My Passport Photo

So I had to decided to get my passport photo taken. The government has very strict guidelines and how the photos should be taken, how the lighting has to be, and what you are what to wear, or not to wear for that photo. What this means for me is that I cannot wear any hats or headwraps, or any type of wigs. I would need to take my photo bald which I have no problem with. I chose going to the United States Post Office to have my photo taken. I chose this location because I knew it would probably not be crowded as other places and I could make an appointment at my convenience.

When I arrived for my appointment I was taken to a private area and I was told to remove the scarf on my head. The gentleman that was taking my application, mentioned that he admired strong women like me who had the courage to go out in public and reveal their bald heads like that. He mentioned that he also knew someone that also had cancer and lost her hair like me. (Here we go again.) I smiled and politely told him, “Thanks, but I don’t have cancer and that I have alopecia.”

He proceeded to take my photo and had to take the photo several times. Because of the required white background, the photo had to be taken with, there was a large glow that kept showing up at the top of my head distorting the photo. He needed to keep re-positioning my head and adjusting the lighting. Finally, he took the last photo which did not have the glow and he felt passed the photo guidelines and submitted my completed application.

Several weeks passed and I received a letter from the U. S. Government stating they could not use the photo because it did not meet their photo guidelines. They didn’t say what the exact issue was but did send a list of the exact guidelines. They instructed me to have the photo retaken.

I had my photo retaken at a different photo center. This time my photo was taken in an open area and when I removed my headwrap I got the usual stares and I was OK with that. Again the photo was taken against a white background. The photo had to be retaken several times because of the white halo that kept showing up above my head! The young lady taking my photo kept apologizing and was clearly very nervous for me. I was more uncomfortable for her than I was for myself. She then began to tell me about a story of a woman who had to remove her headwrap and did not want to for religious reasons. She said the woman threatened to sue her and again began to apologize to me. I consoled her and told her I was fine. She finally ran my photo through a special computer program to ensure the photo met the proper specifications. I viewed the photo and to me the photo looked identical to the first photo I submitted. I suspected the issue with the shine was from the crown from my beautiful bald head and the new photo will be rejected as well.

So I decided to call the passport center for some advice. They suggested I submit the new photo and include a note with my concern in hopes they will approve the photo this time. I’ll keep you Guys posted...ugghhh!...the things we alopecians have to endure sometimes!