[HN Gopher] Passport Photos
___________________________________________________________________
Passport Photos
Author : gaws
Score : 1454 points
Date : 2024-11-06 21:23 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (maxsiedentopf.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (maxsiedentopf.com)
| meowster wrote:
| I was expecting some kind of article about an issue with passport
| photos or some kind of exploit, maybe photoshopping so it looks
| like the person but fools automatic facial recognition...
|
| but was pleasantly surprised instead.
| throw03172019 wrote:
| Thanks for the good laugh. Looks great!
| ale42 wrote:
| They're very funny indeed. I doubt they are AI-generated, they
| would the best AI images I've ever seen. If they are, there
| must be a lot of post-processing. But the artist being among
| others a photographer, I imagine they're actual photos. See
| other series on the website too, e.g.
| https://maxsiedentopf.com/19-off-amelie-pichard/
| throw03172019 wrote:
| Thank you for the link!
| kevinsync wrote:
| The fish cursor is a delightful touch lol. I especially
| appreciate not knowing where the anchor point is hahaha
| pimlottc wrote:
| I was confused why so many of the photos had a random fish it
| them until I realized that was the cursor...
| shrx wrote:
| Hugged to death :(
| accrual wrote:
| Hug text: The website is temporarily unable to service your
| request as it exceeded resource limit. Please try again later.
| bravura wrote:
| "Wear a tuxedo for your ID photos." - Glenn O'Brien (TV Party,
| Downtown 81, the Style Guy)
| xattt wrote:
| I've always thought to go unkempt and unshaven.
|
| This is so that I would be recognized from my passport if I was
| detained for several months in a sketchy country.
| chgs wrote:
| It's odd, last time I went to the US they barely glanced at
| my photo
| telesilla wrote:
| I believe the photo is encoded in the digital passport
| contents and the computer will check your face in the
| camera to see it matches. No human involved. Many countries
| have automatic passport gates now using this method.
| alexanderchr wrote:
| If they already have your picture the agent will usually
| know who you are before you have even handed over your
| passport. The tech has gotten eerily good.
| TeMPOraL wrote:
| A decade ago, I was sent for a two-month business trip to
| China. I didn't have a valid passport (didn't need it within
| EU/Schengen Area) and had to make one in a hurry. I went to
| take my photo unkempt but freshly shaved. While in China, I
| didn't bother shaving, but I did get myself a haircut, that
| left me almost bald (communication mishap). One month in, I
| had to spend a weekend in Hong Kong to renew the work visa.
| On my way back, I happily handed my passport to the border
| control officer, and then spent terrifying 15 minutes trying
| to convince him, his colleague and then his superior, that
| the clean-shaved unkempt person in the photo and the near-
| bald, bearded person in front of them, are in fact the same
| person.
| jll29 wrote:
| That's hillarious. Any chance you remember what you said to
| the Chinese hairdresser versus what you should have said to
| protect fellow HNers from such a mishap?
|
| Xiang Wang Chang Yi Yang Duan Qing Ba Hu Zi Gua Gan Jing
| Wo Xiang Yao Bi Jiao Duan De Tu De Xiang Ge Ying Er De Pi
| Gu ?
| stavros wrote:
| I just gesticulated wildly towards my head while making
| the "scissors" hand sign and loudly and slowly saying
| "HAIRCUT". I have no idea how that was misconstrued.
| garaetjjte wrote:
| Huh? That also happened to you?
| stavros wrote:
| No, I was being facetious hoping people wouldn't look at
| the username :P
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| When I've needed haircuts in China, I've always had
| someone take me to a barber. Problem solved.
|
| In one case, I was walking in a shopping area, someone
| approached me looking to sell souvenir artwork, I
| explained that while I didn't need that I was looking for
| a haircut, and she offered to take me to a barber
| provided I bought a picture. Everybody wins.
| TeMPOraL wrote:
| I thought myself to be smart, so with help of Google
| Translate, I found the Chinese characters that were
| supposed to spell "3 cm"[0]. I copied them down, and in
| the barbershop, I proudly showed them to the barber, who
| nodded and invited me to the chair. The guy was stellar,
| but halfway through the cutting it dawned on me something
| is wrong. Turns out, what I thought was "cm" was actually
| spelling "mm"!
|
| He would've likely double-checked with me if I tried to
| spell this out at the shop[1], but apparently I came
| across as someone who really knew what they want, coming
| in confidently with the order already precisely written
| in Chinese and all.
|
| Lesson learned. I still think the idea was good, and I'd
| still go for giving explicit length (it's a natural fit,
| as it translates to cutting head numbers for the electric
| hair cutters). I'd just triple-check it next time, and
| not act like I have it all figured out.
|
| --
|
| [0] - Or thereabouts; I'm sure about the unit, but the
| exact number might've been something else between 2 and
| 6.
|
| [1] - The barber didn't know English, but knew the metric
| system and arabic numerals, so we've confirmed the
| misunderstanding with pen and paper.
| BLKNSLVR wrote:
| Could you have turned your face upside down?
|
| (or hold the passport photo upside down)
| TeMPOraL wrote:
| I may or may not have handed it upside down;
| unfortunately, passports have other features around the
| photo that help the guard know the officially correct
| orientation...
| philsnow wrote:
| The brain has specific face-recognition machinery that
| mostly only works with face-up faces. It can be easier to
| objectively decide whether two photographs are of the
| same person if they are presented upside-down or
| sideways.
| iJohnDoe wrote:
| That's hilarious. Thanks for sharing.
