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I've never had a problem with passport renewal in the USA. If you do it abroad, it is even expedited by default. It is really hard to mess up the photo, though the places that can do it reliably are increasingly small (you are better off going with an app these days and then using photo printing).

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Earlier this year I had to cancel a trip to the south Pacific because, it turns out, four months is no longer enough time for an "expedited" passport renewal. Appointments for urgent-travel renewals are not available in the US no matter how many hours you spend in the State Department phone system. It has gone downhill in a big way.

Bonus lesson that I learned too late: if you're in need of an urgent passport renewal, complain to your senator; I got an appointment within a week once I did that.

I got an urgent travel appointment for my toddler about a month ago with little trouble, though I suspect it would be more difficult in the summer. We got her (first ever!) passport on the same day as the appointment, 1 week after calling to make it and 4 days before our planned trip to Canada. It's probably easier if you don't apply for your passport ahead of time because you can get your appointment up to 14 days before. I am lucky to live a few blocks from a passport center though, it's not really practical for everyone, and of course, there's no guarantee that an appointment would have been available.

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