Of all the travel-related photos we take, the passport photo is often the one we want to look good for. Have a bad hair day, angry zit, sunburn or eye bags and you will survive but be forced to relive that moment every time you hand your passport to an airport official for the next decade. During the pandemic, many countries worldwide allowed people to take their own passport photos, to avoid non-essential shop visits.
For once, travellers enjoyed taking dozens of photos in the comfort of their homes and selecting the best, rather than having the fate of their photo rest in the hands of an impatient 17-year-old working at the local Warehouse Stationery. It’s no surprise people make a special effort to look their best on passport photo day, with hundreds of videos tagged #passportmakeup on TikTok, several with millions of views and one with almost 15 million views..