Getting a good passport photo isn’t as easy as it may seem. For example, earlier this year, one user’s “hot” passport photo led to them almost not being able to board their flight. Another user wore a white hijab for their photo, which gave them the appearance of a floating head in their passport.
Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after sharing her own passport story. TikTok user Jeannette Kandava (@jeannettendava) says she took passport photos at a Korea Post location in Sunnybank, Australia. During the photos, her “hair & makeup refused to cooperate.”
But when she received the photos, not only were her hair and makeup not a problem, but someone had edited the photos completely.
“Guys, he edited my passport photos,” says Kandava in the video, which shows her passport photos. “This is FaceTuned! He actually FaceTuned my face! I cannot believe this. This is too funny!”
In the comments section, Kandava says that she’s not upset about the photographer’s decision to edit her photos.
“Might just hire him for my Insta,” she joked in a comment.
Other commenters were enthusiastic about the photographer’s decision to edit the photos, with some sharing similar stories.
“Miss girl I need to go there. He gets it,” said a user.
“He understood the assignment,” added another.
“Singapore passport building also does it. I love taking my photo there,” offered a third.
“Ha, ha! I had the same done in Peru,” stated a further TikToker. “First driver ‘s license that has a decent photo.”
@jeannettendava My hair & makeup refused to cooperate this day, thank God for Korea post i guess😭 #jeannettekandava #passportmakeup ♬ original sound – JeannetteKandava
However, some said that getting photos edited like this doesn’t always work out as planned.
“They turned me into another person,” recalled a commenter. “I had to tell them to calm down the editing.”
“My first time getting pics like this in Thailand they gave me a nose job lol,” shared a second.
“That was.done to my sons passport photo and the application got rejected because of it,” detailed an additional TikToker.
For those concerned that such a photo would make traveling difficult, Kandava wrote in several comments that she received her passport and has already used it to travel several times.
Update 7:05pm CT, Dec. 13: In an email to the Daily Dot, Jerry from Korea Post, the photographer behind the photo, explained how the photo came to appear edited.
“The cameras we use have face correction filters by default. Usually we remove this filter and take pictures. However, in this photo it appears that the filter has probably not been removed,” he said. “Also, the woman in the photo already has good looks and very good skin; this made the photo look more edited…If the customer was offended, I must apologize.”
“The rule is not to edit passport photos,” he noted. “The Australian Passport Office and Post Office also advise against photo editing. If the customer requests, we will make minor modifications that will not cause any problems. If it is rejected, we will retake the photo.”
In the future, he says that he will “explain the photos the next time I take the photo.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Kandava via TikTok direct message.