An artist pokes fun at people's passport photo shoots by creating hilarious scenes around them

• London-based visual artist Max Siedentopf pushes the boundaries of passport photography in his series, "Passport Photos."
• Siedentopf pokes fun at restrictive passport-photo rules b
• Although the cropped portraits in Siedentopf's series fit passport-photo requirements, the zoomed-out pictures reveal bizarre and chaotic scenarios taking place.
• The result is a series of hilarious images. One participant, for example, was taped to the wall during his photo shoot.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

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Max Siedentopf is a London-based visual artist who challenges the strict guidelines of passport photography in his photo series, "Passport Photos."

Most passport photo regulations require that subjects must directly face the camera, have a plain facial expression with a closed mouth, and stand in front of a plain, light-colored background. Through his project, Siedentopf explored these rigid rules and and looked for ways to make the process of taking a passport photo more unique.

"The regulations are so strict, it seems almost impossible for any kind of self-expression," he told Insider.

Siedentopf's inspiration for creating this series came from his own experience of getting his passport renewed.

"While sitting in front of the camera and keeping a straight face, I was wondering how something so dull could be 'tricked' and get some more excitement into the whole process of passport photography," Siedentopf told Insider.

He then made it his mission to figure out a creative way to make passport photos more lively and entertaining, while still abiding by official rules.

As a result of his experience, he came up with a photo-shoot idea and recruited models to participate in the project.

Participants were challenged to keep a neutral expression during the entire shoot, while performing comedic tasks or wearing silly outfits.

The photos on the left are cropped to comply with passport-photo requirements and hide what's really going on in the scene.

The zoomed-out photos reveal the bizarre scenarios that Siedentopf asked his models to participate in. As you can see in this picture, a man had his passport photo taken while standing in a trash can.

"I tried to aim to always keep things a surprise and come up with all kinds of unexpected scenarios, so people wouldn't get bored after seeing the first few photos," Siedentopf said.

The scenes in every photo are entirely staged and are not what people would normally expect when they see the full shot.

There could be any number of wild things happening outside the frame of a cropped photo that viewers might be unaware of.

By just looking at the cropped image, viewers wouldn't be able to guess that the man in the photo was wearing just a ripped shirt and boxers.

Some of the subjects were photographed doing humorous things, like placing a mop over someone's head.

Siedentopf often injected his personal humor into the piece.

Another model was taped to the wall for his passport photo.

Siedentopf revealed that taping this subject to the wall was one of the most challenging parts of the project, making it a tricky image to capture.

"I wasn't sure if this would actually work or not, or if it would destroy the entire wall," he said. "Luckily enough it worked, but it also left a big hole in the wall. It was worth it, though."

Some of the photos truly went above and beyond.

Siedentopf said that each model went into the photo shoot blindly and had no idea what to expect. This person was asked to attach two vacuums on his body, and although he thought it was an unusual request, Siedentopf said he was ultimately happy to comply.

"The vacuum cleaner scene was definitely the most fun to create, it was great to see both the agony and equally the enjoyment in the model's face," Siedentopf said.

In one of the most extraordinary images from the collection, a man with a blank facial expression is seen standing near what appears to be a raging fire.

Siedentopf said his favorite photo in the series is this one which shows a man who appears to be surrounded by flames.

"The whole thing didn't quite end up as planned and unexpectedly resulted in a 3-meter-high flame that easily could've burned down the entire studio," he told Insider. "I'm very happy that the guy in the photo (the owner of the studio) was able to keep a semi-serious face."

Another model held up a pack of bread rolls to his stomach for his shot, but you would not be able to tell from the poised photo.

The models could technically use their cropped photos for their official document, since all of the images in the series follow the standard requirements for a passport picture.

The artist says he hopes his photo series shows viewers that things are sometimes not as they seem.

Siedentopf said he ultimately wants his viewers to get a laugh out of seeing his work, but he also wants to encourage them to question their surroundings.

"Things aren't always as they initially seem and it's good to walk through the world with open eyes and question the things around you," he said. "A small chuckle would also be nice."

When it comes time for his next passport photo, Siedentopf says he plans to recreate one of these iconic scenes again.

"Unfortunately, I just got a new passport photo, so it will take another 10 years. But when that happens, I will definitely reenact one of these scenes," he joked.

You can view the full "Passport Photos" online series and more of Siedentopf's work on his website and Instagram account.