| wodenokoto wrote:
| I had a similar experience where I had grown my beard and
| cut my hair since getting my passport - not over month, but
| years. I had trouble in Taiwan, and a manager was called.
| Looked at me for two seconds and said "Europeans", and they
| let me through.
| fader wrote:
| As Erma Bombeck said, "when you look like your passport
| photo, it's time to go home".
| sph wrote:
| I was thinking the neutral-to-serious face requirement in
| passport photos is so that you can be easily recognised when
| you're being detained at the airport and asked to wait for 3
| hours in an interrogation room. That's exactly what one would
| look like.
| lazide wrote:
| Or, like another poster said an Irish passport officer said
| - 'dour'.
| teractiveodular wrote:
| Hugged to death, here's an archive copy: https://archive.is/uPMjd
| vallode wrote:
| Oh! Something I took a part in on HN. That's a first. Almost
| everything there was practical. Highly recommend checking out all
| of Max's work, beaming with creativity.
| swyx wrote:
| how did you come to take part?
| vallode wrote:
| It was fairly random, someone in my network had mentioned
| that Max was looking for people to take part in the project
| and I reached out. I was given a date and time slot and that
| was that.
| edm0nd wrote:
| So its not mentioned on the post but is this your actual
| passport photo that was accepted and used and you have it on
| your physical passport right now?
| vallode wrote:
| I'm not sure anyone tried to actually use it as a passport
| photo. Would have been a great touch though.
| consf wrote:
| It's actually a really exciting thought...
| latexr wrote:
| Would that even work? Are you not in Europe, where passport
| photos are taken on location?
| lobochrome wrote:
| In Germany and Japan, you bring one. It wouldn't be an
| issue if it fit the biometric spec.
| Hamuko wrote:
| I'm in Europe and mine sure was not taken on location.
| Had it done in a mall, and they sent it electronically to
| the police.
| jhugo wrote:
| In both of the two European countries I've been involved
| in a passport application for, we had to bring photos
| along, which we got taken by a photographer in a copy
| store. There was no certification of the photographer
| involved that I'm aware of, just the usual list of
| requirements for the photo that they had to follow.
| croisillon wrote:
| from the 3 or 4 docs i've had made within 10 years
| requiring this specification, only once was the pic taken
| on location
| tauntz wrote:
| > where passport photos are taken on location
|
| Europe is not a single thing and that statement is not
| correct.
|
| I'm in Estonia (which is in the EU) and you can either
| submit a picture online or take the picture on location.
| philsnow wrote:
| An oddball question, but do you have that government
| document/card that also works as a smartcard to create
| digital signatures? Does that get used typically in
| interactions with the government (or maybe even
| businesses)?
| willyt wrote:
| In Britain you just upload a digital photo so it would
| work here.
| nuancebydefault wrote:
| How odd, there's no verification if it is your photo
| taejo wrote:
| Don't know about Britain but the US also allows passport
| renewals by mail, so they can't check the photo against
| your face but they presumably can check it against your
| previous passport photo.
| kookamamie wrote:
| While this may have not been done, I don't see a reason why
| these wouldn't have been accepted. Source: I am a certified
| passport photographer.
| ramonverse wrote:
| how do you get certified to be a passport photographer?
| scrozier wrote:
| In the US, anyone can take the photo, including yourself.
| 8n4vidtmkvmk wrote:
| I did this. It's surprisingly hard to find a solid white
| background and get uniform lighting at home. Took many
| shots.
| mikepurvis wrote:
| Fifteen years ago I did my own in Canada, and just wrote
| my own name and phone number on the back as at the
| "photographer". They gave me the hairy eyeball at the
| passport office though but let it slide since the pics
| did meet the requirements.
|
| After that I got them done at the local framing shop.
| chgs wrote:
| In the U.K. people used to go to a booth, but nowadays
| you just get a well lit white wall and take a selfie on
| your phone.
| xoxxala wrote:
| Clever usurpation of expectations _and_ artistic.
| eric_h wrote:
| this really makes me regret doing nothing like this when I
| recently had my passport photos taken.
| nickjj wrote:
| I had my photo taken by an employee at the post office where
| they submit the application. It would have been fun to walk in
| and start duct taping myself to the wall without saying a word.
| extraduder_ire wrote:
| Here (ireland), you can take your own photo with a phone or
| something. Though, they explicitly say "no selfies". I'm glad
| of this, since I can try multiple times to get a good one.
| Also, you normally get them in the post in two to three days.
|
| I'll likely try something like this next time I renew.
| cbsks wrote:
| > Can I smile in my passport photo?
|
| > Yes. Make sure your eyes are open and your mouth is closed in
| your photo.
|
| https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-app...
| madeofpalk wrote:
| > Neutral expression (not smiling, laughing or frowning)
|
| https://www.passports.gov.au/PhotoGuidelines
| redundantly wrote:
| Just got passports for my kids recently. My 14-year old was
| scowling in his photo. They accepted it.
| dylan604 wrote:
| They know that nobody standing in front of a customs
| officer that is looking at their photo will actually be
| smiling. So having it neutral or even scowling as your
| experience will be much more likely to match. /s
| awesome_dude wrote:
| But but but - I have resting happy face!
| scrollaway wrote:
| Some countries (definitely France) are implementing automatic
| passport photo checks. Those checks are not at all rigorous
| concerning smiles. I managed to get a photo I'm actually
| proud of in my new ID!
| oneeyedpigeon wrote:
| They _do_ have problems with facial hair, though, IME.
| wasabi991011 wrote:
| Yet on the same page, they have
|
| > Pose and Expression: Have a neutral facial expression with
| both eyes open and mouth closed.
