When Mary went to her local post office, she was still dressed in her work clothes: an itchy navy polo with blaring white stripes, a blaring logo on the chest, and hair un-styled in an “It’s Monday” fashion. She figured when she told the worker she needed to get a passport to go to Mexico, he would hand her a couple of papers to take home with her, so that when she returned the next day, she could return straight from the Glamazon with hair freshly blow-dried, a nice blouse, and full make-up. Hey, passports are expensive, and you want your passport picture to be one you like! To her horror, the worker instead nonchalantly waved her in front of an enormous black camera, didn’t wait for her to blink first, and snapped the picture. Yikes.
Our first piece of advice for taking a good passport photo? Be prepared and feel comfortable. Whether you use a post office or a photo booth to get your picture taken, they’ll both be using a strong flash to avoid shadows, so don’t wear a bright color. That goes for makeup and clothing, although likely only your shoulders will appear in the shot. Wear something slightly muted, but a color that complements your skin tone.
If you tend to have oily skin or sweat a lot (and yes, this is for you too, guys!), think about powdering your face just ever so slightly in nude tones. You can’t wear heavy makeup, change the color of your skin or cover up defining features, but you can take some of the sheen off. Just make sure that you apply evenly over your face and neck (you don’t want them to mismatch!). Remember, you also can’t smile or show any emotion, but you can at least have good skin!
Bring a brush or comb. When you’re in line, feel free to preen away because the postal worker won’t want to wait and watch you as you untangle knots in your hair. As you wait, fix your hair the way you want to. Be wary of ponytails and up-dos: you need to look like you, so if your hair is a little non-compliant that day, run some serum through it – hair down is the best idea. You also can’t wear hats, sunglasses or other accessories, unless for religious reasons.
And last but not least, don’t blink – you need your eyes wide open! Want to ensure your passport photos don’t get rejected? Don’t make these top passport photo mistakes. Or use Paspic to check your photos are valid for use before you send them off.
