I should have read all the other 1 star reviews. I took my baby here to get international passport photos taken. It took an hour, which I was surprised about - lot of back and forth between the staff and someone on the phone who wasn't in the office about how to take the photo properly. Understand it's for a baby but I've had it taken elsewhere and it didn't take as long. They put the stamp on the back as required to document the photo location. However, the staff then put both photos in an envelope themselves. At home, I realize the photos stamps were smudged and called back. She said they had one photo left and could reprint another (did not talk about charging extra). The next day, I went to pick up the photos and was not told about any charges. When I saw the receipt when I got home, I was charged another $10 (so total $32) for 2 photos. The person took away my original smudged photos. When I called, the staff said that she had told me I would be charged half -- I really was not told this. To top it off, when I mailed my item, I asked for ups and he told me FedEx would be cheaper. When I got the FedEx price, I was surprised and asked for the ups price. Then the ups price was $30 cheaper... So can't even trust their guidance here. I'm really upset about the photos and feel that they charged me for photos where they made a mistake in printing, charged me where I was not told (I'm positive) and then took away my original photos so I only had 2 photos for $32. read more

This very unassuming storefront on busy Mission St. offers the usual mailing, fingerprinting, and notary services. Run by friendly, professional folks, A Foto also serves as a great place to have a few passport photos snapped. Not only do they offer a deal on photos (4 for $15), they really do want to make sure you're completely satisfied with the results; mirrors are available to adjust yourself pre-pose, and they even make suggestions for the best shot. Granted, it's only a photo, but it's a photo you'll have to live with for years to come. My one gripe is that after several shots to choose from, I'm still not totally satisfied with my picture. But I can't blame them for that. It's not their fault they can't cure ugly. read more

This place is the best... I needed a passport photo, so Yelp told me to come here. I walked in, the location is pretty big, and when I got there around 230 on a Monday, it was empty. Hassan warmly greeted me and within just a couple of minutes we were taking photos for my passport. The best part was after the images were taken, he handed me the camera to flip through and pick out the one I liked the best. When I didn't like any of them, I shyly asked if we could take one more. We took a few more, and again he let me pick. Yay! I still look stupid straight on, but this isn't a myspace picture, so its ok. The turn around time was less than five minutes to print them. In the meantime, he was really nice and made interesting small talk. It was $10 + tax for my 2 passport photos, and he threw in two more just because... Conclusion - Fast, friendly, and cheap service! Wowza! I wish I had a reason to come here more often and give them my business! read more

Got my passport taken today. It's the first place in SF that I went for passport pics that have a great photo lighting set up. It took 15 min and the photos look great. I'm impressed. read more

More great reviews for this place are probably repetitive, so I'll just say I got my $10.75 passport photos from the very nice owner of the shop, and I was in and out in under 10 minutes. Oh, and it was a great photo too. **UPDATE** I also ended up going here to have LiveScan fingerprints done, and again, I was done in under 10 minutes. read more

Thank you Yelp for bringing me here. The day before, i went to Walgreen's thinking, how bad could they be? OMG Walgreen's was bad. Really bad. At Walgreen's, they take a photo of yo under florescent lights, with a cheap camera. Walgreen's staff then lighten the photo so that the background is white. The final result? You will look jaundiced, faded and ugly. That was my experience. I decided to try again at A Foto. What a great experience! The man who helped me was very nice, took the photos with a decent Sony SLR camera, and let me choose which shot from the 12 or so that he took. The photos were terrific. He even gave me an extra photo for free as I mentioned Yelp. How's that for service? If you need nice passport photos, don;t go anywhere else! read more

