My driver’s license photo looks like it should be on a post office wall…..
Nov 26, 2021 19:02:52 #
Most ID photos I’ve seen are not kind to the subject. Many are downright terrible. There are probably many reasons for this. Leads me to some inconsequential cogitations:
1 - The Subject. No, I don’t expect my driver’s license picture to look like a Yousuf Karsh portrait. But does it have to look like the mug shots hanging on the Post Office walls in olden days? Clearly some people are more photogenic than others. What does that really mean? That some folks are better looking? There’s got to be more than that.
2 – Equipment. No, I don’t expect the Dept of Motor Vehicles to have a studio setup like Yousuf Karsh’s. But in this high tech world can’t they take better pictures at the DMV, the police station, Costco, ...?
3 – Facial Expression. Folks in ID photos often look scared or just plain out of it. Maybe understandable for a police mug shot, but a driver’s license? OK, you portraitists, what is your secret to get people loosened up, relaxed, comfortable and ready to show the world how good-looking and friendly they are?
Maybe the agencies taking our ID shots should give us the opportunity to post-process the image files!?... Naw, we would probably be unrecognizable.
What say you?
1 - The Subject. No, I don’t expect my driver’s license picture to look like a Yousuf Karsh portrait. But does it have to look like the mug shots hanging on the Post Office walls in olden days? Clearly some people are more photogenic than others. What does that really mean? That some folks are better looking? There’s got to be more than that.
2 – Equipment. No, I don’t expect the Dept of Motor Vehicles to have a studio setup like Yousuf Karsh’s. But in this high tech world can’t they take better pictures at the DMV, the police station, Costco, ...?
3 – Facial Expression. Folks in ID photos often look scared or just plain out of it. Maybe understandable for a police mug shot, but a driver’s license? OK, you portraitists, what is your secret to get people loosened up, relaxed, comfortable and ready to show the world how good-looking and friendly they are?
Maybe the agencies taking our ID shots should give us the opportunity to post-process the image files!?... Naw, we would probably be unrecognizable.
What say you?
Nov 26, 2021 19:23:40 #
Most DL shots look that way.
PA does ask if it is okay before they use it. They'll re-take it, but I have no idea of how many times.
Just try not to look like the cat that ate the canary.
PA does ask if it is okay before they use it. They'll re-take it, but I have no idea of how many times.
Just try not to look like the cat that ate the canary.
Nov 26, 2021 19:37:38 #
I just got my new driver license in the mail today, I’d run like hell if I ever met the guy in the photo! 
All my ID photos look like that.
I blame bad luck.
All my ID photos look like that.
I blame bad luck.
Nov 26, 2021 19:38:15 #
May be a little different depending on country but there are requirements for what must be shown in these photos. There really is no wiggle room for creativity.
Nov 26, 2021 19:39:13 #
wide2tele wrote:
May be a little different depending on country but there are requirements for what must be shown in these photos. There really is no wiggle room for creativity.
Yes.
Can't smile for US passports.
Nov 26, 2021 19:41:25 #
Nov 26, 2021 19:48:31 #
I tried to persuade the State of Alaska to forgo driver's license photos and adopt a scratch and sniff patch instead; arguing that during a six-year run, hair color and style may change several times, and weight is also subject to significant variation... but you always smell the same; just ask your dog...
Alaska DMV never responded...
Alaska DMV never responded...
Nov 26, 2021 19:52:02 #
Nov 26, 2021 19:54:11 #
peekaboo wrote:
I doubt that you'd be smiling when you're pulled over by the police.
Wouldn't match would it......
Nov 26, 2021 19:57:01 #
BassmanBruce wrote:
I just got my new driver license in the mail today, I’d run like hell if I ever met the guy in the photo!
All my ID photos look like that.
I blame bad luck.
All my ID photos look like that.
I blame bad luck.
Bad camera!!! The should have used a <insert your favorite> camera!
Nov 26, 2021 20:08:00 #
Cany143
Loc: SE Utah
Um... okay..... then what's it mean when the picture of you that's thumbtacked up on the wall at the Post Office (REWARD! $10,000! DED or ALIVE!) is 'better' (more Karsh-like? more Annie Leibovitz-like? more Salvador Dali-esque?) than the one the nice lady at the Motor Vehicle Department took of you?
Should I be worried? or alarmed? Or go into hiding????
Should I be worried? or alarmed? Or go into hiding????
Nov 26, 2021 20:08:35 #
Nov 26, 2021 20:36:07 #
Wife’s looked like Michael Jackson one year. She never could have used it for an ID if they went by the picture.
Nov 26, 2021 21:17:59 #
Cany143 wrote:
Um... okay..... then what's it mean when the picture of you that's thumbtacked up on the wall at the Post Office (REWARD! $10,000! DED or ALIVE!) is 'better' (more Karsh-like? more Annie Leibovitz-like? more Salvador Dali-esque?) than the one the nice lady at the Motor Vehicle Department took of you?
Should I be worried? or alarmed? Or go into hiding????
Should I be worried? or alarmed? Or go into hiding????
When they cross out “ALIVE” - That’s when you worry!
Nov 26, 2021 21:53:07 #
Texas went with black and white this year. I look like Boris Karloff with gas pains
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.