|
| In my view, neutral and smiling are incompatible, but I guess
| that is up to interpretation.
| crmd wrote:
| My last Irish passport photo was rejected for smiling (I'm
| American born). The embassy lady said your expression is
| supposed to be "dour".
| chiph wrote:
| I'm an American. I smile at everyone.
| OJFord wrote:
| You have a great day now you're so welcome.
| OJFord wrote:
| Ok, so the premise doesn't _entirely_ work in your specific
| country.
|
| It does in mine: https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports
| yapyap wrote:
| lol I thought these were AI generated at some point too just
| because of how silly they are
| avgDev wrote:
| Organic + cage free is how I like my photos.
| alimoeeny wrote:
| Don't forget to scroll down the page. The girl with the wine
| glasses is my favorite. And the guy taped to the wall.
| jonny_eh wrote:
| All the fun stuff is happening out of frame.
| rconti wrote:
| It's a lot of "fun" trying to get acceptable photos. Last week I
| went to my local American Automobile Association (AAA) office to
| get an International Driver's Permit (IDP). It's just a
| translation of your license, which is valid for 1 year. I had to
| take 2 passport-sized photos with me, which I did.
|
| But I was told they wouldn't be accepted because I had long hair
| and a beard in them, but short hair and no beard now. That's
| absurd, because it's the same photo used in both of my passports,
| and there's no requirement that you don't alter your appearance
| from your passport photo. Somehow border guards can crack the
| code.
|
| Amusingly, my California driver's license shows short hair and no
| beard, but the AAA person wasn't even looking at my CA license at
| the time. What happens if I grow long hair and a beard before I
| travel? Was he just trying to upsell me on a $9.99 photo?
|
| We had a hell of a time getting the UK passport authorities to
| accept the photos we sent in for her passport; they recommend
| getting your photos taken at an "official" UK location where the
| digital photos are identified by a code you send in. Well, we
| happened to be traveling through Australia during this timeframe,
| so we were able to stop at an Australian Post Office, which
| supposedly had the same "digital" system, but instead of a code
| to send to the UK authorities, they handed us printed photos and
| a web link. Thankfully I was able to use the web link to download
| the photo and upload it to the UK site, where it was approved
| almost immediately, and the new passport arrived back at our home
| before we returned from our trip. But there's no user-obvious
| criteria that was being used to reject the SEVERAL rounds of
| photos we had sent to the UK earlier.
| dylan604 wrote:
| > But I was told they wouldn't be accepted because
|
| yeah, and I would have expected nothing less. from my personal
| experience, the photos were required to be recent. just based
| on your having visited a barber would signal to me that the
| photos were not recent. even if you visited the barber while
| you waited for the 1-Hour Photo guy to finish, a logical person
| would realize this was not going to work out well
| rconti wrote:
| The criteria says "Two original passport pictures" ; it does
| not say "recent".
|
| Regardless, the photos are recent (<1yr) and my driver's
| license has a 5 year validity and passports 10 year validity.
| As an illogical person, I sometimes change my appearance over
| a given 10 year span.
|
| When I renew my US passport by mail, they don't actually know
| what I look like at the time of the renewal.
| devilbunny wrote:
| IDP's are only valid for a short period of time. I suspect
| that money-grubbing may play a role, but the purpose of
| them is to let you identify yourself to police in a
| language (especially an alphabet) you don't speak. So
| perhaps it's something that clerk had heard some horror
| story about and was giving good advice.
| rconti wrote:
| Yes, I suspect the 1 year validity of the IDP plays a
| part here. The gentleman who said my photo wouldn't be
| accepted was front desk (and, apparently, photo-taking)
| staff; he wasn't even the person creating the IDP. I
| agree with you that I suspect he was trying to be
| helpful.
| stavros wrote:
| New photos: $9.99
|
| Fake dressup beard: $0.99
|
| I know which one I'd choose.
| devilbunny wrote:
| $9 isn't worth being detained while on an international
| trip in a place where the police don't speak your
| language because they don't believe your photo is you.
| Actually, it's less expensive than the last set of
| passport photos I had made, so maybe I'll just go to AAA
| next time.
| lazide wrote:
| Especially since sometimes 'detained' can mean 'beaten'.
| dylan604 wrote:
| comparing the validity of existing documents is moving the
| goal posts and pretty dishonest to the conversation.
|
| you're applying for a new passport. to be shocked that at a
| minimum the pictures would look like you at the time of the
| application is pretty...I don't even know what word to use
| here. there's a way to make dealing with gov't agencies
| simple and as painless as possible, and then there's this.
| rconti wrote:
| The point that identity photos often look different from
| the person being identified isn't remotely dishonest to
| the conversation. It's the entire point, in fact: Does
| this actual human person look like this person depicted
| in this photo? That's why I bought up the passport photo
| situation to compare it to.
|
| If you'll re-read more closely, you'll see that I was not
| applying for a new passport. I also wasn't working with a
| government agency.
|
| By the way, it was simple and painless. I was told to
| bring photos if I had them; otherwise they could be done
| on-site for $9.99. I opened up my desk drawer on my way
| out of the house, and I happened to have photos. So I
| brought photos. I was told they were not acceptable, so I
| accepted the offer of an on-site photo, which took about
| 90 seconds, paid my fee, and went on my way. There was
| nothing difficult about it. I would not have saved myself
| any hassle had I left the photos in my drawer.
|
| It's unclear to me why you have gone out of your way to
| misunderstand or misinterpret the situation, other than
| in a misguided attempt to be antagonistic, but it's not
| working.
