Goodbye Old Friend: Nikon Coolpix

James got his chubby little fingers on my old camera last week and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. In fairness, it the lens hadn't been quite right for few years. However, with his 'adjustments' the camera kept using up its battery to open/close the lens.

On numerous occasions over recent years, friends have scoffed when I pulled my Nikon Coolpix from 2005, gaffing at just how old m bulk camera could be. I didn't replace it for so many reasons:

1. I liked its bulk. I could always find it in what ever bag I'd stashed it in.
2. The picture quality was excellent! 4.0 megapixels has always been plenty for my 4x6's. If I get wild and crazy and make a large print, it's only up to an 8x10. 

My husband and I both researched new cameras. If I wasn't going abroad, I would have stuck to an iphone, but that would require a 2 year contract to a cell phone company to get one I can afford and I'm not in a position to do so. (I currently have a Virgin-Mobile contract free phone.) I found the following websites most helpful:

www.productadvisor.com - you can search cars, cameras, and tvs by choosing your desired price, features, and prioritizing.

www.cnet.com - always a go-to site for techy reviews,you can get professional reviews as well as reviews from the community.

When it was all said and done, I ended up buying another Nikon Coolpix mainly because it came with CMOS and 14x wide zoom. The price was right with a big rebate at BJ's wholesale club. Plus there was major brand loyalty.

Once we put the new camera to the test, I will review.

Failed Passport Photo Attempts

Let me just say that I wish we had enough disposable income to hire an actual photographer with an actual studio and real editing software to do the passport photos. If you have the money, that's the way to go! However, we don't have the money and staying at home, I do have the time for trial and error. Let me share my experiences of error:

My first attempt was Walmart. Yes, Walmart. As with many things, it was just cheap and convenient, so I had to give it a go. But sometimes you get what you pay for. There are three ID photos at my local Walmart ready for me to pick up, but I won't be picking them up. I don't believe any of them meet regulation requirements. Pretty much, they would be great examples of what not to submit.

What happened was the guy who was working the photo desk told me he wasn't sure their success rate, as no one came back to let them know. Luckily, I was somewhat familiar with the guidelines having tried it myself. By the time we left, I can say he was a nice older guy who really wanted to help, but simply didn't know the rules or how to use a digital camera well.

To show James (19 months) how this worked, I had some myself first. I already have a passport but figured they may be good to have on hand for visas, or upcoming resident permits. When he showed me mine, I had glare on my glasses. I pointed this out and told him I'd take them off, but he acted like he didn't hear. He used the digital camera like there was precious film inside and didn't want to waste them by taking more than one shot.

James was next. He kept sticking his tongue out. The picture we got was good, he was natural, not smiling and facing the camera squarely, but his tongue was out. When I pointed this out, he again seemed not to hear. Again, just one photo was taken of James.

After I told him how to do Caterina's (lay her on the floor with a background behind) he didn't know what to do. He got some shiny photo paper to lay down. When I said that was too shiny, he got another kind of shiny photo paper. It didn't matter because the one photo he got of her, she was turning her head and crying.


My second attempt was CVS. This was a short experience because the photo kiosks were down. I wouldn't be able to print my own out myself (which costs $8.00 anyway!) Or have them do it for $7.99, I would have had to stand and wait for more than 20 minutes and come back another time to pick up the pictures. Returning wasn't a big deal, but waiting around and then expecting my darling babies to cooperate and not scream while they were being photographed was pushing it. Plus, I noticed the screen was at the front of the store where my son wouldn't be able to reisit smiling and saying "hi" to everyone who came in and "bye" to everyone who left. No thanks.

Believe it or not, these couple of trials wasted a couple of days when it was all said and done. I figured with the time wasted, I might as well give it a go myself again.

Applying for Passports with babies in Person

Doesn't that just sound like fun? Going to the post office when Mom and Dad are both available (so over Daddy's lunch break in our case) then standing in the 20+ person line and the 2 or 3 Postal Employees take everyone one at a time? Even better, getting sent home when it's your turn! And not because we did the paperwork wrong or forgot something.

If you go to the US Passport Application site, you can punch in your zipcode and it will give you a list of the closest application centers and their details. As it turns out, a lot of those details are incorrect.

We opted to meet at the large Post Office half way between our home and Chris' office for obvious reasons over his lunch break. For any minors applying for a passport, from what I understand, both parents have to apply in person with the minors. Both of the parents names have to be on the birth certificate or documentation provided.

I got the hours off the website, it said appointments preferred so I tried calling to make an appointment but no one answered and there was not voicemail. Oh well, preferred, right? It wasn't the only thing the website was wrong about, it turns out you can only pay with credit card at a few major centers.

