Lessons Learned: PhotoBooth

Studying abroad requires an enormous amount of paperwork and you are often required to provide passport size photographs of yourself. Sometimes they let you know this in advance and sometimes they don't. Worry not! If you ever find yourself in need of passport pictures while in France simply locate a "Photomaton" booth (see picture), which can be found in many convenient places such as grocery stores, malls, or (in the case of the one pictured below) train stations. Don't confuse this photo booth with its American counterpart. These booths aren't meant for silly faces or group photos; they have a more serious purpose.  For only five euros you can get five passport sized photographs. The process is quick and efficient and the instructions are easy to follow regardless of any language barriers.

Photomaton Booth in the Vichy Train Station

Amra and I recently found ourselves in desperate need of some passport sized pictures for our first day of school. We didn't know we needed them until the Sunday night before class was to begin so we scrambled to produce some before everything closed. Amra remembered seeing a "Photomaton" booth in the mall. On our way there we hoped it wasn't closed. Fortunately for us it wasn't because of the movie theater. When we finally got to the Photomaton booth we realized that we didn't have anything smaller than a 10 euro bill. NOTE: Photomaton booths DO NOT accept euro bills greater than five. Thus, to take a passport photo you must either have a five euro bill or five euro in coins. I frantically explained my situation in Frenglish to the lady at the movie theater concession stand who accepted my 10 euro bill in exchange for that amount in euro coins.

Once inside the  Photomaton booth the process went rather smoothly. I inserted my coins selected the type of photograph I wanted it taken (passport sized) after which an automated voice took me through a series of don'ts (don't tilt your head, don't let your hair cover your face, don't wear glasses that would reflect the flash, don't smile, etc.) Once the automated voice had thoroughly educated me on the proper way to take a passport picture (neutral, serious expression with nothing obstructing the face), a process I found extremely comical, a screen popped up with instructions on how to properly place my face for the photograph. The screen consisted of a red oval whose top half was intersected by a dotted line. Based on the instructions I was  supposed to position my face within the oval making sure the middle of my eyes lined up with the dotten line. NOTE: You can adjust the seat up or down when trying to get your face to fit inside the oval on the screen. Once satisified with the placement of my face I pressed the large green botton as instructed. The automated voice asked if I was ready and then to "faite attention". After this the screen went black, which I understood to mean the photo had been taken. Only when I tilted my head back laughing at my "neutral, serious expression" reflected on the black screen did I hear the "click" of the camera. To my great amusemant the first picture was of me laughing hysterically- head tilted back, mouth wide open, eyes squinting- doing everything I was instructed not to do. Luckily the Photomation booth gives you three attempts to take a decent picture (a feat I find impossible). My second attempt proved more successful, so I accepted the picture and the Photomaton booth printed it. The end result was a page containing five passport sized pictures of me looking "neutral and serious", though the slight curve of my mouth reveals my struggle to surpress a laugh.  I explained the process to Amra who went after me. She also found the experience entertaining.

The moral: While traveling in France, if you have five euros in your pocket you can get five passport size pictures from a Photomaton booth. These booths can be found in almost any train station, shopping center, or in the larger supermarkets. The process is simple and efficient. You can adjust the seat in the booth to help you position your face for the picture. And finally, try not to laugh at your "neutral and serious" expression until after you've printed your page of pictures.