Things changed since the last time I renewed my passport. As y'all probably know, now you have to find a place that take passport photos. Last week, I went to a place that took passport photos, and there were two Black women working the photo section. After I got my photo taken, they went to do what they did, to make sure my photo met passport requirements. But while they were doing this, I overhead them saying they were worried about my photo. So when they gave me my photo, I asked one of them what were they worried about. She told me she had to get some dark spots out the background.
Anyway, I noticed my photo looked a little too dark (even though the background had no dark spots), and it didn't look like I was facing the camera directly, plus my entire imaged looked a little too small. Since I didn't see any dark spots in the background, I took her word that everything would be alright. But what threw me off was when she said one dude had to come back and have his photo taken again. Why would that happen? Mind you, these photos cost almost $19, even though the retake would have been free.
Still not feeling to sure about things, I began to compare this new photo to my old passport photo, and to other peoples passport photos online. I noticed all our passport photos were more like close-ups compared to the new one this sister took of me, not to mention I looked much darker in my new passport photo, like I already mentioned. I know I was wearing a grey turtleneck, but it looked like my beard blended in with my turtleneck, and you couldn't see the bottom of my beard. So before going to apply for my passport and having my picture rejected, I went to another one of their locations, and this woman decided to retake my photo. This sister was a little closer to my age. She told me the location I went to earlier shouldn't have sent me out with my photo looking like that, although she tried to defend those two sisters at first. When she retook my passport photo, she made it lighter matching my regular complexion, and she gave me more of a close-up, like a normal passport photo. She also made sure her camera was facing my face directly. This new photo she took almost looked like a reflection off a mirror. Plus to make sure my face fitted properly, she used their oval template like the one on my passport application inside that 2" X 2" square, where you attach the photo. This is why they charge $19 to take passport photos.
Although I felt more comfortable with this second passport photo, I decided to check on the passport application for the first time, and read the photo requirements in that oval template. According to the template, the bottom of the chin to the top of the head had to be between 1" to 1 3/8" in length. The passport photo I had done by those two sisters at that first location, had the bottom of my chin to the top of my head measuring only 3/4" in length, way below the requirement, even though they used the template like the second location did. However the second location, with the more mature aged sister, had my face measurement just right, at 1 3/8" in length. In other words, she was doing her job, while those other two sisters at that first location tried to get my photo rejected, for what seems to be some personal BS, even though I made it clear that I had a daughter the same age as the one who took the photo, who was the older one. What made it bad was, they acted nice throughout the whole process. Btw, I hadn't read the length requirements inside the template on my passport application until I got home from taking the second photo. So I was even more glad I went back and took this second photo.
This gives brothers even more reason to wanna get a passport. Who wants to live in a country where lameisha or trakeisha will purposely mess up your passport process, or beat your a** in a nursing home. Or where pookie or ray ray will purposely fail your vehicle emissions test just because you was driving a nice car, or sit behind the desk at the motor vehicles administration, push a button, and suspend your drivers license at the first opportunity they get. And this is without the racism. After watching what happened to Tyre Nichols, every Black man in this country should be at least considering getting a passport. Can't even grow a beard pass a certain length without somebody tripping on a brother. Although I already been to Brazil, why I'm getting my passport renewed is really nobody's business. Btw, I submitted the application with no problem. I could have did all this online, if I hadn't let my old passport expire over five years ago.