| devilbunny wrote:
| > It's unclear to me why you have gone out of your way to
| misunderstand or misinterpret the situation
|
| It's the internet. Even HN isn't immune to the Eternal
| September.
|
| I still think Reddit is useful, sometimes, and I've got
| karma to burn for years, so I find it hilarious when my
| comments get downvoted into hell over some trivial
| issues. Since I don't care about imaginary internet
| points except to make sure that people can read what I
| post (I don't want to fall into the well of negativity on
| that), I don't delete the ones that get buried.
|
| That poster you replied to is doing the kind of crap you
| see on the Reddit front page subs. They're almost all
| trash. You get upvoted for hivemind, you get downvoted
| for going against the grain. Regardless of the merit of
| the comment.
|
| Hell, I've been downvoted here for my very milquetoast
| comment that maybe the clerk was trying to help you keep
| out of trouble in a country where you really need an IDP
| (different alphabet, e.g.). You can't downvote before you
| have a bunch of points here, and I almost never do - if
| you're wrong I'll try to help you fix it, and if it's
| just a disagreement then... that's life? You pretty much
| have to explicitly be an unprovoked major asshole or
| advocate straight-up genocide to make me downvote you.
| brianleb wrote:
| So I actually shave my beard every time I get a haircut (so,
| let's say every 8 weeks).
|
| What does 'recent' mean, since you have already acknowledged
| that temporal recency is irrelevant? When am I traveling?
| What's accurate to my current appearance? What if I started a
| cancer treatment that renders me unable to grow a beard?
|
| Your flippant reply ignores reality, and these aren't even
| edge cases.
| dylan604 wrote:
| If you are applying for a new passport where you are
| needing these photos, the common sense logic from the
| person accepting/rejecting them would be do the photos look
| like the person in front of them. No? Reject. Yes? Accept.
| The flow chart is pretty simple.
|
| The frequency of your grooming habits _AFTER_ receiving a
| passport are irrelevant to the actual approval of a
| passport. This doesn 't need to be hard.
| oneeyedpigeon wrote:
| > do the photos look like the person in front of them
|
| To what ridiculous extent do you take that, though? You
| must be wearing the same clothes? You must be made-up in
| the exact same way? I think it's pretty clear that the
| test should be "is it obvious that the person in the
| photo is the same as the person in front of you" and
| somebody with a beard does _look like_ themself, even
| when they shave that beard.
|
| Of course, this raises other interesting questions: is it
| OK for you to use a photo of your identical twin?
| technothrasher wrote:
| > But I was told they wouldn't be accepted
|
| Huh. Last time I got an IDP from AAA, I don't think the lady
| behind the desk even really looked at the photo. She just took
| my $20, copied the info from my app to my permit, stapled one
| of the photos to the permit, and handed it to me. It was like
| less than three minutes total.
| dwroberts wrote:
| The criteria for UK stuff is normally really clear?
| https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports
|
| Can see how it would be annoying if they don't explain which
| criteria is being violated though
| rconti wrote:
| Yeah, the criteria is clear, but do everything you can to
| meet it, and the online submission will just say the photo
| quality is "poor" (unlikely to be approved) and not explain
| what's poor about it. I spent a lot of time juggling aspects
| of the photo itself as well as of the scan (DPI, compression,
| etc) and nothing seemed to make a difference.
| IanCal wrote:
| Anecdata from the other side, I've done a few passports for
| family now and it gives immediate ratings and we've not had
| any issue at all.
| rjh29 wrote:
| I took a phone selfie against a white wall and it was
| accepted fine.
| Macha wrote:
| My prior passport photo was taken with the Irish Passport
| office's manual "send in photos and someone decides if it's
| good enough" process they had at the time. As I always wore
| glasses, I wore them in my photo too, which given they
| didn't obscure the face, the manual check indicated they
| were fine.
|
| For my latest renewal, they've moved to an app based
| process which just flat out rejects any with my glasses on
| because the prescription is so strong it distorts the
| outline of my face (at least that's my best guess, as the
| app claims compatibility with glasses.
|
| Anyway, since renewing the passport to one without glasses
| in my passport photo, I've found I much more frequently get
| rejected at automated passport gates, often needing to take
| my glasses off so I match the passport photo better.
| ethbr1 wrote:
| > _But I was told they wouldn 't be accepted because I had long
| hair and a beard in them, but short hair and no beard now._
|
| Tell them your religion doesn't permit beardless photos, so you
| grew one for the photo.
|
| When they ask what religion, pick one with beards.
|
| It's AAA, not the police -- the person behind the desk will
| shrug, now with a reason not to care, and create your IDP.
| stavros wrote:
| > When they ask what religion, pick one with beards.
|
| I just love this sentence.
| donw wrote:
| Gotta cover all the bases and tell them you're Jewslamic
| Rastodox Sikhamish.
| bbarnett wrote:
| https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/pastafarian-who-
| fought-...
| philsnow wrote:
| "I can't tell you, it's one with beards and also secrets"
| viridian wrote:
| "Right, I'm just going to jot down Eastern Orthodoxy
| then, move along."
| ethbr1 wrote:
| My newest Comcast cancellation reason is telling them I'm
| converting to the Amish faith, and could I talk to them
| for a moment about it...
