We found our passports had to be renewed by May this year..2019. You could do it online including the photographs. This proved to be a challenge - aspect 4.3, jpg, portrait and no background shadows. I tried some with my camera but the aspect proved difficult. Got round that and found, that if you wore glasses there had to be space between the glasses framing and the eyes. But all done with my camera.
Three good things;
1. We now look like we have been arrested! An honest photo.
2. A neutral expression was necessary and that’s why we didn’t smile
3. I watched “Swallows and Amazons’ on the TV screen and after memories of the book, was surprised to know this was set in the Lake District. Thought it was Norfolk.. I do believe after reading this at an early age, I thought I knew how to sail. Years later in my early 20’s, I was staying by myself at a remote seaside cottage and chose to get out on the harbour with their sailing dinghy! I didn’t have a clue with the wind and had to row back (which took some time) to save myself drifting out forever!
Well not too bad I think....you came out of that very well I think! I can recognise you both & you look very nice! We renewed our passports a couple of years ago & I can honestly say my passport photo was the best I’ve seen of me for ages. We went to Timpsons who do passport photos. The lady was very good, she had a white board which I held over my head to reflect the light. I had also practised not smiling but just lifting the corners of my mouth so that it didn’t curve downwards as it normally does when not smiling. I was very happy with the outcome. Harry wasn’t happy with his as his grey hair got lost in the photo, she happily did it again so we are both proud to show our passports!
@happypat My mouth does the same - droop downwards. Lots of people say to me 'Life's not that bad is it?" Here I am lifting the corners - it feels like a smile but looks not.
Not bad at all Maggie - but I do hate the rules and regulations they have for passport or any other official photos you have these days -- I hate my image without a smile , and why without glasses when I always wear mine !!
@maggiemae exactly what I did too, no smile but not that bad tempered look we all get when our faces are relaxed! I think you did very well....would not be embarrassed about those at all!
@beryl You were allowed to wear glasses - there just had to be a space all round the eyes without the glasses frame getting into it. And no reflection.
You did a great job with the task. It’s hard with their requirements and getting the sizing right. Yours are better than what the post office shots look like
Ha ha, passport photos always make you look exceptionally dodgy!
Swallows and Amazons was set in the Lake District, on Coniston. We have sailed in our little Mirror Dinghy along the length of it and gone to Wild Cat Island at the farther end and we stayed at Bank Ground Farm, which is Ransome's Holly Howe from the book. But you are also right that there are several Ransome books in the series set on the Norfolk Broads and as far down as Pin Mill in Suffolk on the River Orwell too. I grew up reading them, so did my hubby and all these decades later, so did our boy. We all love them! The films are quite good fun but at the end of the day we prefer the books :)
Passport photos make everyone look like they are wanted by the police. Mine is awful and like you when I am not smiling I look miserable - I used to get fed up with people saying "cheer up it may never happen". I always thought I looked mad with a smile stuck on my face all the time!! LOL!!
Well done...it's so stressful concentrating on getting everything as it has to be!!!
My photo is much better than the last one so I don't mind it.
I did smile at the Swallows and Amazons story. It was one of the books I never quite finished as a child but enjoyed watching it on TV during the Christmas break.
I wonder if you have sailed much since the rowing experience!!!
Nice work! I love that you can take your own photos for an NZ passport, and that you can try them out online to see if they pass! If only every country did this.
Oh, Maggiemae, you both look good! You should see mine, here the photo is on a yellowish background & without glasses or a smile.....I don't allow anyone to see it...Ha-Ha...
Oh goodness gracious me, hope you got more than bread and water in that clink. Mind you, I shouldn't laugh, my passport photo is pretty darned awful too.
well done... it is no easy task meeting the passport photograph requirements - whether doing it yourself or not. I should be pretty pleased with these.
Drivers license, passport (and mug shot) photos are brutal...so many rules to follow, terrible lighting and bad photographers...haha! They turn out terrible most cases. But, with a passport you can see the world so that is a good thing. :)
Well done for getting those mug shots done yourself. I did that last time too but way too stern looking for sharing on 365! No smiles is a horrid rule alas!
February 6th, 2019
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You nailed the challenge for acceptable mug shots for passports
Swallows and Amazons was set in the Lake District, on Coniston. We have sailed in our little Mirror Dinghy along the length of it and gone to Wild Cat Island at the farther end and we stayed at Bank Ground Farm, which is Ransome's Holly Howe from the book. But you are also right that there are several Ransome books in the series set on the Norfolk Broads and as far down as Pin Mill in Suffolk on the River Orwell too. I grew up reading them, so did my hubby and all these decades later, so did our boy. We all love them! The films are quite good fun but at the end of the day we prefer the books :)
My photo is much better than the last one so I don't mind it.
I did smile at the Swallows and Amazons story. It was one of the books I never quite finished as a child but enjoyed watching it on TV during the Christmas break.
I wonder if you have sailed much since the rowing experience!!!
I know, I know…! But just image how bright an dcolourful passports would be1 :-)