Need a notary on Saturday? Need to do a DHL dropoff? Need to get yourself fingerprinted for some reason? I saw a lot of people in here, and as far as I can tell, none of them were doing anything involving video. I had to wait a while because they only had a single person on staff on Saturday, so I wasn't amazed. In reality, they get docked a full star because the guy (who did everything including notarize my stuff) tried to convince me that it's impossible to send a package on Saturday and have it delivered on Monday. He is a DHL dealer, so he wanted me to use DHL and have it picked up on Monday. Unfortunately for him, I know better. Other than that little (not so white) lie, it's a good place. Update 8/4/07: I was contacted by the proprietor of the establishment who promised that it was a lack of clear information, and he promises to not do it again. I'll bump him a half star for that kind of responsiveness. read more

Patient, professional and stellar results! I needed a passport photo and did not want to settle for a quick shot from my local Walgreens. I had actually gone and had some taken there and wasn't pleased with the results (I know, it's just a passport photo....that I'll have to look at for the next 10 years - no biggie). Anyway, I was running out of time and needed to make my way to another spot to accomplish this simple task. Referred to my first google search and came up with this establishment, liked what I read and hauled myself over there. Making my way down mission street was a bit tricky, since I kept feeling like I had already walked by it. However, tucked between two stores that sold everything under the sun was the spot I was looking for. When I walked in, I was taken aback by how clean, organized and welcoming it was. There were a couple of people in there but the gentleman that helped me made sure to acknowledge me. I told him that I needed passport photos and to send a package and we started with the photos. Not only did he give me test shots but he also helped me with my hair...yes, my hair. Before you roll your eyes, let me say this - I've got the wild curly fine hair that likes to do what it wants to do. Nuff said, he was patient and kind - who never made me feel bad for trying to correct my unruly locks. Six photos later, I was happy to pick the one that I wanted and send my package all in one spot. Hooray for errands that can be accomplished in a one stop shop manner, while make a lady feel okay to be photo picky! read more

Just needed to print a few pages quick and cheap. Easy, no hassle, will use again. no need to "login" or fees for the computer use. Just went in, put in my USB stick, printed what i needed, paid and was out in 5 min. read more

I would (and have) recommend this business to everyone. The hours and location are very convenient and they offer an array of services from fingerprinting to passport photos to international shipping. The staff is amazingly helpful, patient and willing to go out of their way to ensure you are happy with their services. I took care of all of the preparations there for my upcoming move to teach English in South Korea and this business was excellent every step of the way. Thanks guys! read more

These guys were great! They scanned 25 images for less than $20 - high quality, professionally done - and got it back to me on a burned CD in less than 24 hours. (kinko's had quoted me at $6 per scan plus another $5 to burn it onto a CD- $130) yeah - I'll got back here in a heart beat. read more

I was very distraught when I left A foto. There were two Indians working there and the lady was kind but the man was rude! I went there for fingerprint and passport photo and it literally took me 1 hour to get all that done. It's not like there were a lot of people. The guy was very rude and unprofessional. I have to say i was disappointed by their customer service. I felt like I was begging them to do me a favor. I was kind, quiet and didn't complain so I don't know why he felt like he had the right to be rude. When I walked in he was yelling at a customer so loud, I was so embarrassed for that customer. Overall, they suck! read more

Easy peasy quick and breezy! We needed our passport photos taken and that's what we got! Service was friendly, the process was quick and easy, and the cost was affordable! 2 passport photos for $10 or 4 for $14! Perks: - a cool saddle took the place of a boring stool - vanity mirror where you can check your teeth and practice your poses - brush and comb...if you dare :) read more

I needed to get my fingerprints live-scanned for an application, and I needed to get them done ASAP. On a list I found through the DOJ, A Foto was one of few that actually allowed you to schedule an appointment in advance so you wouldn't have to wait around AND they open at 7am. To my relief, when I called to schedule a 7am appointment on a Monday morning, the guy told me they were also open on Sundays. Yay! I would meet my deadline!! They moved across the street, still on Mission and just off 21st Street, and the place is still kind of a mess since they are getting settled still. The guy who scanned my fingerprints knew his stuff and he got me in an out in about half an hour. Not bad, especially since it was within 12 hours of talking on the phone with the dude. If you need your fingerprints done, I highly recommend A Foto Video Center! read more

