Sainsbury’s Photo Booth: All About In-Store Service – And Online Method for £2.95
Whether you need digital passport photos or a printed set, Sainsbury’s is a go-to for both. If you’re unfamiliar with how their services work, read our complete guide to learn all ins and outs.
Plus, learn a way to save over 60% on your pictures in the last section of this article.
Contents
Are Photo Booths at Sainsbury’s Open?
Yes, they’re still using Photo-Me machines, but there’s more to it.
Although there are more than 1,400 Sainsbury’s stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, not all of them have photo booths installed at their premises.
Your best bet to find a passport photo booth is to visit a local Sainsbury’s superstore, as these supermarkets often have one or two of those. Yet it never hurts to check if there is a photo booth beforehand—to do that, use the store locator below.
How Much is a Sainsbury’s Passport Photo?
The total price depends on the type of document you need pictures for.
Namely, standard passport photos cost £8.
For this price, you’ll get a set of five printed pictures and a digital code. The price is the same in all stores, whatever Sainsbury’s passport photo booth you use.
How Much Are Pictures for Other Documents?
In case you’re looking for ID photos or international passport photos, the prices will vary. Usually, it’s between £8 and £10, depending on what identification you need.
Where Can I Find a Sainsbury’s Passport Photo Booth Near Me?
We don’t recommend simply looking it up on Google. As mentioned earlier, not every local Sainsbury’s store has a photo booth.
Instead, use their store locator to find branches that have Photo-Me or other passport photo booths in them.
Here’s how:
- Access the Sainsbury’s Website: Go to the official store locator
- Specify Your Location: Enter your postcode or city and click on the looking glass icon. Alternatively, you can auto-search using your current location
- Look Through Your Options: You’ll see a map with all stores in your area. Filter out the ones where you can get a Sainsbury’s passport photo: in the top left, click Filters, then Customer Facilities and put a checkmark on Photo Booth
- Select a Suitable Location: Pick a branch and click on its icon (twice) to see the store details (like contact information and opening hours) and get directions
How to Take a Picture in a Sainsbury’s Photo Booth?
When used, these in-store photo machines give you clear and concise instructions on what to do. However, if you need to get a general impression of how the process looks like, here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Find a Photo Machine and Start It Up: Come to a Sainsbury store equipped with a photo booth. Check that it’s vacant and take a seat in front of the touchscreen. Tap the screen to start
- Have Your Image Taken: Select the option with passport photos, look through the examples of photo booth pictures and hit OK. You’ll see a guiding oval—sit upright and adjust so that your head is inside it, then tap OK. After a countdown, the photo booth will take an image of you, check it against the HM passport office rules and show you a preview. If you’re happy with how it looks, tap OK
- Check Out: On the shopping basket screen, select a quantity (one set is usually enough) and a payment method. Hit OK one last time and make the payment (standard passport photos cost £8). Once it’s processed, the photo booth will print out five copies of your new passport picture and give you a digital code
How to Save Money on Sainsbury’s Passport Photos
In-store photo booths are very easy to use and convenient, but they’re also relatively expensive. Thankfully, there’s a way to save over 60%: make a new passport photo online from a regular snapshot of yourself—for as low as £2.95!
With a picture prepared this way, you’ll be able to either submit it online (without any additional charges) or have it printed in any Sainsbury’s or other store (for under a pound).
This method is even easier than Sainsbury’s photo booths: you won’t need to look for participating branches and scroll through store details to find a suitable place. All you need is a camera smartphone and Internet connection.
Here’s how you get a passport photo online using PhotoBooth:
1. Take a Casual Photo
Grab your camera phone and take a regular photo of yourself. It can be any size as long as your entire head and upper shoulders are within the frame. Also, you don’t need to look for a plain background (like the one used in passport photo booths)—your background can be absolutely anything.
2. Upload the Photo
Open this page and tap the green button at the bottom of the screen. You’ll be asked to choose a photo to add—upload the image you’ve just taken. Once uploaded, it’ll be cropped to the standard UK passport photo aspect ratio. Then, we’ll remove its background, replacing it with a uniform light grey colour.
3. Preview and Verification
As soon as the processing is over (it takes less than a minute), you’ll see a preview of your passport photo. Have a good look at it—to make sure you like how your new photograph looks before you go on. If you aren’t happy, retake the photo as many times as you need (which isn’t an option in a passport photo booth).
Once you take a photo you love, we’ll check your image, ensuring it’s in line with the official passport photo requirements and size. Then, you’ll be taken to the final step.
4. Check Out
Once at the checkout page, you’ll have two packages to choose from:
- DIGITAL – £2.95: Includes a single digital image, a photo code and a convenient passport photo printing template. As for the single image and the code, you can use either of them to submit your application to the HM Passport Office online—without any further charges. If you need printouts for your paper application, bring the print-ready template to any suitable place (including Sainsbury’s) and have it printed—usually it costs less than a pound.
- DIGITAL + PRINTOUT – £6.95: Includes all of the above and four 35×45 photos printed out on premium paper—the printouts will be shipped to you in a couple of days for free.
Summary
Even today, a classic passport photo booth remains a tried-and-tested method to get compliant images. With our guide, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding and using one of Sainsbury photo booths.
However, the online method allows you to save time and get a valid photo in a few minutes, without worrying about opening times or even leaving your home. What’s more, you get to save money, too!
While Sainsbury’s photo booths cost at least £8, PhotoBooth pictures are £2.95 to £6.95 only, depending on the package you choose.
For example, you can get a digital passport photo here for £2.95 and then print it out in a local store. With Sainsbury’s photo printing prices, it’ll cost less than a pound—the overall cost will be less than £4! Plus, unlike many services, PhotoBooth offers a 100% money-back guarantee in the unlikely case your photo is rejected.
Be sure to give it a try!