This is the government’s guide to passports, not a private institution, right?
Yeah, I just went through the passport renewal process. The State Department website has a bunch of rules on how a passport photo needs to be composed. Don’t have hair covering your face, have a white background, no visible shadows, etc
Weirdly, the passport photo taker lady at my local county courthouse said I could smile if I wanted to. I didn’t want to risk it, so I still gave it my best resting bitch face
In hindsight, Disney's policy of cast members being expected to smile on stage is one of the more strange and cult-y parts of that job. Haunted Mansion was a very popular attraction to work, and a surprisingly big part of that was because it was the only guest-facing job you weren't expected to smile in.