This review is for the VHS to DVD transfer service only. When I viewed the DVD transfers, there was fluorescent green digital messaging flashing throughout the recording. Although media transfer quality depends on the age and state of the original source, I was not warned about how bad the results might be. I was also surprised to see that only 2 hours of a 6 hour tape was transferred. When I asked to have the whole 6 hour recording transferred, I was told (for the first time) that the charge was not $25 per tape as I was initially told, but $25 for every 2 hours of content -- making the cost to transfer a single VHS tape to DVD (with fluorescent green error messaging flashing across the screen) $75 plus tax. I was denied a refund, discount, or another transfer attempt. This was a waste of $54.38 for two useless recordings, one of which was incomplete. The only benefit I see from patronizing this business is the opportunity to give people the warnings I did not receive. I recommend using southtree.com for VHS to DVD transfers instead. Unlike A Foto, Southtree guarantees their work. For my first-time order for transferring the same two tapes I left with A Foto, I paid ~$30 (including shipping to and from the facility) for complete recordings of far superior quality. For an extra fee, you can have them delivered with signature required. The same two recordings at A Foto would have cost $108.76 with far inferior results. read more

I've been here twice and was not impressed. I needed an odd size box and came here to get one. I tried calling multiple times because I did not want to waste my time if they did not have the size I needed. But no one answered the phone or called me back when I left a message. So I went in and they actually did have it, but I thought the price was really high. As I walked out empty handed one of the guys told me I would not find it any cheaper. Well I actually did at The Packaging Store. This is a wonderful place and they actually answer their phone! It was $3 cheaper. I came back here last week knowing I would pay an extrodinary amount for a box but I was desperate and my time was limited. I paid $4.79 for a small 10"x10" box. I then realized I forgot my packaging tape. I asked if I could use some and he said that will be a dollar. I hate being nickeled and dimed. So I left without the tape and went to CVS across the street and bought a roll for $2. read more

They don't answer their phone during business hours. Called and got an automated message, when I hit the number to be transfered to a team member it rings 4 times then dumps me back into the same automated message. Ran this lap 5 times before giving up. If you can't do something as basic as answer the phone when it rings why would I trust you with my business? read more

So glad I moved out the neighborhood and this place is no longer my only option for printing services. The middle aged man who works there and wears the Tesla shirts is arrogant and moody, and they way overcharge for black and white prints. So long, A+! read more

EXCELLENT PASSPORT PHOTO SERVICE!!! I had a disappointing passport photo experience downtown and wound up here, following a Yelp review. The GOOD: - CONTROLLED LIGHTING / PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT: professional passport photo camera with controlled lighting equipment on both sides of your face, and from the camera as well, mixed with natural light, which gives excellent, natural results. No digital adjustment needed! - TEST PHOTOS / NO PRESSURE: Generous with test photos before printing. They didn't pressure me, allowed me plenty of time to fix my hair, my glasses, my clothes, and then they took a generous amount of test photos for me to choose from before they printed anything. That said, the test photos are really small so it's kind of hard to see on the camera and even worse on the tablet, but you still see enough that you can tell which photo you'd hate and which you like more. - NICE, KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE: Whoever was there was really friendly, nice. I don't know about you, but I prefer dropping my money where people are nice to me :) And they know their stuff, too. I was there for a US passport photo, but we talked about photos for different countries, and the guy produced a huge binder with all the current requirements from travel.state.gov ! The BAD: Not a thing. This is NOT a professional photo service, however, so don't expect the same quality and/or results. But for quick passport photos, this is probably as good as it gets. I paid $17 for 4 passport photos. Probably not that cheap, but given all the attention, the test photos, the friendliness, not a problem paying a couple extra dollars. Too bad it's still my face on those photos and not someone better looking, but I guess they can't help that. ;) Thank you so much. I'll be back for the visa photos! read more

Treating the customer without enough respect, no patient. I won't use their service again.