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| A lot of companies seem to have "policies" that are grounded
| in nothing. Airlines are especially bad about this, thinking
| they know better than you whether you'll be able to get
| through immigration at the destination. For whatever reason,
| airline policies about whether you can get on the plane are
| completely unrelated to the destination countries' policies
| about whether you can be allowed in.
|
| The _most_ egregious such policy that comes to mind was when
| Philippine Airlines refused to give me a boarding pass for a
| flight to China unless I filled out a health declaration form
| that was guaranteed to expire before my flight arrived.
|
| There was of course no obstacle to me filling out (a new copy
| of) the form on arrival in China. As was necessarily the
| case, given that the pre-flight declaration _expired during
| the flight_.
| foomar wrote:
| I think the rationale behind this is that many countries
| will fine the airline around $10,000 for each passenger
| that doesn't have the right immigration documentation and
| has to be deported. So there is a reason they err on the
| side of caution for them at the expense of making your life
| harder
| Scoundreller wrote:
| It's not the denied entry pipeline that a lot of
| countries worry about. Those have always been the
| airline's problem.
|
| It's the lawful refugee claims they might be forced to
| consider/accept if a claimant can make landfall.
|
| And their dislike of citizens using minimal ID to
| lawfully gain entry home.
|
| So they extort the airlines to fulfill their wishes on
| foreign soil.
| consf wrote:
| Why enforce something that's bound to become irrelevant by
| the time it's needed?
| taneq wrote:
| To avert liability, usually.
| walthamstow wrote:
| These kind of policies are usually grounded by the one
| dickhead who tried to do something completely stupid that
| they never anticipated, now they have to have a policy for
| it.
| taneq wrote:
| Every dumb rule and warning label has a story attached.
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| > These kind of policies are usually grounded by the one
| dickhead who tried to do something completely stupid that
| they never anticipated, now they have to have a policy
| for it.
|
| How do you think that could create a policy of "before
| boarding the plane, you must fill out some invalid
| paperwork which will be available, and valid, after you
| disembark"? There is literally zero consequence for not
| doing it, and also literally zero benefit for doing it.
| xattt wrote:
| > A lot of companies seem to have "policies" that are
| grounded in nothing.
|
| A lot of this comes down to people not wanting to stick
| their head out to change process and groupthink.
|
| I witnessed an individual in a "worker bee" capacity trying
| to suggest a small-but-significant change on a client-
| facing first-contact form. They went through their CoC to
| get the message out, but got the "that's nice, dear"
| treatment.
|
| Said "worker bee" moved into a different department some
| time later, and all of a sudden, it was such a great idea
| that no one had thought about.
| mr_toad wrote:
| > but instead of a code to send to the UK authorities, they
| handed us printed photos and a web link.
|
| I had a similar experience with getting UK photos at a chemist,
| they said they could do digital photos and didn't. So I went to
| the Photo Warehouse and it was smooth sailing. I guess the
| specialist photo outfits are more likely to know what they're
| doing.
| TreeInBuxton wrote:
| In my recent experience renewing my UK passport, I found I was
| able to submit the image regardless of the complaining it gave,
| I just had to write a note as to why I thought the image did in
| fact meet their criteria.
|
| In my case, whatever detection software they used seemed to
| think my eyes were closed, which they were not.
|
| I just used a normal picture taken on a phone, against a plain
| white wall, accepted with no issues.
| sokoloff wrote:
| I made my passport photos on a phone camera against a white
| wall, stitched them together with other family members and
| printed them on a 4x6 photo at CVS.
|
| I think it cost something like $0.68 for 2 photos, each of
| which had all four of our photos plus 2 extra spots.
| avgDev wrote:
| The IDP feels like such a scam. I have to get it every year and
| it is so annoying.
| csomar wrote:
| It doesn't feel like a scam. It IS a scam. You were able to
| get a 3 year valid one but now they reduced it to 1 year. If
| my permit is valid for 10 years, so should the IDP. But then
| it'd cost x10 if they were to keep the same profit. So
| suddenly asking for close to $200 will _feel_ outrageous.
| Just shows how corruption can be worse than a monetary loss.
| YZF wrote:
| You don't even need it most of the time. Almost every
| country will just accept a driver's license from most other
| countries as long as it's fairly standard and has a section
| in English. I've driven in dozens of countries with my
| local driver's license.
| jhugo wrote:
| Yeah, I don't bother any more, but it has happened a
| couple of times to me in Europe that a rental car company
| asked for it and then refused to rent without it. In both
| cases I just walked over to a different company's desk
| and they didn't ask.
| avgDev wrote:
| I've had several companies refuse rental and ask for IDP.
| $20 to avoid hassles is worth it for me.
| jhugo wrote:
| There are some websites that will issue a translation of your
| license that looks very similar to the "official" IDP.
| Depending on where you're going it might be sufficient.
| (Generally works fine for avoiding police "coffee money"
| shakedowns in Southeast Asia, for example.)
| gregoryl wrote:
| Your first mistake was relying on Aus Post to do anything
| correctly. They cna barely deliver packages.
| laurencerowe wrote:
| I found the digital upload thing easier when I last renewed my
| UK passport since you can just take a photo with your phone and
| get instant feedback.
| rconti wrote:
| It's been awhile, but probably my mistake was scanning an
| actual high quality passport photo with a flatbed scanner
| rather than just halfassing it with a phone camera, since
| that seems to have worked so much better for everyone here!
| YZF wrote:
| Unless you are traveling to some weird place almost everywhere
| will accept a standard driver's license if it has English on
| it.
| agurk wrote:
| Two 'weird' places I have visited this year that required an
| IDP were Japan and Taiwan.
| williamdclt wrote:
| Vietnam famously doesn't. You can rent a motorbike without
| showing any sort of license, but in the most touristic areas
| (eg Ha Giang loop) the police picks out foreigners to check
| and get their bribe.
