Emotions in Passport Photos: A Comprehensive Guide

Emotions are inner experiences or feelings of anger, fear, disgust, surprise, joy, or sadness that are triggered by a certain situation or can occur spontaneously. Additionally, emotions are accompanied by bodily reactions and behavior. Biologically, emotions can also be defined as a response of our brains to an affective stimulus.

The expression of emotions is done through behavior, facial expressions, and body language.

Basic Emotions

There are six basic emotions that can be distinguished:

• Anger: furrowed forehead, eyebrows pulled down, lips pressed together, visible teeth, bulging eyes, widened nostrils, tense eyelids, and red face.
• Fear: eyebrows drawn together, lips pulled back, mouth opened, lower lip pulled down, eyes widened, wrinkles on forehead, nostrils tightened, skin paled, sweat on forehead.
• Disgust: nose wrinkled, eyebrows pulled inward, eyelids squeezed, lines under the lower eyelid, cheeks raised, upper lip raised, tongue stuck out, horizontal lines from the nose to the chin.
• Surprise: eyebrows raised high, eyes wide open, dropped jaw, mouth open, horizontal wrinkles on the forehead.
• Joy: relaxed forehead, slightly raised eyebrows, upturned mouth corners, visible teeth, open mouth, lifted cheeks, wrinkles around the mouth corners and eyes.
• Sadness: furrowed forehead, eyebrows pulled together, downturned mouth corners, trembling lower lip, wrinkles around mouth corners, skin around eyelids pulled inward, teary eyes.

Rules for Showing Emotions in Passport Photos

In the passport photo regulations, it is stated that you must have a neutral facial expression. You should look directly at the camera with a neutral expression and closed mouth. Therefore, showing emotions in passport photos is not allowed.

Broadly smiling or an open mouth is not permitted. However, this does not mean that you have to look stern or surly.