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I would wear something nice, either professional or semi-professional. I would then stand infront of a solid background, and have a friend/spouse/parent/etc. take a passport-style headshot photo
 
- iPhone X portrait mode.
- Google Pixel.
- Go to a professional place.
 
Even iphone 7's have 12-megapixel rear camera's and portrait mode. Have someone take 30 and you're bound to get at least one that you like.
 
I have a semi-professional picture of me wearing a shirt and tie. Is this sufficient, or do I need a picture of me in a suit?
 
Why on earth would you want to have a picture that is just mediocre? This will be the first that a medical school will actually see you. Wouldnt make sense be as professional and sharp as possible. A Premed attitude should always be beyond just ok

I guess it depends on the school. My school does not look at the photos until interview day. They are then provided to the interviewers. Only 1 in 1,000 ever gets looked at after the the interviews and often that is to look at a resting-b1tch-face that could explain the personality quirks that an interviewer took issue with.
 
Only 1 in 1,000 ever gets looked at after the the interviews and often that is to look at a resting-b1tch-face that could explain the personality quirks that an interviewer took issue with.
OML dying 🤣. @LizzyM IS A BLESSING TO SDN.
 
I guess it depends on the school. My school does not look at the photos until interview day. They are then provided to the interviewers. Only 1 in 1,000 ever gets looked at after the the interviews and often that is to look at a resting-b1tch-face that could explain the personality quirks that an interviewer took issue with.
You are missing out on a powerful situational judgement test!
 
I just feel badly for the financially pinched applicant who feels shut out for lack of cash. Putting on the clothing one would wear to interview (or at least the top half of the outfit) and posing in front of a blank wall for a friend with a decent camera (or iPhone) should be sufficient for the university's purposes. This shouldn't cost anything but a bit of time.
 
Life tip: for cheap passport sized photos, take a photo with a white background, upload it to My new passport photos to make size adjustments, etc and print it at CVS/Walmart/etc. Less than $0.50 for 6 🙂

Biggest mistake people make is having insufficient lighting, oddly directed lighting or overrelying on the flash. You want lots of diffuse light. Ask family/friends, anyone semi competent at photography will be able to take an pretty good headshot.
 
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I just feel badly for the financially pinched applicant who feels shut out for lack of cash. Putting on the clothing one would wear to interview (or at least the top half of the outfit) and posing in front of a blank wall for a friend with a decent camera (or iPhone) should be sufficient for the university's purposes. This shouldn't cost anything but a bit of time.
Iphone photos are great. Nobody needs to spend cash for their photo.
 
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