Totally non-artistic, but necessary: pic of my son - and now also of my daughter

LaFoto · Aug 30, 2007

Half an hour away from his second class in preparation to eventually getting his driving licence, my son comes into my room musing "Oh dang, now I forgot to get my photo taken, I need one in passport size for the licence, and it would have been best to give the instructor all the necessary things TONIGHT." We searched through my boxes, and his latest session with a real and true studio photographer was 2 years ago and his hair only about 5 mm long. No way he would want THAT "ancient old" photo in his licence.

OK, says mommy, pull down the screen, I'll take one and print it, and let's hope he'll accept a printed photo through a normal computer printer.

And I take his photo, with daddy as assistent, holding up the makeshift "reflector" (white board), using day light from the side (on a dull, grey day). No chance to do anything but convert it and print it. With this he has now left for his driving school:

I know - MANY changes could still have been done, but ... this was a very impromtu rush job (just like usual passphoto jobs in studios for 12,50 for a set of four small piccies).

wildmaven · Aug 30, 2007

You caught such a beautiful, natural smile!!

skieur · Aug 30, 2007

I would recommend a device that is sold in Canada and I assume elsewhere which is installed in the car and records where a driver has driven as well as his/her speed at all times. An important tool to re-inforce safe driving habits.

skieur

LaFoto · Aug 31, 2007

I don't quite know what you mean to say, skieur, all I know is that there are a good many camera boxes on the side of the main road that will take photos of the kind of you, which usually clearly lack in quality, always arrive unframed and on flimsy thermo paper, and cost you a fortune all the same

. ("Fine" --- what does THAT mean??? The PHOTO is UGLY. Always!

)

The pic that I took and printed out all within 10 minutes yesterday night was the photo he wants put into his licence. ONCE he'll get it (which is still about 6 months away, I assume).

Puscas · Sep 1, 2007

I think Skieur is talking about a device, developed to track teen-drivers. Parents can use it to see how there kids are doing behind the weel. I'm just guessing he brought it up, because your son is trying to get his drivers license.

But your pics look like perfectly good passport/driver's license material to me! You did a 'fine' job!..

pascal

skieur · Sep 3, 2007

Puscas said:
I think Skieur is talking about a device, developed to track teen-drivers. Parents can use it to see how there kids are doing behind the weel. I'm just guessing he brought it up, because your son is trying to get his drivers license.

But your pics look like perfectly good passport/driver's license material to me! You did a 'fine' job!..

pascal

You are correct, pascal. Traumatic brain injury due to a car accident is not something that you can recover from. Perhaps more monitoring of young drivers will reduce this kind of tragedy.

skieur

mentos_007 · Sep 4, 2007

nice photos Corinna!
But unfortunately in poland they might not accept them. Once I took a pic of my friend and she was told that face MUST be natural, without smile with left ear visible. But you did a very nice job!

LaFoto · Sep 4, 2007

Well, Aleksandra, fortunately, this is not a photo made for a real passport or identity card. It is "only" for the driver's licence, and that does not replace the ID-card here in my country.
For those, however, there are strict regulations as to how the person must look (unsmiling, yes) and, in the case of long hair like my son is finding fashionable right now, with the left ear exposed. I know.

Had my dreamer of a son thought of having his photo made by a "real photographer", in a studio, they'd have observed all these matters, I am sure. Passport photo is passport photo, no matter what it is meant for. (No imagination, eh? :greenpbl: )

The_Traveler · Sep 4, 2007

I don't understand the 'left ear visible' thing.
Do people get tagged at birth on their left ear?
Do Europeans believe in the Bertillon system?
The left ear has some mysterious relationship to driving skill?

skieur · Sep 4, 2007

The_Traveler said:
I don't understand the 'left ear visible' thing.
Do people get tagged at birth on their left ear?
Do Europeans believe in the Bertillon system?
The left ear has some mysterious relationship to driving skill?

You mean that you haven't checked your left ear?

skieur

mentos_007 · Sep 5, 2007

well... our european left ears are special...not like those of americans or others... :-D :-D jk.

LaFoto · Sep 5, 2007

Today I was as suddenly "forced" to quickly take the same type of photo of Sabine, my daughter, and she did expose her left ear and she did not smile.

(They have to write mock applications with CVs and such for school and prepare a whole application folder, that's why).

Today, though, the day is not dull enough and not even the canopy out could prevent that side of her face lit through the door from getting a little blown. And my makeshift reflector had a hard time working against, more so since I did not have an assistent to hold it for me. Hmph.