflet.

Thank you.
Customer service e-mail team

Hurrah for style and a vague opportunity to look human in a passport photo!!

[Dunedin]

I've done our own passport photos for the last 5 years or so. Taken against a neutral background, printed o the colour laser, cut to size with a craft knife.

False moustache added....

ala Day of The Jackal?