Usually the DIY beginners tend to make these mistakes while shooting for a passport photo but it is not true that experts and professional cameramen don’t make them. Setting up a perfect shot at the first time is very hard for any professional. Sometimes these common mistakes happen even after the awareness due to unusual conditions. So let’s learn some and let’s not do any one of them
1. Incorrect size and dimension
The first and foremost mistake an applicant does is with the size and dimensions of the required passport photo. According to the specified official rules, most of the countries demand a 2” x 2” inches sized photo without any borders or outlines. However it varies from countries to countries so the entrant must be well aware of his/ her specific country requirements. Most of the time, the inappropriate editing and cropping results in the unwanted size and dimensions. It also creates an unparalleled view of the applicant’s face with the portrait orientation.
2. Apparels and wearing
For the entrant of passport application wearing proper and casual clothing is very vital during the shooting of passport photo because there are certain rules and regulations regarding them in every country’s rule book of passport photo requirements. And failure to decide what to wear for the photo shoot is also very baffling to the entrants which ultimately results in the second most common mistake. Generally, hats or head gear are allowed unless the entrant is wearing them in a regular basis for religious reasons. Another common mistake is entrants thinking that wearing a regular eyeglass in belief that it would be acceptable but it is not. Wearing spectacles or eyeglasses are only allowed if there lays any good medical reason else it is recommended to remove them. Though for these cases, the entrant must be submitting a signed document stating the head gears are religious in nature. If the entrant is wearing the uniforms of any school, organizations or such authorities then this mistake must be acknowledged and you should go change your apparels. Camouflage attires are rejected.
3. Lighting and focus
Lighting and appropriate focusing on the portrait is important for the accurate detail of entrant’s visage. It is little hard to manage a perfect lighting and focus which makes it the other common mistake performed by the DIY entrants and even professionals too. Too dark contrast or too light contrasts as well as overexposed photos are directly rejected. So these factors must be looked carefully by the photographer. You should make sure that the photos are in focus. Shades, reflections or refraction over the face of the entrant due to poor lighting and shadows are totally not acceptable at all.
4. Camera level and Eye level
Please look at the camera lens for a while at least because the other defect found in the passport photos of the rejected entrants is the deviated eye and camera level. People tend to look downside or attempt to neglect the camera view just because they are used to so. Not looking at the camera level causes the entrant’s eyes to be viewing at deviated angle and this causes the rejection. If you are doing it yourself with DIY procedures then you must be very careful about both of these levels in the tripod. Whereas the second person photographer needs to manage properly with his/ her camera distance from the entrant’s face and eyes at both sideways and upside positions.
5. Background/ background color
Obviously people make background mistakes because they are not reading the compositional requirements provided by the official federal bureaus of the country’s passport services they are applying to. And this poses a big rejection stamp on their passport application at the moment it goes under the inspection over the passport services offices of the respective country. An incorrect background of the passport photo is totally unacceptable. This mistake is usually bad but it is generally not encountered. It is very crucial to ensure whether the background color matches the specified color by the officials. Some people misunderstand the color descriptions and get over with the similar looking colors which is another blunder they do. Blurring the background to match the required color background is also not acceptable. Shadows on the background are another mistake found in the entrant’s photo. All the countries specifications clearly read that there should not be any kind of dark spots or shadows and refraction in the background of the passport photo.
6. Facial expression
The entrant face should be forward looking directly at the camera lens so that it is not tilted sideways or making any other gesture through the photo. The federal authorities of the passport services where you are applying are looking for a normal face recognizable of you. Trying to make funny, pitiful or squinting faces to acquire the attention of the viewer is not going to do any good. These are the common mistake or moreover thinking of the people which leads their passport application rejection. The passport services authorities doesn’t care how you look when you smile, frown or sad. So do not pretend to do so in any way.
7. Infants photos
All the requirements are similar to adults when it comes to shoot for the infants passport photo but these things confuse the guardians and leads to silly mistakes during their babies photo shoot. Parents try to support their baby while shooting for the passport photo in front of the background and make mistakes by showing their hands in the babies’ photo outline too. Any second person or other object that holds or supports the infant during the photo shoot are purely rejected in all of the passport services. Sometimes car seats are seen in the background which is too unacceptable. So it is not good to neglect the idea that inspection is not strict to infants’ photos as it is for the adults. Once again the passport services officers are not obliged to take go soft looking the babies photos, they do their jobs well so you must do yours part.
8. Digital alterations
Any kind of digital alterations or Photoshop editing and effects are not allowed in the entrant’s photo so trying to look nice and classy with editing is bad decision for your passport photo. Nowadays the other mistake made by the naive entrants is misunderstanding the Selfie as the self-portrait can be submitted for the passport photo. This is not applicable at all because the Selfie mode of the camera doesn’t comply with the passport photo requirements at all and it is not built for the purpose too. It yields low resolution and most probably badly tilted photos. Cropping the body part of image, adding special effects to lighten up the face, softening dark spots and beautifying image for better looks are blunders. They must be avoided.
9. Camera settings
Cameras are manufactured according to various needs so to shoot a passport photo with right settings in any kind of camera can be totally troublesome task for any person without the proper knowledge of photography. Most commonly people making the passport photos tend to randomize the settings and convince themselves with the bad settings. People tend to be mistaken by the variety of vague settings in the camera and stuck on unwanted photo composition. If you cannot set the right settings in your high specs cameras then it is better recommended to ask help with professionals. Whereas applicants with DIY procedures and android smartphones, they can download the “Passport Photo ID Maker Studio” app from Play Store and continue with the preset settings. Using this app the entrants would not worry about the vague settings and be safe on these factors regarding the passport photos.
10. Being adamant with self
It may sound weird but it is true to higher extent in all of the newbies to pros. People get arrogant and believe that they know all. They lack the knowledge of detail specifications and requirements for the passport photos. This creates many minor to major mistakes that can be accounted due to lack of proper observance. Inspection of your passport photo strictly abides by the rules so it is better to exercise all the possible tips and helpful readings while you can. Regards for reading to the end.
