Costco’s!
Have done this multiple times over the past several years for self, C and H, all satisfactory. On the contrary, H just renewed his passport and had his photo taken at the post office, the photos didn’t pass! We sent in old photos from Costco (he didn’t change that much!) and got his passport in the mail soon after.
Years ago we tried to save a few dollars and got the photos at CVS or Walgreen’s. Post office rejected them, we went back to drug store and had them retaken (no additional charge). Big hassle. When it was time for renewal, we had the post office do it as the agency accepting the documentation. They charge more but much more convenient. Our city clerk’s office also accepts passport paperwork and takes the official photos.
Used to get them at Costco but our local Costco stopped doing them.
Switched to Walgreens, was OK. The staff knew exactly what to do.
Then D needed quite a few pics for Study Abroad application, visas, foreign uni, etc. Walgreens was going to charge the full price for each set of duplicates, close to $100. I called a local camera/photo shop and they did the full number of pics needed for something like $10. I think theirs were 6 on a sheet and maybe 50 cents extra for a 2nd sheet.
I had third son go to AAA and took youngest to Costco for his since he doesn’t have an AAA membership. Both photos are fine. Second son got his at the USPS because we were in a time crunch so we did it all at once. BTW, you can now make appointments to get your paperwork processed at USPS online. D and I got ours in 2009 at a little place near the courthouse where I usually work.
I assume OP was upset because $16 plus time wasted is an annoyance.
I’m not sure our post office does them, and if they do, they are not open on Saturdays so I would have to take off work to do it there. I live in a very small town. When I initially got the passport, I went to this same Walgreen’s and everything was fine. I guess I was just extra irritable today and it hacked me off that she didn’t know what she was doing.
I’m not planning to mail the app for a couple of weeks because my D is going to South America and I don’t want to be without my passport while she is gone. I just wanted to be ready to mail it when she gets back because my S is going on a cruise in July, so I want to have time to get it back before then. It expires in early August. I hope this picture passes.
Thanks for all your suggestions. I feel better now. 
We have gotten our photos at Costco. We got 4 for $5, I believe and they were accepted with no problems. Costco is only 5 minutes from our house, so easy.
A couple suggestions - 1) Make sure you’ve read the guidelines yourself (someone else already posted them) and 2) If you’re paying a lot of money some place, ask them to show you how your photo lines up with the plastic overlay to show appropriate face and picture size so you can verify that it was done correctly. I’ve had photos taken at a few places over the years and they all had that guide. Don’t accept and pay for the photos if they don’t look right to you.
It honestly doesn’t matter what the reputation is of the company (ie Walgreens, Costco, etc.); the photos are only as good as the individual working at the location you visit on that particular day. I argued once that my daughter’s photos from Costco were not done right and the guy got very upset and insisted he’d never had photos rejected. We went to the county office that processes passports and the photos were rejected. We went back to Costco and the guy threw a fit and we had to fight to get new ones taken. He insisted we turn in the old ones (which we never argued about).
When we turned our passport application in at our local library, the woman was not impressed with the photo - she said NEVER get it done at a pharmacy. She showed me how DD’s hair covered up a bit of her eye, which is technically not allowed. She went ahead and submitted the application and it was approved, but I guess I will skip pharmacies in the future.
At home with white background, using cropping site then printing at CVS or Target. U can take as many shots as you want. I’ve done this multiple times, with no issues. Cropping site zooms so head is exact size. Follow rules of hair and dress from passport site.
I think I am going to go back today and make them do it again. My face is very dark (shadowy) because she didn’t use a flash. The size is ok. Since I only have about a 4-week turnaround for when I need to get it back, I don’t want the photo to be rejected.
If your passport expires in August, it might not be valid now to travel to many countries. Some require 90 days to remain on the passport, others 6 months. If I were you, I’d get the new pictures taken and send it in ASAP.
So I went back to Walgreen’s with the photo. They photoshopped it to “brighten” it up. At least now my skin is the right color. For someone so adamant about ears showing, she certainly had no problem photoshopping. I’m surprised she didn’t draw some ears on the photo. just kidding, but I will not be using them again for passport photos.