|
| And I have a vague remembrance (take with a whole rock of
| salt) that foreigners from many countries technically
| _cannot_ legally drive there even with an IDP, because
| there's 2 competing IDP standards or something like that. But
| I'd guess you'd be fine
| jhugo wrote:
| Yeah, the actual law is irrelevant most of the time, since
| it's just a shakedown. I did encounter one cop who knew
| about the 2 different IDP conventions and was able to
| extract the coffee money even if you had one. If you don't
| want to pay, offering to accompany them to the station to
| pay there (and get a receipt) usually works, especially if
| you're out in the countryside, since they don't want to
| give up on the chance to stop a bunch of other people. If
| you do choose to pay, they'll usually share your license
| plate on a WhatsApp group with the other local police if
| you ask them to, so you won't get hassled again for the
| rest of the day.
| jon-wood wrote:
| Not sure why but I'm quite tickled by the existence of
| WhatsApp groups to coordinate who's paid their bribe for
| the day. I think it's the thought of breaking the law
| being done in an orderly way.
| Macha wrote:
| You may enjoy the second image in this article, of
| looters forming an orderly queue and making sure not to
| obstruct the pavement while doing so:
|
| https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023924/London-
| riot...
|
| Interestingly, the article complains about the looters
| using BBM to communicate, which is a bit of a blast from
| the past.
| rconti wrote:
| Japan.
| consf wrote:
| It seems absurd that the requirements can vary so much and yet
| remain so vague
| koliber wrote:
| Public service message: in many countries, the IDP,
| International Driving Permit, is not needed.
|
| Since it is only a translation, it carries no official weight.
|
| Many countries that use the Latin alphabet only need a
| translation of the drivers license (ie IDP) if the alphabet on
| the driver's license is not Latin.
|
| Check online before you travel.
|
| This can save you a trip to the AAA, a few bucks, and an
| encounter with a clerk who questions the validity of your
| beard.
| bux93 wrote:
| Tell that to Mr. Prawo Jazdy.
| https://www.irishtimes.com/news/phantom-pole-haunts-garda-
| at...
| taneq wrote:
| Ask them for directions to the Forest of Skund. ;)
| pmontra wrote:
| As an example, Australia wants one. I can't remember if
| Geneva or Vienna type or both. Last time I've been there was
| 2019 and my country uses the Latin alphabet too (it was
| invented here.) The official document is the country's of
| origin driving license but basically owning a valid IDP
| states that your country and the destination country are
| signatories of one of those two conventions and agree to let
| their own citizens drive in both countries with no need of
| further tests.
|
| Some countries recognize some foreign driving licenses, at
| least for a while, without the need of the IDP. The USA is
| one of them but it has been a long time since I drove a car
| there so it could have changed or be regulated state by state
| and not at federal level. The USA is a signatory of the 1949
| Geneva convention.
| chgs wrote:
| I've hired cars in Austrailia without an IDP, just my
| British driving license.
| rconti wrote:
| Yeah; I'm a USian, and this one is for Japan which "requires"
| it. I also got one for Italy a bunch of years ago, as I was
| told the car rental agencies would not rent me a car without
| one.
|
| Otherwise I've never bothered, and I've rented cars in a half
| dozen countries in Europe, Australia, NZ....
| unit149 wrote:
| Geneva Convention which established IDPs in the post-war period
| ran parallel to measures implemented under the Marshall Plan.
| The regulation of road signs and establishing protocols for
| uniformity within the EU and 101 member states involved in its
| ratification paved the way for the re industrialization of the
| EU.
|
| https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/MTDSG/Volume%20I/Cha...
| stevenhubertron wrote:
| This is the web I miss.
| ldargin wrote:
| I took my own passport photo with my mirrorless camera, and a
| whiteboard as the background. It took a while to get it right,
| with no bright spots on the background and now shadows. It was
| accepted.
| aimor wrote:
| A tip for 10 years from now: take the picture with diffuse
| backlighting and you can easily blow out the background
| completely. For example, a sheer curtain in front of an outdoor
| window is just about perfect.
| latexr wrote:
| Ten years from now, hopefully you won't have to be taking and
| printing your own passport photos. I haven't done that in _at
| least_ a decade, maybe two, in Europe. I go to the office
| that handles it and there's a machine there that takes your
| photo.
| Ekaros wrote:
| The system here is simple, I just paid the 9,90 for photo,
| it is directly uploaded to the police and I am texted a
| code. I log on their system, put in the code. And pay.
| Passport is delivered to pickup location near me in week or
| so... Only issue is the signature and fingerprints, have to
| reserve time early or wait in line.
| latexr wrote:
| Here it's simpler, the same machines handles everything.
| You make the appointment, go there, and done. Then it's
| just the pick up.
| desas wrote:
| Here it's simpler, you fill out the form on your phone,
| take a picture on your phone and then the passport
| arrives in the post. Then you eventually sign it after a
| bored border official passes comment.
| taejo wrote:
| Why go to the office when you can take a selfie with your
| phone and order your passport online?
| frompdx wrote:
| Great project. It reminds me of the SNL sketch (can't remember
| which) where the character says "I like to keep a piece of sliced
| ham folded up in my pocket just so I have my own little secret."
| jedberg wrote:
| https://snltranscripts.jt.org/06/06pporch.phtml
|
| No video that I could find.
| frompdx wrote:
| Yep, that's the sketch I'm thinking of.
| jftuga wrote:
| tangent:
|
| I wrote this: https://github.com/jftuga/photo_id_resizer
| This program is used to resize large photo ID images. When image
| resizing occurs, a content aware image resizing library is used
| with its face detection algorithm to avoid face deformation.
