Recently I needed to get two portrait shots done, one for my Civil ID and the other for my passport. Ever since I was a kid I used to get all my portrait shots taken at Boushahri Studio in Salmiya but since they closed down their studio I haven’t been able to find a decent alternative. I’ve tried two places so far and they’ve both been horrible. The first place turned my photo into a glamour shot with so much retouching I looked like I was made out of plastic while the second studio had the most mind boggling photographer.
According to my passport requirements, I should have my photo taken in front of a white background and it shouldn’t be edited in any way. So I go into the studio and I see a bright green background. I sit down in front of it and ask the photographer shouldn’t I be in front of a white background? He’s like yes and proceeds to set up the lights and is getting ready to take a photo. I’m like the background behind me is green. He was like yes we’ll change it later (as in he’ll edit it later on the computer). I was like but the instruction clearly say the photo shouldn’t be altered in anyway. He was like yeah but we always do this. So I was like don’t you have a white background? So he goes yes and then presses a button on a remote and a white background comes down. I mean wtf? If you have a white background that requires a click of a button to drop down, why would you shoot me in front of a green background and then edit the background to white on the computer? It’s so much easier and proper to just shoot me in front of a white back drop in the first place.
I miss the old days when the photographer would shoot with film and had to get the shot right on camera.
17 replies on “The Art of a Portrait Shot”
One benefit of having the green is you can produce the same shot with blue backgrounds as well which is required for Kuwaits government.
When are we going to stop using portraits!! i think the digital world should help this become obsolete somehow.
portraits are required by every ministry, not just in Kuwait.
Boushahri is still open at Al-Daiya Coop
Mark, please dont open closed doors.
All photographers in Kuwait photograph out pictures, they make our skin clearer (sometimes lighter), our faces thinner, and our hair neat.
all embassies western embassies accept these photos. its a kuwaiti thing, that we do and no one knows about. now u put it in public.
Around the corner of the NBK ATM in Salmiya (the one next to the entrance of Old Salmiya) is a photo studio. They did my shots and didn’t photoshop them and they came out great. Check them out.
Check a Kuwaiti photographer in Jasem tower called Hamad (memoire studio) I love his portraits because of how natural they keep things. I always go to other people and don’t like the outcome and go back right to him
Why do you have to be a pain… you go to the studio.. sit down.. get your pic clicked and leave.. why you have to annoy the guy with questions like a wife 😛
lol with the civil id photo i didn’t care but my passport takes like a month to renew and didn’t want to find out after a month it was rejected cuz photo was photoshopped.
tell your embassy or whoever does your passport to modernize already. even 3rd world countries do the “E-Passport” already where your pic and signature is captured onsite.
and btw, most offices really do not care if your image is photoshopped (less wrinkles) as long as;
1. you conform to the size
2. you conform to the color scheme
3. eyes, ears, etc are clearly shown
4. you don’t look like J Beiber or M Cyrus
you should change your nationality 😉
I have been looking for an alternative to Boushari for years now !
Any suggestions ?
Try Almorgan located at Amman street
Good service
There’s a small Kodak studio in Salmiya that takes great pictures. Take the Salmiya exit from 5th ring road. At the signal take a right and go straight through the roundabout. You’ll see a money exchange on the left. I believe it’s a UAE exchange but I can’t remember now. Lol. Take the left after the exchange. You’ll find the studio on your right.
When a newborn in our family was due for a passport, I used the 2nd day shots of his that I shot on my mobile phone at the hospital, took it to the studio and in 5 mins the guy cut me out of the frame, aligned the baby’s head correctly and blanked out the bed he was lying down on with a plain white background.
The perfect passport photo was created – with a smiling baby with eyes open.
Try taking your infant to the studio and asking him to do that. LOL 😀
(^sorry, dunno why the above post came out as a reply. It was not intended to be)
i was wondering the same… why?? lol
Hey Mark for the Canadian passport photos I would go to the Daiya coop. Those guys know exactly what to do and you shouldn’t have any issues with the Canadian Embassy. They’ve been very helpful whenever I renewed my passport.