Chicagoan Bauer, 42, often takes photos for driver’s licenses, up to 100 a day.
What famous people have you photographed? Christie Hefner, from Playboy magazine; [tennis great] Billie Jean King; actor John Mahoney [of Steppenwolf and NBC’s “Frazier”]; Tom Skilling; Ron Magers.
How vain are some people? There was a gentleman once that was bald and he wanted us to take two pictures, one with his toupee, and one without. He wanted to see which looked better. We told him he had to decide whether he had his hair on or off. He went with his toupee on.
Lots of people hate their driver’s license photos. Is there anything you do to get a better picture? We tell them to “Say cheese.” We ask if they’re ready, we count down. It’s a lot easier now with the digital cameras we have. We can freeze their photo and make sure their tongue isn’t hanging out or their eyes aren’t closed.
You mean “Say cheese” still works? It works. I once had an employee who said, “OK, say sex,” but we stopped that pretty quickly.
What’s the breakdown between people who smile and people who don’t? It’s about even. There are a lot of people who don’t smile; they want to show the police that they’re mean.
What does your license photo look like? It’s pretty nasty. I look really pale; I was wearing a white shirt. You’d think I’d know better.
Ever been tempted to ask for someone’s phone number? No, [but] people have asked for my number. Sometimes the place is like the vegetable aisle at the grocery store, though. Go to the Secretary of State, get a date. Could be a new slogan.
