Put on a solid colored shirt. No stripes or fancy designs. This distracts from your face, what the photo is designed to capture for security purposes.
Style your hair in a normal manner. Do not dye your hair a funny color, such as purple or blue, or style it in a fashion that will detract from your face. For example, no Mohawks, no face-covering bangs, no over-the-top Afros.
Remove any large pieces of jewelry. The passport photo is not a fashion shoot, it is a security photo. Anything that may detract from your face in the photo can cause a denial.
Do not wear color-changing contacts. You will need to cite your true eye color on your passport paperwork. By wearing color-changing contacts, the document and picture won't match, resulting in your passport request being denied.
Go to your local Walgreens, Wal-Mart or U.S. Post Office and have them take your passport picture on their certified U.S. Passport background. They will then cut the pictures properly for them to be affixed to the passport paperwork.
