Look straight ahead. Do not smile or even open your lips. Maintain a neutral expression. A harsh flash will be illuminating your face. You WILL look ugly. Why is it that the powers that be insist that we look ugly on official identification photos? It's been said that if you look like your passport photo you are too sick to travel, I would add that if you look like the photo on your driver's licence, you probably shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car. It's not (only) that I object to having to carry around THE ugliest photo of myself in my wallet. It's just that I don't understand the principle. A driver's licence or passport is meant to help you prove you are who you say you are and I fail to see how showing a few teeth impedes that. In fact I would go further. If my teeth were rotten, or gappy or discoloured wouldn't showing a few teeth actually help in the identification process?
I have two possible explanations to the "no smile, you're on camera" rule.
1) Someone is officialdom gets a very good laugh at looking at the truly dreadful images on passports and drivers' licences or
2) When pulled over by police or when handing over the passport after hours on a long haul jet, no-one is smiling. Everyone probably looks straight ahead, lips closed with a neutral expression trying to look at least human.
So that was me today at the counter of Queensland Transport renewing my driver's licence trying to put on a brave face. Now look at the birdie ....
* This image was taken outside my front door as I headed out to do the renewal business. I will not know how bad the actual image is until it turns up in the mail in a couple of weeks.
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