Hi. I’ve never had a nice passport photo. Let’s change that today. One of the most common questions people ask before their appointment is, “Can I wear a white shirt for a passport photo?” The short answer is yes, but it comes with some tricky lighting issues.
The third color to avoid is pure brilliant white. Now, I love white. I think it’s an amazing color to wear. Unfortunately, in photographs, this white tends to clip. So you have to expose more for the white, and that can tend to have the rest of the image looking underexposed. So again, when white clips, all you’ll see is that blob of color rather than any texture or detail there.
So, if you can avoid it, do so. Even just a slightly more muted color of white like an ecru or a softer white or even a cream—that’s gonna photograph so much easier. Obviously, there are going to be situations where you can avoid it, in which case just make sure that you get your exposure right in camera.
Why Background Matters
The background for US passport photos is typically white or off-white. This is the main reason why wearing white can be problematic. If you wear a white shirt against a white background, you risk looking like a floating head.
The worst thing is when you have white and black in one frame because they’re opposite ends of the spectrum. So pure blacks over here, pure whites over here, and getting them both not to clip can be very difficult.
The Best Colors to Wear
So the first color that you should avoid having your subject wear is this one which is clear red—a really clear bright red. Now the reason we want to avoid this is that this kind of clear red color is really easy to clip the red channel. And what that means in practice is that anything in this kind of clear red color is going to clip so it’s not going to print well. You’re just gonna see a blob of color. Or you won’t see any detail or any texture here.
This color tends to advance; red is an advancing color which means it can be the first thing you see. So if you want to use this color, try and use it more as an accent color rather than a solid block. Or you can actually just tone down the color—so use a slightly more muted tone of red rather than this bright clear red.
The second color to avoid is anything that is neon. So anything that is really bright like a neon pink, a neon yellow, or a neon orange. Now the reason for that is when you have this up towards your subject’s face, it is going to cause a color cast on the person you’re photographing. So underneath your chin, you’re likely to see this reflection of this color.
What About Makeup?
Hi. I’ve never had a nice passport photo. Let’s change that today. I am not going to be following any specific person’s tutorial or anything. I’m just going to be trying to do it as snatched and as carefully and as well as I possibly could.
As far as I know, the focus of this makeup look is to keep the center of your face light and highlighted to be very snatched contour-wise. Let’s get started.
The Base
I’m going to apply my favorite foundation, which is the Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40. I’m going to try to avoid the places where I put the concealer. So, just in kind of the center of my face. Now, I have my big beauty blender. You know the deal. Blend it. I basically kind of pressed this into my skin, actually.
Also important to note that we’re going to be going a little bit heavier on this because obviously flash photography will wash away a lot of your makeup. If you’ve ever done dance or theater, you know that typically you look a little bit crazy in real life, but on photo or on camera, it looks pretty much normal or maybe you can’t even see anything. So, I’m going to be going a little bit heavier. But still try to keep it really clean and chiseled.
The Eyes
Then, I used two of my favorite champagne-toned eyeshadows all over my eyelids as a base. So, I used the lighter brown color all over my crease and then blended it out with a blending brush.
This is one of my favorite eyeliner hacks. So, what I do is I take this angled flat brush. I spray the brush with some sort of makeup setting spray and use that as close to my lash line as possible. And then it becomes really easy to extend the eyeliner into a beautiful and even clean wing.
Clothing Style Tips for Your Interview
If you are traveling for a visa interview as part of your process, the question often becomes: what do I wear to the visa interview? How can I show the Visa officer that I’m taking the interview seriously?
The answer is actually not so straightforward. That means that there is no one-size-fits-all answer for what you should wear to your visa interview. The best piece of advice I can give you on what to wear is to wear what you normally wear as a part of your work, as a part of your studies if you’re a student, but an elevated version—like you want to look extra nice.
For students, I would definitely make sure that you are dressed nicely, that you’re clean-cut. If you have facial hair, that you know you have given yourself like a good shave so you look clean and presentable. You don’t have to shave off your facial hair; that’s not what I’m saying. But I’m just saying you want to make sure that you look very kempt and clean and ready.
Avoiding “Trying Too Hard”
If you are wearing something that is really uncomfortable, if you’re wearing a suit that you just took out of the bag yesterday and it still has all of the creases, guess what? Visa officers know that. And they know that maybe you’re trying too hard. Maybe this is making you really uncomfortable. They take all of that into consideration when they are sort of sizing you up and assessing you for your visa interview.
So it is important to dress comfortably and to dress in a way that is authentic to who you are. If you are packing a suit in a garment bag for your trip, check is a garment bag a personal item to ensure smooth travel.
Also, be prepared for strict luggage rules if you are flying internationally. You don’t want to deal with an Away Bigger Carry-On denied situation right before your trip.
Hairstyles That Frame Your Face
While we have covered makeup and clothing, your hair is just as important. When I do my makeup, I keep my hair in a bun so that when I take it out, my hair is wavy and curly. I love the way it looks and I do this all the time. For passport photos, you want to make sure your hair isn’t casting shadows on your face or covering your eyes.
I took my NYX brow tint pen and used that to draw really fine strokes throughout my eyebrow. I didn’t want to fill it in with a pencil or anything because I didn’t want them to get dark, and this just makes it look as natural as possible. Having well-defined brows frames your face beautifully, especially under the harsh lighting of ID photography.
The Importance of Being Authentic
For any other type of profession, you know, perhaps you are a musician and you like to dress a certain way. Usually, musicians, we can tell you kind of have a swagger. You don’t want to completely change your dress code just for something like a visa interview. So wear something that makes you feel like you could be yourself but also showing that this is an important enough meeting and appointment that you are dressing nicely and you’re very clean.
I think that when you’ve been a Visa officer for a really long time, you just have seen so many different types of outfits. I think the ones that are the most effective are the ones that are true and honest and authentic to who you are. Somehow as officers, we develop this sixth sense for being able to tell when somebody is being authentic. When you’re coming in and you’re dressed as who you are, somehow that affects how you speak to us and how you answer our questions.
Finishing Touches for the Camera
To finish off the look, I curled my eyelashes and then used the XXL mascara on my lower and upper lashes. This opens up the eyes, which is crucial for identification photos. I used a lip liner in the shade “natural” all over my lips as kind of like a lipstick. Honestly, I just love this color so much. And then I just used a butter gloss.
That was pretty much my completed look. Oh, but then I also used highlighter. This highlighter is my absolute favorite of my entire life. I just use that on my nose and my upper cheeks, my cheekbones, just to highlight everything. Remember, the goal is to look like the best version of yourself, not a completely different person.
Final Checklist for the Perfect Passport Photo
If you are wondering can I wear a white shirt for passport photo, remember the risk of the floating head effect. Opt for darker colors that contrast with the background.
Clothing Don’ts:
- Avoid pure brilliant white (unless wearing a jacket over it).
- Avoid clear bright red.
- Avoid neon colors like pink, yellow, or orange.
- Avoid uniforms or camouflage (prohibited by US Dept of State).
Makeup Do’s:
- Go a little heavier on contour because flash washes you out.
- Keep the center of your face light and highlighted.
- Use matte powders to avoid shine.
And if you plan on doing a lot of walking after your embassy visit or photo session, bring along comfortable Chacos to change into.
I hope you guys like this. Let’s make your next adventure a reality, starting now.