Picture Day

Last Friday I visited a local Walgreens to get my photo taken for the visa application.

The China Consulate website has meticulous rules for how the visa applicant’s photo ought to look. A detailed 11 point bulletin is posted to the consulate site to help applicants with the procedure. It is accompanied by the gentle suggestion to print the bulletin and take it to the photo session for clarity’s sake.

Our government has not been as precise with passport/visa specifications however and in the past this has caused a bit of a run-around. The last time I applied for a visa to China, I had to get my photo retaken 4 times. One of those was at a professional studio. That ordeal cost more than $100 in the end and I  had only 2 photos that were usable.

I was pleasantly surprised at my photo session this time to discover Walgreens’ updated 7 point check system and face-measurement software. Each checkpoint point either lists “passed” in green or “not passed” in red. This makes for better accuracy. We did have to redo the takes once, but at no extra cost.

As use of tech for face recognition enters the mainstream, requirements for visual data like photos will also become more meticulous.

My photos passed the Walgreens test with no problems. Here’s hoping the China Consulate feels the same.