So on our first day, I waited in line for 20 minutes. James ate his PBJ bit by bit and Caterina slept. I rocked the stroller back and forth so Caterina would continue to think we were moving and stay asleep. The guy in line behind me who was saving room for my double stroller was chastised by they guy behind him for not cramming together more, as if that would make the line go faster. Chris joined us and waited another 10 or 15 minutes until it was our turn.

We went to the booth, documents and applications in hand saying we were there to apply for passports. Rather than apologizing or delivering the news sweetly, the postal employee was apparently dumbfounded that we didn't have an appointment. We had to make one the next day, again over lunch hour, but later. Definitely nap time. Buh-bye.

We went through the whole ordeal the next day, except Caterina was awake and needed to be rocked and fed. At least the postal employee who "helped us" left to take her lunch break and we got a much nicer person. Not only did she apologize for all of the misinformation (and she asked us about it, we didn't complain to her!) but she complimented our baby passport photos. After the trials and errors, it was music to my ears. (Yea ePassportPhotos.com!)

$210 later, I don't want to calculate the actual time cost, it's all over and hopefully the next thing I'll have to report about our children's passports is their arrival! We expect them in 4 weeks.

ePassportPhoto.com Review

Taking our own baby passport pics

I was a bit skeptical of epassport.com for a number of reasons, but mostly because their prices aren't up front. To me, they lead on as though they are a free service, but as it turns out, they cost $7.99 for two passport photos, just like the cheaper chain options. It seemed to me that it was like taking your passport pictures yourself, but paying for them to double check.

In summary, I would recommend ePassortPhoto.com. Here's why:

The cost is the same as the cheapest photo service, even at the big chains: Currently $7.99 for the first, then 20% off the second. You can have them sent to you, or pay for the same day pick up option, as I did, and end up paying for a 4x6 and tax. My total was $.41 for the two.

Don't think they'd take this one...

It is very reassuring knowing that after all the struggle to get baby passport pictures, there is a 99%+ chance they will be approved.


It was very easy. Not that photo kiosks or online photo services are that difficult, but for some reason a task that ought to take a minute or two always takes 15 minutes and is frustrating because something always goes wrong, especially at the in store kiosks. For an average 4x6, no biggie, but for official passport/visa photos, everything has to be regulation so you do have to keep at it until it is just perfect.

The "studio"

This is how it worked for me:

1. After failed attempts at a couple chain locations, and determined not to spend the fees of a professional photographer, I went onto www.epassportphoto.com.
2. Based on theirs and suggestions of many websites, I bought a piece of plain, non-shiny white tag board.  In our brightest artificially lit room, I taped the tag board to the wall so it was the right height for James (19 months.) My husband and I practiced showing him how to stand and look at the camera without smiling. We snapped tons of pictures and caught a couple decent ones. Unfortunately our best had a huge shadow (it was before we'd figured out the best lighting.)
3. I uploaded it to their facebook page, where an expert confirmed there was too much shadow. As a side note, depending on your facebook settings, all of your friends can see and comment on this picture. If you haven't dropped the "we may be moving abroad" bomb to your loved ones, this could blow you cover. My mother's 60-something year old bestie saw it and told my mother.
4. I toyed with the lighting and shadows on my scrapbooking/digital photo organizing software (Creative Memories Memory Manager) and did my best corrections.
5. The doctored photo was uploaded to ePassportPhoto.com and I dragged their box over the picture to confirm the size was to regulation. 
6. When I got to the final page, I saw how much the cost was for the first time, but went for it anyway. 
7. I chose to pick it up from the store because I didn't want to wait for the 5-10 shipping.

Upon getting the discount, I decided to use ePassportPhoto.com for Caterina's picture, too. I mean, it wasn't going to be cheaper anywhere else and if she had bouts of the newborn wailing, at least it would just be in my home. For Caterina (1 month,) I:

That was easy!

1. Laid the tagboard over a thick baby blanket on the bed so it wouldn't wrinkle/crease. She laid in the middle.
2. She actually cooperated and I got several really cute shots that were good with lighting and shadows. The best photo was uploaded to ePassportPhoto.com and I dragged their box over the picture to confirm the size was to regulation.
   When I got to the final page, I saw how much the cost was for the first time, but went for it anyway. 
3. Again, chose to pick it up from the store because I didn't want to wait for the 5-10 shipping.

 See how much easier it is when the baby cooperates?

I got emails confirming the orders, then confirming that the pictures were "resolved" which apparently means, ready. Or as it turns out, it took 2 days. The store was having issues with their machine, but no big deal - it wasn't the website's fault, but it would be nice if they would have waited to "resolve" the order, it would have saved me a trip.

That wasn't as easy