To apply for Stella's American citizenship (more on that soon!) one of the items we needed was an American-sized passport photo. This is no easy feat with a 4-week-old baby who can't sit up on her own and doesn't keep her eyes open for long.
It was no easier when we did it with Leo at three weeks, which I write about in hilarious (if I do say so myself) detail in
Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer.
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| See the puppet strings holding Leo up? Thank you, Photoshop. |
"Her eyes must be open," the photographer said, "so that she's recognizable."
Even though I think Stella's the prettiest baby in the world, I have to admit that at 4 weeks she still just looked like a baby. Is there really that much difference? And if so, is the difference really in the eyes? Furthermore, the passport is valid until she's five (not that I'm complaining - I certainly don't want to deal with renewing it any sooner than that). Don't you think there's more difference between a 1-month-old and a 5-year-old than a one-month-old with their eyes open and one with their eyes closed?
"Prop her head up, then shout her name to get her to open her eyes," the photographer suggested.
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| Maybe if I wasn't doing The Robot I could help position my daughter better for the photo. |
No dice. Sweat dripped from every pore as we tried every possible trick under the intense studio lights.
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| I really should get paid for this. |
In the end, the photographer held Stella and had me take the photos. "Snap the photo every time she opens her eyes," he shouted across the studio.
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| You're cutting into my beauty sleep, guys. Can we speed this up? |
We finally got the shot. Not too bad, huh?