Digital photo - how are you getting it?

[minkathebest]

I am seeing some horror stories of photos getting rejected on OCI. How are people getting their digital photos taken?

[Donald_Trump]

I am seeing some horror stories of photos getting rejected on OCI. How are people getting their digital photos taken?

I have never had any issues in doing the digital photos (Have applied for OCI for 4 members of my family). You just capture your passport photo and then use any of the several free editing apps/sites available to convert the photo to the specification pixel size. It's pretty easy and straight forward!

[dvpatel]

I have never had any issues in doing the digital photos (Have applied for OCI for 4 members of my family). You just capture your passport photo and then use any of the several free editing apps/sites available to convert the photo to the specification pixel size. It's pretty easy and straight forward!

Same here. I have used an online service to generate my passport photos for 15 years. It used to be called ePassportPhotoNow.com. Now, its just called ePassportPhoto.com

They have instructions for all kinds of photos. You follow instructions, make sure there are no shadows and then upload the photo to their site. They have a tool which will crop and size your photo correctly and make 4x passport photos on ONE JPG which they will return to you for a download. They also will send it to Walgreens for a print but charge money. I just get the JPG, edit it to make it 6 photos (last column is their Ad) and upload it to the Walmart for printing. 15 - 20 cents and I get SIX photos.

I then crop that to the correct OCI specs and upload it and send a cut version of the physical printed photo at Wallymart.

Never had any issues. Family of 6 including grand parents and 3x US Passport renewals, 6 OCI original applications, 5 OCI renewals and one OCI reIssue for my daughter. Never an issue either with the US folks or the OCI/India folks directly at the embassy (original applications) or VFS/Travisa.

[Liberty48]

Please consider the photo size limit when uploading to the govt website. I tried all the apps to save money, and I am done with those now. Just get the "costly" passport photo service from Walgreens or a local store, FedEx, or others locally. Renewing passport and OCI will be part of life once you get a foreign citizenship. If you are renewing your passport, get extra copies for OCI. I took a picture of the photo using my phone and cropped it. Please make sure you have good lighting.

dvpatel how do you get the white background? Do you have props/screens/lighting at home, or does the app remove the background? Do you have someone take the picture, or does a selfie work? Please share. Some others can save money.

[dvpatel]

dvpatel how do you get the white background? Do you have props/screens/lighting at home, or does the app remove the background? Do you have someone take the picture, or does a selfie work? Please share. Some others can save money.

I use a white bedsheet as a back ground. Use push pins on dry wall to hold it folded in half. We tried the iPhone but lighting in the house is not that great. Pulled out the DSLR and took portraits in it. Did have to use basic Windows Photo editor to correct the light to make the background white. After correcting, upload to ePassportPhoto.com and get the correct size and send to Walmart for printing. You get 4 photos for 12 cents.

I took everyone's photos and had one of the kids take my photo from the same spot. DSLR was on AUTO with flash OFF.

[NexusExplorer]

I have attempted to take my own pictures using special apps and the regular camera, but I was dissatisfied with the outcomes. The quality was poor, my face was slanted a bit or even worse, the picture was denied. I have since used expert help in photography shops with taking pictures, and I am pleased with the results, and I have never been rejected since using their services. In addition to receiving the digital copy of my photo, I have some physical prints of my pictures as a bonus. 😊

[Louies]

Digital photos are captured and processed through several key stages. Once the photo is stored, it can be viewed on the camera's screen, transferred to a computer or other devices, and edited using software to adjust aspects like exposure, contrast, and color balance.