| albumen wrote:
| honest question: why is this needed? I would have thought that
| when downsizing an image, most programs would (should?) use
| bicubic interpolation to give a pretty accurate downsampled
| version of the image.
| jftuga wrote:
| https://github.com/esimov/caire?tab=readme-ov-file#face-
| dete...
|
| This shows an example of what can happen when you perform a
| basic resizing of faces. You will notice the distortion when
| this library is not used. When I had to resize 40,0000
| photos, I noticed better visual outcomes when using this
| library for my testing set of photos.
| jval43 wrote:
| A screenshot or example would help. Interesting idea.
| major505 wrote:
| Well lhat is a weid website. Can unseet that anytime soon.
| pfist wrote:
| What an amusing experiment! I laughed out loud many times. A
| novel way to explore the boundaries of something so stringent.
| bze12 wrote:
| Reminds me of those portraits in the Haunted Mansion ride that
| expand when you go down the elevator.
|
| https://hauntedmansion.fandom.com/wiki/Stretching_Room
| jtheory wrote:
| I especially appreciate this on the assumption that it will be
| pulled in as input for AI training.
| TacticalCoder wrote:
| My actual passport photo is like that. We were on vacation, sunny
| place, warm, no pant, only a boxer. And only nature around us, no
| white wall. So I put on a nice shirt, was still in my boxer, and
| wife held a white towel behind my face while someone took a
| picture.
|
| On the original pic you could somehow see that it was a towel and
| not a white wall but some photoshopping took care of that.
|
| Why a shirt while in underwear? A shirt looks "serious". And real
| people like that. They like a shirt, it looks serious. As to why
| the boxer underwear: for the same reason as in TFA.
|
| Next time I'll show up with the complete picture and cut it in
| front of the person asking me for the picture.
| stogot wrote:
| I lost it at the duct hands
| daft_pink wrote:
| Where can we see/buy this artwork?
| djcoding wrote:
| I once used a website https://makepassportphoto.com to create
| such photos for my family
| endofreach wrote:
| This looks like what my experience taking a passport photo with a
| 8 month old mini human felt like.
| k1kingy wrote:
| Oh boy do I know the feeling. We live overseas and both our
| kids were born here. So basically the first thing we had to do
| was get them their passports. Trying to get a 2-4 week old baby
| to open their eyes and look somewhat at the camera was... an
| experience.
|
| Tip: Swaddle the baby, lie it on top of a plain light piece of
| fabric (we used one of my work shirts) and click the camera 100
| times.
|
| Having said that though, I'm starting to think an 8 month old
| would be even harder based on the fact that they move :D
| consf wrote:
| I can only imagine the challenge!
| consf wrote:
| The rules (for passport photos) are designed to strip away any
| trace of individuality, which feels ironic for a document that's
| so personal
| Ekaros wrote:
| On other hand it kinda is document of subjectdom. You are
| ultimately subject of particular nation.
| matthberg wrote:
| Looking at other art by him, his latest piece _Democracy_
| features three figures in voting booths, one with their pants
| pulled down. Sure feels timely. He wrote a nice blurb with it
| too, I love it when artists include some of their thoughts in
| portfolios rather than just the photos alone (though this piece
| was a sculpture).
|
| https://maxsiedentopf.com/democracy/
| ivolimmen wrote:
| I actually came to the comments to post the same.
| tijtij wrote:
| Art imitating life
|
| "Rebelse Belg trekt broek naar beneden in stemhokje"
|
| Translation: Rebellious Belgian pulls down pants in voting
| booth
|
| https://www.ad.nl/buitenland/belg-trekt-broek-uit-in-stemhok...
| vincnetas wrote:
| If it's a "print" do not add changing images. Now we have on
| first slot "Passport Photos" story with plinking photos, which
| makes me wanna click X ASAP...
| indus wrote:
| This is what the internet was in 1998, before hustlers invented
| SEO.
| hcfman wrote:
| Integrate artwork with clearview. Check.
| oneeyedpigeon wrote:
| Now I want to see more 'extreme' passport photos -- one taken
| from the top of a skyscraper, in the middle of a rollercoaster
| ride, etc.
| kweks wrote:
| When I got French nationality, I spent 6 months growing an
| impressive old-style moustache just for the ID photo. it's the
| little things that count.
| swah wrote:
| If one goes with a fake (but not obviously fake) moustache,
| would they question?
| lazide wrote:
| What is your definition of fake - can be pulled off? Not your
| own hair?
|
| Lots of options here.
| moffkalast wrote:
| What if it's your own hair, but glued back on haha
| Temporary_31337 wrote:
| Where from and is it curly?
| Moru wrote:
| It doesn't really matter. If you are not recognizable,
| it's not valid. That is the whole point of a photo-ID the
| photo has to be a good likeness with you. Glad the GP met
| friendly people that let him get away with it but don't
| count on it working for ever :-)
| ygra wrote:
| The driver's license is not an ID, though. Besides, at
| least in Germany you get it and then it never changes. So
| the photo is pretty much always outdated.
| MobiusHorizons wrote:
| It is definitely an ID in some countries (notably the US,
| where it is by far the most common).
| lazide wrote:
| In most US states, your drivers license is the only photo
| ID most people have.
| philsnow wrote:
| I was going to make a quip about how that's because,
| compared to Europe, almost nobody in the States has
| bothered to get a passport.. but apparently the
| percentage of Statesians who have passports has
| skyrocketed in the last 35 years from ~3% to 51%:
| https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Z9qF8/6/
| generj wrote:
| For any US Citizens renewing a US passport: if you want a
| national ID that fits in your wallet, you can pay $30 and
| get a passport card. They are a no brainer upgrade to a
| passport application or renewal IMHO. Cost is a bit
| higher due to a $35 application fee if you are getting
| them separate from a passport book but I think they are
| still worth it.
