A Passport size photo story.

Two weeks back with the Glasgow bomb scare and the Indian doctors in custody, we went very much into panic mode. Mainly because we had plans to visit London next month for one week. Apart from the money already spent on hotel accommodation and air tickets we had another issue too. Our visit visas were in process and I almost expected them to get rejected. May be due to my pessimism, our visa applications were duly rejected the next day. But the reason was different. My passport size photo didn’t have the white background that they insist for visa applications.



grey background photo, which got rejected.


Didn’t I read the guidelines for visa application? Being an organized Virgo, how would I ever miss it? I did. But to be frank, when I remembered my last ‘experience’ with passport size photo, I kind of ignored it. It’s not so easy to get a ‘passable’ passport size photo here. What we have here mostly are those Kodak booths, with a square inch dark space inside which more or less work like vending machines. The only difference is that after putting the money into machine, we have to sit still for some seconds, when the machine takes photo. Now if you are not familiar with them (like me) you will end up spending 6 euros or more for taking pictures of your T shirt or hands or part of your tummy.

Last time, when I tried, I spent more than 12 euros to get my upper body photographed without my head anywhere near it. No. It was not my mistake. The person who used the booth previously was apparently very much taller than me and made the adjustments according to his/her height. And with my special (!) rapport that I have with machines, I sat there and just pressed the first button I saw. The machine suddenly went on flashing and clicking with a 'plop' before my mind could register that it is taking photo. I sat there blinking at its sudden response and looking for the button to stop. The result was two photos of mine looking here and there for the stop button, two photos of mine looking stunned at the fast responding camera, and two photos of faceless me with a part of chin ,neck and arms, when I finally found the stop button.

Twelve euros spent without even a single photo of my full face caused a family feud. I tried to tell my husband that it was not my fault that I was short. And his logic that I should have adjusted the machine didn’t seem like any valid reason to me. So, I didn’t want to go to that dark-booth again. Honestly it really had an eerie atmosphere to it. I might have thought that UK embassy may show some leniency with my grey background photo! Well, they didn't.


Any way when the visa application was rejected with this reason mentioned, there wasn’t any other way left but to take a white-background photo. But I was adamant, that even if I can’t go to London, I won’t get into that booth again. [I think I have that phobia of closed dark spaces!]. So we asked a Fuji shop owner whether they took passport size photos. They did, but only with Polaroid cameras –the same one which were in those booths. But this time, a human being snapped the picture rather than the machine itself. That was the biggest relief for me!

This shop had a main entrance door which was painted white on half of one side with a stool in front of it. When she asked me to sit down there, suddenly I realized how I missed the photo studios in India. They had make-up room with combs, talcum powder and even bindis. They had two or three reflectors and big flashes. Here, there was nothing… not even a decent flash! They didn’t even have a closed room. The photo was taken in the one and only room- reception -in front of a white painted door. Now I had only one prayer. God! Please let my face be visible in that photo! Back in India, I used to criticize every photo taken in the studio and complained that it was horrible and the cameraman made me look bad. Now I just wanted my face to be present in the photo!

God heard my prayer and my face was there in the photo, as well as the white back ground. I don’t have copies of this photo because of its Polaroid nature. But it served the purpose. Our visa got approved and we are ready to visit London next month!


white background polaroid photo, which got approved.

Next time, when I go to India, a photo with white background is in my wish-list!