You know... whenever I've needed a photograph taken, passport size, for any official paperwork etc, I just pop into a photo studio, pose with a fake sober look, and get outta there as soon as I can. All done in a matter of a few minutes. I even remember when I was a kid, they just plonked me down in that uncomfortable seat at the studio, I was instructed to look at the camera and just...well...look!

So my bro needs his passport renewed and the photos we have are over 5-6 years old, so we were faced with the daunting task of getting a passport photograph taken. Me and Mom were wondering, how the hell were we supposed to take him to a photo studio (and mind you, getting him to even ENTER the room where the photo would be taken is like another Herculean task; he senses when we're taking him somewhere for a purpose and decides, 'let me rebel'!!!), how were we supposed to get him to even SIT, how would he keep his fingers out of his ears for a period long enough to click a photo (he normally puts his fingers in his ears when he's unsettled or in an unfamiliar place), and even if we got his fingers out of his ears, or his hand off his face, then would he sit straight, and IF we somehow managed all this, he most definitely wouldn't even LOOK at the camera!!! And not to mention, because he'd be unsettled or scared of the new surroundings and the threatening looking equipment, he'd be grabbing mine and Mom's clothes, which meant that either the clothes would tear, or he'd pull them so much ... that either way, the photo studio guy would see our bras. Yeah, by now we've had enough experience with this, but it's not like we WANT people to stare down our tops, wot?

Guess that trip to a photo studio or a hair-cutting place or wherever else with your "normal" 2 year old looks a whole lot better now, eh?

Anyway, Stained to the rescue (imagine a person whooshing down rooftops in a superhero spandex suit with a camera emblazoned on his chest)! He came to our house, and after half an hour of "Put your hands down", introducing Stained to my bro very formally (it was very rudimentary, as if talking to someone who does not understand your language; pointed to Stained, saying "THIS is Stained" a few times, then got them to shake hands - "shake hands with Stained"- and then moved on from there), then constantly saying "Look at Stained, look at Stained", some cries of "leave my clothes, leave my clothes" and about 20-odd photographs later... we found one perfect photograph. It would've taken longer had we gone to an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person hovering around my bro.

And today I'm off to get it printed! Yay!