Came in to get my passport photo taken. It's the same address as the UPS store. Super quick, even though there were others in the store. Photo taken and even packaged, paid for, and dropped off my passport application. Seems like a great neighborhood spot to get your mail needs met read more

Needed 4 documents notarized, and it was taken care of quickly. He even noticed a mistake on one of the forms sent by my bank and corrected it. Top quality and fast service. Note: the address above says the shop is between 21st and 22nd, but it's actually between 20th and 21st. read more

My experience in this photo shop was really bad. Before going to taking passport photos, I already checked review from Yelp. It looked good in many reviews. However, the photo service and courier service were actually dissatisfied. My passport pictures were rejected since teeth were seen--before Officer called me I didn't know this requirement, but it should be taken care by this "professional" service. Pictures were taken on Saturday, but not picked up by FedEx until next Monday. I almost couldn't catch my flight due to resent qualified photos by other stores, wasted $80 and 2 weeks on bad services. read more

He didn't quit 'til I was beautiful! Amazing service for passport photos! The clerk sensed dissatisfaction after taking pics for my renewal. He said come back later to try again at no cost if I wanted. So I did. He was great but the second set still wasn't right. Long story short, my original passport had enough life so I deferred the renewal. About a month ago I was back in San Francisco ONE YEAR AFTER taking the pics. HE REMEMBERED ME (kidding) but he was there. Pics in hand, I asked if third time's a charm. He gladly retook, and travels must have done me well since they came out quite nice. Yes! read more

Stopped in to get something scanned - two minutes, two bucks and I left with the document on my flash drive. THAT IS A PERFECT TRANSACTION! All business should be this efficient and easy to deal with. read more

Fast, friendly, and affordable! I had passport pictures taken here which were crisp and ready in only a few minutes. He even let me take a peak at the photos for approval before printing them out. Another great referral from Yelpers. read more

2 weeks ago, I had my fingerprints taken by A+ MailBoxes & More, at 3041 Mission St (near Cesar Chavez). They messed up, and I received a rejection letter from DOJ stating the fingerprints weren't readable. So, I went back today (after now a delay of 2 wks and now having to start over) for them to re-take them properly, and they wouldn't stand by their work. In fact, they wanted to charge me an additional $30 to re-do their mistake. (I ended up going to the Children's Council on Church and they took 2 copies of my prints for me, for $22.) I'm highly disappointed that they won't honor their work and re-do their mistakes without charge to the community. read more

Always quick and helpful. They are concerned about what yelpers think too. When I mentioned I saw them on Yelp, they mentioned their "3-star" they got this week. Just because they didn't take 15 photos? Really? I have never had more than 2 taken anywhere...and I have been dealing with this stuff a lot lately. They get my business always, and I have used them several times. Ink Fingerprints, Passport photos. read more

When I wondered into this store, I was a bit confused. Does anyone else think that its services are, well.. a bit outdated? I definitely think this is a good store for those who find it difficult to scan and take photos with other technology, but I don't think the store offerings are necessary. Instead of having to go to the store to simply scan something, or even to take your passport photo, there are so many other options customers can take. For example, snapfish is a company that instructs users how to take a self shot (whether its through your camera, iPhone, etc) and then edits this photo to fit in Passport standards and send them to you via snail mail in about 2 to 3 days. Also, if you have a smartphone or tablet, you can always use one of the free scanning apps to scan your items. They work really well, so don't be too quick to doubt them! You can upload them to a Dropbox or Cloud account, and print them on any device that has a printer, anywhere you are. Hope this helps. read more

In some movie there is a line "if you look anything like your passport photo you aren't well enough to travel". Well this place proves it wrong, since they let me take several pictures until I was happy. He even had advice on how to pose so I don't look like a total dork (I only kinda look like a dork, but I don't think they are miracle workers)! The price is totally reasonable at $10 for 2 (gave me even more of a deal since I mentioned yelp). Its also easy...in and out in like 5-10 minutes. Great place for passport pics! read more

