How difficult can it be to get passport photos at a reasonable price?

This may seem trivial but it’s no joke. US Passports apparently require only 2 photos hence most photo printing services give you 2 photos for a fee of around $13. Side note – photo services are provided by most pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens etc. Yes, pharmacies! Quite a weird business combination!

Enter Indian bureaucracy. It turns out; Indian bureaucracy doesn’t go very well with the United States of Convolution. Indian passport application asks for 6 copies which puts these pharmacies in a spin. Confronted by an Indian asking for 6 copies the only solution they have is 6 copies for $13 X 3 = $39!!

It was going to cost 3 of us $117 and I decided to not bow down to this system.

Step 1: Persuade. Went into a CVS, told him we need 6 copies so he can charge something reasonable for the extra copies. He nodded his head as if he understood. He took the pics, printed them out and then presents me with a $117 bill. I decline, argue, even beg but he chooses to throw away the pics in trash than give it to me for anything less than $117. I walk away.

Step 2: Asked a friend to realize that a particular CVS location does do additional copies for 50 cents each. When we drive 30 minutes to it, the person is available only 9-4 so we may have to come back on a Saturday. And he can’t confirm about the 50 cents trick. Probably something unofficial so we won’t know until we came back on Saturday

Step 3: Asked another friend and came to know that COSTCO (a wholesale discount store) does photos cheap. But we don’t have membership and asking some friend to come along just for that seems a bit too much for a trivial task!

Step 4: Realize that we are in the digital age!! Downloaded a DIY app on the iphone, clicked a picture which the app nicely arranges into a grid of 6 passport photos and print at home. But houses here have dim lighting so having bright light and removing shadows isn’t easy. The Indian passport application has clear instruction saying, “Home printed photos will be rejected”. Wherever they got that from!!

Step 5: Enter a Gujarati colleague who suggests a small shop owned by a fellow Gujarati who can do 6 passport photos for $12. I haven’t loved a Gujarati so much my entire life :)