|
| They can be used for land and sea entry to the US. They
| serve as ID on domestic flights and for I9 employment
| verification.
|
| Many countries technically require you to always travel
| with national ID or require it for traveling on trains
| (since they have national IDs, unlike the US). But
| passports are bulky and American travelers have been
| taught to leave them in safes or buried in bags where
| they are hard to steal. A passport card can be kept on
| hand 24/7 in case a national ID is needed.
|
| In the event you lose your actual passport after
| traveling abroad, they would save a ton of time at the
| embassy since you have a form of passport already on you.
| Compare this to the panicked alternative of trying to get
| a replacement with a photocopy of your passport (which
| standard travel advice says you should have for this
| reason) and somehow getting a birth certificate.
| curmudgeon22 wrote:
| Very much an id in Canada too.
| yencabulator wrote:
| My European driver's license expires in 2046, but the
| fine print says if my appearance substantially changes,
| or the police requires it, I must get a new one.
| gsich wrote:
| It acts as an ID in most cases.
| Moru wrote:
| Germany is doing away with the eternal drivers licenses
| in stages. Better look that up before you loose yours.
| Wifes license runs out in January next year, eep.
| bragr wrote:
| >Wifes license runs out in January next year, eep
|
| Genuinely asking, how does that qualify as "eep"? Is
| renewing onerous or expensive in Germany? I ask because
| in the US, renewing a license is usually cheap and done
| quickly online, except for about once a decade, they
| require a new photo (which itself doesn't take too long
| with an appointment).
| Moru wrote:
| It was totally forgotten. I thought it was done already
| but we forgot to order it so thanks for the reminder :-)
|
| We don't live in Germany so she has to get a swedish one
| now anyway.
|
| Yes, it's been online since as long as I can remember.
| 25-ish years probably.
| dkga wrote:
| It is in some countries
| eloisant wrote:
| Most photo id are valid for 10 years. Your appearance can
| change in 10 years.
| PyWoody wrote:
| I grew an absurd handlebar mustache for my driver license
| photo. It never fails to get a double-take and a laugh.
| buu700 wrote:
| Related: https://youtu.be/IoM2Cwt2cVQ
| inanutshellus wrote:
| Relatably related: https://youtu.be/Yh9O9ETuF_0?t=119
|
| (T.J. Miller driver's license photo routine)
| burningChrome wrote:
| In college my GF loved to give me hickeys (against my will)
| on my neck before I would go out at the bar because she
| thought it would dissuade women from flirting with me.
|
| After we had a particularly bad fight, after things cooled
| down and we were making up, she put a huge one on my neck.
| Like it looked like someone wrenched me with a baseball bat.
| Next day it was really bruised and looked horrible. I had to
| get my DL renewed and they took the pic with the bruise and
| all.
|
| I got the same thing, bouncers and every time I had to
| present somewhere would get the "Ohhhhhhh bro, that is BAD!"
| which would then lead to other people clamoring to see it.
| mrweasel wrote:
| There's at least a few of these which may not be acceptable as a
| passport photo, due to the top of the shoulders not being
| visible.
| yzydserd wrote:
| Could do a similar project for Zoom/Teams. I often wonder what's
| just out of view.
| 082349872349872 wrote:
| https://scontent-zrh1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/455099012...
|
| Or maybe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RQxD4Ff7dY#t=48s ?
| nbeleski wrote:
| As someone who has actively written algorithms for passport
| security verifications, including photo strict requirements and
| validation, this post really struck a chord with me.
|
| Awesome work!
| blantonl wrote:
| Interesting. I have a friend who has been completely unable to
| upload a photo for his passport renewal online because he has a
| lazy eye.
| amichal wrote:
| I expected the layout, head size, expression etc rules to be
| more or less standard across countries. More than a decade a go
| our dual citizen baby got both passports at once and I thought
| I could use one of the US duplicates for the other country...
| an hour of fiddly standards checking, measuring, reprinting,
| cropping and I got something that would pass on the application
| but got a scolding that it was not _quite_ right.
| _joel wrote:
| Wanna buy any pegs^H^H^H^H toast Dave?
| https://maxsiedentopf.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Passpor...
| robertlagrant wrote:
| It's very fun, but I don't think it's challenging any rules.
| ambyra wrote:
| Would be great to tape the whole picture inside the passport. I'm
| sure the passport officials could use a good chuckle. ... or
| you'll go to jail.
| JSDevOps wrote:
| Genius lol.
| paran0ia wrote:
| Love it
| paran0ia wrote:
| I want to have a passport photo like this for myself
| huesatbri wrote:
| calm.jpg
| ramassnel1 wrote:
| Damn this is fire
| amelius wrote:
| I have the feeling that this should be presented in an animated
| way.
|
| Like, you see somebody's passport, then it zooms out, the
| passport disappears and you see the entire picture.
| vestrigi wrote:
| Nice idea, maybe even tied to the scroll wheel.
|
| I'd love to see this in a book that has simple white pages with
| little cutouts showing only the passport picture of the next
| page. Then you turn that page around and see the full picture.
| andrewshadura wrote:
| I once had a conversation with a friend about passport photos. In
| particular, how much makeup are you allowed to wear? And, how
| much makeup if you're a man? Next day I went and got myself a
| driving license with a photo wearing black lipstick. The photo
| lady was unhappy but was unable to find a rule to justify sending
| me home.
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