Love them or loathe them, everyone’s taking selfies. A quick scroll down your Facebook or Instagram feed will throw up umpteen examples of people holding their smartphone at arm’s reach trying to capture the perfect shot. And that’s where our snazzy looking infographic comes in.
Starting with the history of the selfie (yes, such a thing does exist), we give you some examples of how you can take the ultimate selfie, with inspiration from celebs and others who have taken notable selfies over the years. However, for every successful selfie, there are a handful of botch jobs and selfie ‘fails’, so we’ve included a few of those, so you know how not to take a selfie as well.
So whether you’re off on a night out with the girls, bump into a celebrity in the street or want to capture yourself in front of that famous landmark, our infographic should help you get the right shot.
Transcript
How to take the ultimate selfie
Whether you’re a serial selfie-taker, mere appreciator or total hater – there’s no denying their ubiquity in the world today.
Here’s a look at how selfies came to be – and what you can do to get your best angle.
The selfie story so far
1839 Amateur chemist Robert Cornelius takes the first photographic self-portrait.
1979 Andy Warhol experiments with self-portraits using a Polaroid camera.
2000s The rise of digital cameras makes it easy to experiment with self-portraiture.
2003 Myspace is launched, popularising the ‘Myspace pic’.
2004 Images tagged as #selfie begin appearing on Flickr.
2010 The iPhone 4 is released. It includes front-facing camera, revolutionising selfies.
2012 Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide takes a selfie at the International Space Station.
2013 The Oxford Dictionaries announces ‘selfie’ as word of the year.
2014 The selfie stick is listed in Time magazine’s top inventions of 2014.
2014 Ellen DeGeneres’s celebrity Oscar selfie becomes the most retweeted image ever.
2015 Disneyland, Coachella and the Sistine Chapel are some venues that ban selfie sticks.
2015 Kim Kardashian releases a book featuring a collection of her own selfies, titled ‘Selfish’.
“But first, let me take a selfie.”
It seems like selfies aren’t going away anytime soon.
Keen on upping your selfie game? Take some #inspo from some selfie trends from the last few years.
The no makeup selfie
What Part of Cancer Research UK’s awareness campaign, the #nomakeupselfie trend raised £8m for the charity within 6 days.
How Wake up, wash your face and take a natural selfie. Blokes need not worry too much for this one.
The post work out selfie
What Been to the gym? Let everyone in your social network know with an appropriate selfie. #eatclean #getfit #fitspiration
How Work up a sweat. Find a mirror at the gym. Flex your muscles and snap.
The duck face selfie
What Originally starting out as a subtle pout, the pose grew to become a mock-sexy fad.
How Purse lips to resemble a duck’s bill. Droopy eyes optional.
The museum selfie
What #museumselfie day aims to raise awareness of art collections housed in museums across the world. The next day is 20th January 2016.
How Go to your nearest museum or art gallery. Take a selfie, but remember to enjoy the art too.
The group selfie
What Is your squad looking super fly? Capture the memory with a group selfie.
How Gather everyone around. Extend your arm, and make sure you don’t crop anyone out.
The belfie
What A self-portrait featuring one’s buttocks.
How Face rear to mirror. Pose and snap.
The felfie
What A selfie in an agricultural setting, preferably featuring livestock.
How Go to a farm. For the most likes/retweets, find the cutest animal.
Selfies not to try
The driving selfie
What A selfie while driving a car.
Why This goes without saying – keep your eyes on the road when you’re operating a vehicle.
The ‘bae caught me slippin’ selfie
What When your significant other apparently catches you in the act of sleeping.
Why No one likes a faker, especially when the photo’s background gives it away.
The extreme selfie
What When a ground-level selfie just won’t do.
Why Unless you have permission to scale a statue or building, this selfie is both dangerous and self-incriminating (see below).
The funeral selfie
What A selfie taken at a funeral.
Why Funerals aren’t about you. Be respectful and keep your phone in your pocket.
The self-incriminating selfie
What A selfie taken with stolen goods, illegal drugs or anything that you shouldn’t be doing.
Why You don’t want to be known as the ‘dumbest criminal ever’. Or a criminal at all for that matter.
Sick of being in your own photos? Try the shelfie – a picture of your bookshelf.
Whatever your stance on selfies, remember: pics or it didn’t happen.
Sources
Day, E. (2013). How selfies became a global phenomenon. theguardian.com
Fottrell, Q. (2015). The academic study of people who post selfies confirms everything you suspect. marketwatch.com
The J. Paul Getty Museum. (2015). Self-portrait. getty.edu
Oxford Dictionaries. (2013). The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013 is… blog.oxforddictionaries.com
The Public Domain Review. (2015). Robert Cornelius’ self-portrait: the first ever “selfie”. publicdomainreview.org
Time. (2014). The 25 best inventions of 2014. time.com