We've all had horrible pictures taken of ourselves for our ID, passport, or drivers license. You might think your portrait turned out poorly because of the cheap camera, poor lighting, or you simply weren't ready. Well the truth is revealed in this hilarious video.
Passport Photo Pro Tip
I used to work at Ritz Camera. Before I was fired and banned from the property (a story that I will eventually have to tell) I was occasionally tasked with taking passport photos.
Passport photos are the most serious genre of I.D. photography. Everyone thinks that you have to go somewhere and have your portrait taken in a very particular place, with an extremely specialized camera and then printed on specialized "passport photo paper." Well none of that is true. In the store we would simply grab whatever camera was near us, push you up against a plain wall, snap the shot with direct flash, and then print the photo instantly on our dye-sub printer.
Since then I've always taken my own passport photos in the studio and printed them on my Canon Pro-100. You can't go too crazy with your lighting but you are able to have a great portrait in something that you may actually keep forever. Just follow the simple rules below:
- In color
- Printed on matte or glossy photo quality paper
- 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm) in size
- Sized such that the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (between 25 and 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. View the Photo Composition Template for more size requirement details.
- Taken within the last 6 months to reflect your current appearance
- Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background
- Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera
- Taken with a neutral facial expression (preferred) or a natural smile, and with both eyes open
I look like I have genetic disorder in my DL photo.
My DMV has the camera mounted to the perfect height for a circus midget. It looks like I have a double chin in mine, and I'm a whopping 105lbs.
Hilarious!! Their Starbucks vid is awesome too. =)
Too Funny!
Laughed out loud when the music clicked in toward the end. For anyone interested, the song is Masquerade by Canadian 70's band Edward Bear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMCXAS4UwT4
FWIW, Sony A7# owners, you can load a free "Photo ID" app from the Play Memories App store.
It's good here in Dubai you just submit a photo. And that's why these russian models have one of the best drivers licenses in the world!
When I did passport photos at Ritz, not gonna lie, if the person was difficult about the requirments I'd not give a damn how their photo turned out. If they cooperated, I'd take a few and pick the best one to print.
"Before I was fired and banned from the property" - I'm sorry but I had to laugh at this line. I'm dying to know the story. I think a video "confessional" is in order :)
Mine looks like the lens was a foot in front of me. Just my ENTIRE head is in the shot. No shoulders at all.