When preparing to get your new passport and passport photos in order, one of the most asked questions is where the best place to go to get them is. In this case, Walgreens and CVS are the two most frequently discussed locations. So, when it comes to convenience, pricing and photo size requirements, which store will best serve your passport photo needs?
Let’s find out in the article below!
How to Prepare your Passport Photo for Walgreens or CVS
While many locations like Walgreens or CVS will take your passport photo for you right on the spot, there’s a much easier way that’s also less time-consuming. This involves taking the photo yourself, uploading it to a specialized photo software tool and editing it online.
With an application like AiPassportPhotos, you have all of the tools you need to edit your photo to perfection so that it not only meets any passport photo requirements but also makes you look your best. Every time you take a look at your passport photo, you’ll be satisfied with the final result each time.
All you have to do is take a photo at eye-level so that your picture has a clear shot of your face with no hair or accessories obstructing it.
Don’t worry about the background, either. While a plain white or grey background is supplied for you when taking your passport photo in person, AiPassportPhotos has the ability to erase any objects or color behind you and replace it with a blank white background that’s perfect for passport photo requirements.
AiPassportPhotos also has many sharpening tools that can improve the picture quality in case you submit a slightly blurry photo. Because of this, you don’t need to worry at all about taking a perfect picture like a professional. Just use tools like photo enhancement, color correction, photo retouching and others that take seconds to complete and you’ll have the perfect passport photo.
Walgreens vs CVS: Time
When it comes to preparing documents of any kind in person, time is always one of the most important factors. No one wants to wait in line for over an hour to fill out a form and submit a picture, or any other simple task that should only take about 5 minutes to complete.
Unfortunately, it can also be very difficult to determine whether one store is faster than another because this often depends on its location and the time of day you are visiting it.
When it comes to the time of day, you are best off going as early as possible. While most CVS and Walgreens stores open at the same time, around 8am or 9am, you can feel free to visit whichever one is open earlier if that option is available to you.
But no matter which store you go to, the best way to make the trip as fast as possible is to take and prepare your photo online beforehand, and then bring a copy with you so that it can be printed there.
Walgreens vs CVS: Pricing
If you’re aiming to go to the cheapest store no matter what, you will definitely be better off going to Walgreens over CVS. While CVS currently charges $16.99 for a passport photo, Walgreens currently only charges $14.99 for one. While it’s only two dollars cheaper, Walgreens will still be the better option as long as the line-up isn’t too long.
Having said that, there are some important things about Walgreens’ other photo deals that you should know about. While it costs $14.99 for a single 2×2 passport photo, Walgreens also offers 4×6 prints that will only cost 37 cents each to print. This is another deal you can take advantage of if you want to print out regular photographs alongside your passport photo.
Keep in mind that the 4×6 print costs drops to 25 cents per print if you choose to buy 75 prints or more.
Get the Best Price
It brings us to a very important tip you will want to hear – how you can take advantage of Walgreens’ extremely cheap 4×6 deal to produce your own 2×2 passport photo! This will have you paying only $0.37 instead of the full $14.99. But how can you do that? By using AiPassportPhotos to take a perfectly angled, positioned and cropped photo.
Once you’ve taken your photo and uploaded it to AiPassportPhotos, you can opt to produce a 4×6 version of it. The key is to make sure your face is perfectly centered so that it can still be made into a 2×2 photo when cut out with scissors. As long as you measure it so that your face takes up the 2×2 dimensions, you’re all good to go!
Make sure to keep in mind the US passport photo requirements when opting for this trick. Your entire head should take up about 1.3 inches of the photo from your chin to the top of your head. Additionally, the top of your head should be a quarter inch or half an inch away from the top of the photo, leaving just a bit of white space in between.
In Summary
While both Walgreens and CVS are perfectly valid options, the odds are that you will be better off going to Walgreens. Their passport photo prices are two dollars cheaper, and you can save some serious money by taking advantage of their 4×6 photo print option to pay less than a dollar for your passport photo.
The only time you should probably consider going to CVS is if the nearest Walgreens to you is either too far or too busy. As much as everyone likes to save a couple bucks, saving a couple hours is sometimes much more important.
Conclusion
Getting your passport photos can be very affordable, especially if you take the pictures yourself and simply print them out at either CVS or Walgreens. And with AiPassportPhotos, it’s all automated, making things even easier!
Erin Lo 
Dolores Xiao