Great place for notarizing documents and passport photos! They're open until 7PM--which is AWESOME. My boyfriend got his passport photos taken here about 8 months ago. He paid about $20-30 for 6 photos and an electronic copy sent to him by email. The photos came are great. I came here about two months ago to get my passport photos done as well--about $35 bucks for 6 photos and an emailed electronic copy. Both experiences took 15 minutes MAX. They're also willing to do this stuff close to COB, which is very very very much appreciated. I've also gotten a couple documents notarized here. At first, the guy there thought we had to get the notarized signatures ($10 per signature for any document). After providing more details, he actually recommended we get just the notarized stamp (only $10 for both documents instead of paying $10 per signature). Basically, he recommended the cheaper route. Just for that--the honesty and integrity of his services--this will be my go-to place in the Mission for these types of services. If you're planning to get an electronic copy of the passport photos, make sure they don't overprice it. It's not listed anywhere how much an electronic copy actually costs, so I think that's why there was a range in prices when I got my passport photos done vs. my boyfriend (my boyfriend went back again recently and almost got charged $50ish. But we told him we paid much lower before so he got charged $40ish instead). Overall, I think this place is great! I would highly recommend it! read more

Great customer service! Two super nice guys work here; they always help me with printing, and so courteous even to rude customers. i actually enjoy coming here because of their kindness! Also usually its not crowded and there's no wait, unlike many of the other copy/print places around. read more

Went for a passport photo and the photographer took extra care to make sure I was happy with how it turned out... took several shots, was patient to let me pick and even made sure I knew what to bring with me for the application itself. Thank you for great service!! read more

The proprietor, Sonny, charged me $5 to fax a document to a local number. They never have an attendant there during their operating hours. My partner tried 6 times to pick-up a package. They purchase boxes from ULINE and mark it up 5x. Just go to FedEx Kinkos. read more

i've been going to the San Francisco store for 3+ years. the staffs there are all super friendly and above/beyond helpful. whoever is working will always help me find whatever i need (i.e. best rates to send stuff out international or domestic; measure the must snug boxes and make sure it's protected and well wrapped etc). i've never had any errors with my packages sent out by A+ Mailboxes. the manager Dylan whom i correspond with via email is super responsive. he always replies within 1 hour (if not immediately!) to my questions/requests. a few times now they've helped me with various passport photos too and they've all turned out perfect. thanks so much! very high recommended! read more

I only needed to send a fax, so I wasn't exactly challenging the staff, but still, they did everything right, so they warrant a 5 star rating. There were two people working when I came in. I was immediately greeted, and assisted. They also do copies, notary...etc. Also, oddly enough, they seem to be a T-Mobile dealership. While that's a kind of strange partnership, if it works, it works. I'll definitely be back for my copy/office-y needs. read more

Excellent, excellent service! Just mailed my holiday gifts from there, without a hitch, no long line (like at the USPS) and at a comparable price. Kind, professional people run the shop. I also get boxes shipped here, make copies ... it's my office away from my office. I'm really grateful they're here in the Mission, where there is kind of a lack of these services. Thanks, A Foto! read more

Two for two in one day! Thanks Yelp! I stopped by Foto Video Mail & More to have a document notarized and faxed. Dylan was super friendly and really knowledgeable about what he does. There was a problem with the forms I needed notarized and the problem could potentially have been difficult to resolve. With Dylan's experience and knowledge, he really made this made this whole process much easier to resolve. He was patient and made sure I fully understood the issues. Then he provided effective solutions on how to resolve these issues. He took care and that's really the most important thing in customer service. Thank you so much! I would definitely recommend coming here for notaries and other needs. Notary - $10 per document Fax - $1 per page read more

I just returned from having my passport photo taken here. As the other reviewers say, he's got it down to an art and a science! My last passport photo was taken at a Walgreens and was horrid... Since these things follow you around for 10 years I decided to treat myself to a good photo. Well worth it. Super nice guy. Fast, helpful, let me pick my favorite shot. Great experience! read more

I needed 8 x Passport Photos. They charged only $22.00 +tax. I like that. read more