I need to renew my passport and none of the photo studios in my regional area of Mie can take photos up to the standard of the Australian passport photo requirements.
They ‘only have’ blue backgrounds.
Any recommendations for photo studios around the area of the Australian consulate in Osaka?
Edit: Australia’s requirements state:
NO photobooths
NO self photography
NO convenience store printing
NO blue background (or retouching of the background colour)
Second edit: I called the Australian Consulate General in Osaka. They confirmed NO PHOTOBOOTH under any circumstances because Canberra will reject the pictures.
They couldn’t recommend me a photo studio as the one that used to be nearby closed down during covid and said as a last resort they can MAYBE take a picture for me but I have to turn up with a photo anyway to show I tried.
Was also told to try ‘less regional’ カメラのキタムラ stores and hope to find stores that have a white background available but warned that photo rejections are always possible because ‘Canberra is really strict’.
Thanks to the Aussies who recommended specific Photo Studios. You bloody rippers.
Third edit for those doubting Australia’s passport photo requirements when renewing your passport from Japan.
From the Tokyo Embassy Website:
https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyo/infopassports.html#photos
https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyo/passports.html
“Passport photos taken in photobooths are rejected so please use a photo shop. The photo background must be white/grey. Retouched/edited photos and glasses are not permitted. Photos with digitally altered backgrounds will be rejected.”
Japanese camera operator’s guide for taking Australian standard photos in Japan:
https://japan.embassy.gov.au/files/tkyo/CameraOperatorGuideSep2021JPN.pdf
22 comments
No idea about Osaka. However, look for where the Japanese Passport Office is on the map, there should hopefully be a photoshop next door. Take your specs there, they’ll know what to do.
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I recently did my USA one, I used the Ki-Re-i photobooth, and I chose to do a photo download instead of printing. With the photo on my phone, I was able to take it to Lawson and print it there perfectly. Maybe the Lawson has the dimensions you need as well
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I renewed my Australian passport in Osaka last year and used this photo studio:
Studio 728
〒530-0012 Osaka, Kita Ward, Shibata, 2 Chome−1−3 梅仙堂ビル 5F
Its not exactly in the area of the consulate but its pretty central in Umeda, about 5 minutes walk from the station. It was super easy, I just gave them the sheet with all the specifications and they got it sorted for me.
I had no issues with the passport renewal using their photos.
I had my Australian passport renewed recently and also didn’t want to risk the photo booths. So I went to Kitamura Camera – they are a huge chain and usually the bigger stores will also do ID photos, they even check the country requirements for you.
I’m based in Tokyo, but I’m pretty sure there are stores in Osaka as well!
Looks like there is a Palette Plaza near Australian embassy, Osaka. I have had my ID photo taken at one of the Palette Plaza studios in Tokyo.
[https://goo.gl/maps/mcmFzVMpPm1gp8oe6](https://goo.gl/maps/mcmFzVMpPm1gp8oe6)
Even in Kanagawa, this proved a tricky propsition when I had to renew a couple of years ago. After having a local studio meet all the requirements, I *still* had to have the photo taken again weeks later and resubmitted because they weren’t quite right.
I really feel for you when everyone is blithely saying “Just use a photobooth, they can’t tell!”
Call the embassy and ask them which photo studios in particular can specifically meet their dumb requirements — that’s what I did when I called the embassy in Tokyo.
It’s a fucking joke at how strict they are with the photo requirements, as if I didn’t take my first passport photo in some dingy room at the back of an Aus Post
Kitamura Camera can do Australian passport photos. They have multiple backdrops and have a reference guide which they follow for different countries. There are stores in Mie.
The consulate told me there were no suitable photo places near them and they took my photo themselves. Ring them and ask if they still do it.
Can you advise where you’re getting the requirements from? I looked at the guidelines and I can’t see anything against photobooths, self-shot photos, or convenience stores.
[https://www.passports.gov.au/getting-passport-how-it-works/photo-requirements](https://www.passports.gov.au/getting-passport-how-it-works/photo-requirements#:~:text=Photos%20have%20to%20be%2035mm,with%20a%20minimum%20of%2032mm)
You say there are no photo studios with blue backgrounds, but you can overexpose the background (using lights) to the point that it appears pure white in the resulting photo. I’d be surprised if the photo studios couldn’t do that.
Can you search for pallet plaza? パレットプラザ. They are here in Tokyo and I know they can do a white background. It’s where I take myself and kids for our US passport pics.
I had my passport done last month. I had a photo studio take a photo for me specifically with a white background. There was a very slightly partial shadow on my face and the pasport office told me to take it again. (They allowed me to just send photo data rather than photos again)
I went back to the photo studio and they retook it for free.
It did cost 1600 yen but yeah. A price you have to pay I suppose (on top of the 41000 for the actual passport).
After my photo got accepted, it took less than a week to get my new passport. Damn it looks nice compared to the one I got 10 years ago. I mean it better for how much it costed.
How do they tell if a photo was taken at the booth or at a studio?
I’m expert on this after my experience. You have to go to a photo shop. I tried to fool them with photo booth. But no. You gotta go to a photo shop. I didn’t read your post it was too long. I used pallet plaza or something. It’s gonna cost about 2000. After reading I see you already know all this.
So I literally did mine this/last month. Read off all the info (and showed a JP version) to the studio, who said yeah yeah no worries and then put me in front of a blue background.
They said it’s fine. I wondered if it’s just some ass-backwards greenscreen type setup and also could not find anywhere else to do it in the emergency time frame I needed it, so I sent it.
Canberra rejected the prints and asked for a digital copy (yes you should 100% pay extra for a digital copy). I sent the digital copy and it got approved. Ripper.
When I got mine done a few years ago, I went to studio in Kobe and that pic got rejected cause of some yellow behind my ear. In the end I just did it at a photo booth and it got accepted. I used to do some work at Aus Post so I understand how strict they can be with regards to the pics 🥲
Not sure if a Kinko’s would work or how you’re getting there, but there’s one somewhat near the Australian Consulate:
Kinko’s、〒530-0027 Osaka, Kita Ward, Doyamacho, 2−1 大阪東急ＲＥＩホテル1F
Thanks for this post as I’m renewing my Aussie passport sometime this year!
Wow, last month I renewed my UK passport using a selfie taken on my phone. Can’t believe my country’s bureaucracy is actually doing something comparatively reasonable