Passport photo critique

[KurtNYC]

So I went to get my passport renewal at the Post Office this morning. I needed them to take the pictures also. The shoot was in a postal type setting, on a set that evoked the feel of a post office which was furnished in the late 1950s. Lots of grey and brushed aluminum.

They put us in front of a neutral background and said things like "okay, gimme that look that says 'I'm an American tourist! Let me in!" and snapped away. After the pictures came out, they passed them down the row of postal clerks. Each of whom took a brief break from selling stamps and asking if packages contained anything breakable. They were experts on passport photos and it showed in their comments...

"I look at this picture and I don't see a model."
"Just kind of deer-in-the-headlights."
"This is much better than your last passport picture but you still need to work on overcoming that washed-out look."
"I hope that in ten years, when you renew your passport again, you will show us all that fierce model that we know is inside you."

Finally they passed the photo back to the clerk handling passport renewals and I was thrilled when she pulled the photo out of the priority mail envelope (with return receipt requested) and said....

"Congratulations, you're still in the running towards becoming America's next top model."

I walked all the way home on clouds of bliss but then it hit me.

'What about my damned passport renewal?!'