Oh! Something I took a part in on HN. That's a first. Almost everything there was practical. Highly recommend checking out all of Max's work, beaming with creativity.
So its not mentioned on the post but is this your actual passport photo that was accepted and used and you have it on your physical passport right now?
In both of the two European countries I've been involved in a passport application for, we had to bring photos along, which we got taken by a photographer in a copy store. There was no certification of the photographer involved that I'm aware of, just the usual list of requirements for the photo that they had to follow.