reality check. Or, the camera doesn't lie so much as give you the worst case scenario

[lagilman]

Hrm. Feeling good *checks mirror* looking pretty good...

*gets passport photos*

OH MY GOD HAVE I NOT SLEPT FOR A DECADE?


On the plus side, there won't be any issues at passport control when I stagger in off a redeye...

Comments

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

I have never seen a good photo for a "legal" document. I think if someone knows they are taking a picture for a passport/license etc. they flip this switch and the camera does some instant photo manipulation. The best description of this type of photo came from a friend of mine out west. She said she always looked like, "she'd been rode hard and put up wet".

[lagilman]

As was said on Twitter, bad passport photos are how the TSA knows it's REALLY us when we stagger off the plane...

(that's why they won't let us smile for the photos anymore, either. )

Bad photos

[calthea tamora (from livejournal.com)]

When I worked in retail, especially in the photo department, taking passport and visa pictures were a pain. They had to be lined up just perfectly and cut a certain way. I had to redo some because people flinched or smiled or it got smudge. I don't miss taking those pictures any longer. (My first passport pic I looked like a ghost.)

[sorek.livejournal.com]

My first state id card (basically a "drivers license" except for the driving part) picture was absolutely horrible. Of course that was because I had just lost my wallet somewhere while waiting in line. Fortunately all I lost were my credit cards (which I immediately cancelled despite them not having been used) and under $100 in cash.

The reason I lost the wallet? I put it down near a window so I could rearrange the identifying documents I was holding in my hand and must have forgotten to pick it up again. The good news, I didn't lose anything like my social security card...because I was holding it in my hand. Still I was in a horrible mood when I got to the front of the line and the resulting picture showed that.

[ckd]

My latest passport photos were surprisingly good for having been taken at the Walgreens photo counter.

(That said, my NEXUS card photo is terrible and makes my head look misshapen, so maybe that makes up for it. Heh.)

In other travel-prep news, the preloaded visitor Oyster cards arrived today!

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

Passport photos are always bad - it's not you, it's the photo (personally, I think it's the very bright light they use, it drains all the colour from the picture).

[lagilman]

Actually, the woman adjusted the light before printing it out, so the color wasn't too drained. No, my anguish came from the fact that despite the fact that I've been getting reasonable amounts of sleep, the bags under my eyes were large enough to get me hit with an oversized luggage fee.

(the fact that we all look worse when not-smiling - the face sort of 'sags' in repose - is something I've just learned to deal with. Especially post-20's)

Actually, looking at it from a bit more distance, it's not THAT bad. It's just not something I'd normally have used for any kind of public purposes...

[lagilman]

I had a Really Good Drivers License photo once. But that was many years and three states ago.

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

I agree, the non-smiling issue with passport photos contributes a lot to the overall unflattering results. But as long as it doesn't look too bad, one can't complain. ^_^

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

Anyone smiling at a TSA apparatchik would definitely be suspicious

[lagilman]

Pffft. Someone in my building works for the TSA, on the airport front lines. He's a nice guy who would probably appreciate not being treated like all this is HIS fault.