"Selfies"

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STEVIE
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"Selfies"

Post by STEVIE »

To all the youngsters, this is not a new phenomenon!
Just a bit more complicated in the "old days".
That could involve tripods, mirrors, timers, or a lot of other junk.
Two years ago, I took a decision, no "selfies"! I'm not even sure that the word existed then!
My point is that any photo I post is in context and taken by another person.
I'm sure it doesn't improve my looks but it feels "right".
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moonshadow
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by moonshadow »

What's really funny is watching little old ladies carrying around a selfie stick snapping cell phone pictures of their selves.

Sadly, I always have to "selfie" because I'm the one who takes the best pictures.

When I selfie with my phone I normally just prop it against something and use the 10 second auto timer. When I use my bigger Nikon, I have a tripod, and a remote shutter control I use. What's cool is the camera has a "remote with two second delay" setting, give me time to lower the remote before the camera snaps it's picture.

Still, I have a hard time taking selfies in public places because it just feels so vain. Most self shots of me, that are outside of my house are taken in places were there are no bystanders.

It's interesting, that before I started wearing skirts, I hated to have my picture taken, which is why there are generally few of me, in comparison to otherwise scenic, or other family photo's. I'm not good at smiling for photo's either. I only take so many of me wearing skirts, so as to make every effort to promote the wearing of skirts by men in general. Flood the internet with pictures, and maybe someday, it will catch on.

Why do people smile in photo's anyway? I prefer candid shots. Shots that illustrate REAL LIFE, not some fairy tale land where everyone is standing in a perfect row, tall people in the back and short ones up front, everyone is smiling. No... it's not that way in real life, and I cherish photo's that illustrate that which life actually is.
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Kirbstone
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by Kirbstone »

Hi Moon,
I suppose a selfie for you would be called a 'Moonshot'. :D

Interesting that your Nikon has a remote with a 2-sec. delay. If I had that feature I'd be in the next parish by the time the shutter went off...I fly so fast! When I use my remote I have to be mindful of the camera's field of view and cavort within that, eventually cropping the resultant pics, so I don't submit square miles of the landscape with miniscule me in some corner or other.

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Re: "Selfies"

Post by skirted_in_SF »

moonshadow wrote:When I selfie with my phone I normally just prop it against something and use the 10 second auto timer. When I use my bigger Nikon, I have a tripod, and a remote shutter control I use. What's cool is the camera has a "remote with two second delay" setting, give me time to lower the remote before the camera snaps it's picture.
I have the same Nikon remote. Often I will palm it during the two seconds of open time. BTW, if you're standing near a reflective surface you can bounce the remote signal. I take a lot of my pictures indoors standing in front of a wall. I've found I can sometimes bounce off the wall behind me.
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moonshadow
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by moonshadow »

Kirbstone wrote:I suppose a selfie for you would be called a 'Moonshot'. :D
Not too sure how the mods would react to a good old fashioned "Moon Shadow moon shot"..... total braveheart style! :lol: :kiltdance:
-Andrea
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Kilted_John
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by Kilted_John »

moonshadow wrote:What's really funny is watching little old ladies carrying around a selfie stick snapping cell phone pictures of their selves.

Sadly, I always have to "selfie" because I'm the one who takes the best pictures.

When I selfie with my phone I normally just prop it against something and use the 10 second auto timer. When I use my bigger Nikon, I have a tripod, and a remote shutter control I use. What's cool is the camera has a "remote with two second delay" setting, give me time to lower the remote before the camera snaps it's picture.

Still, I have a hard time taking selfies in public places because it just feels so vain. Most self shots of me, that are outside of my house are taken in places were there are no bystanders.

It's interesting, that before I started wearing skirts, I hated to have my picture taken, which is why there are generally few of me, in comparison to otherwise scenic, or other family photo's. I'm not good at smiling for photo's either. I only take so many of me wearing skirts, so as to make every effort to promote the wearing of skirts by men in general. Flood the internet with pictures, and maybe someday, it will catch on.

Why do people smile in photo's anyway? I prefer candid shots. Shots that illustrate REAL LIFE, not some fairy tale land where everyone is standing in a perfect row, tall people in the back and short ones up front, everyone is smiling. No... it's not that way in real life, and I cherish photo's that illustrate that which life actually is.
I would feel uncomfortable asking someone to take my photo, especially a family member. They would think it odd.

I usually just use the 10 second self-timer that my Nikon has. Partly because mine doesn't work with a wireless remote (at least, the ML-L3 that the lower end bodies use - the one mine can use costs about $250-$300), and partly to avoid having a remote cable being visible.

I agree. Prefer to do it on a trail, at a trailhead, or in a park parking lot where no one else is around. Sometimes, I pull into a coin-op car wash with the car facing the street and stand on the back side of the building, so it's not obvious what I'm doing.

Yup. I prefer to be looking through the viewfinder. One reason why I feel uncomfortable having someone else take a photo of me. I also prefer to have the camera either sitting on a table or on the cargo floor in the back of my Volvo wagon. Open up the tailgate, set the camera down facing out the back, hit the shutter release to start the self-timer, get into position, and let it do its work. Makes me look a little taller, instead of having someone taking the photo from their eye level, looking slightly downward.

Last time I truly smiled for a photo was probably in 1991, for a high school photo. Rest of the time, just poker face.

-J
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denimini
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by denimini »

I sometimes wish there was someone to take a few pics - especially in busy streets, etc as a bit of a boast. Otherwise it has been a camera on tripod with wireless remote, until recently with my new phone I can set it up and wave my hand in a certain way or say cheese (as in Wallace & Grommit) and it will take a pic. Often better than a mirror for testing out a look.
I do feel a bit ridiculous taking pics of myself at any time but quite necessary if I want to post here.
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moonshadow
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by moonshadow »

I have this photo that I'd like to try. I'd like my wife or Amber to go with me and stand by the camera so a) I won't feel so silly, and b) they can guard the camera from "bumps".

But I always wanted to pick a REALLY busy street scene at night, lots of pedestrian traffic, set the camera so it doesn't overexpose, and take a long exposure of me, leaning against a lamp post, wearing a good skirt outfit, while "ghostly" images of bystanders walk past. Unfortunately, most cities around here don't have much of an active night life, I might have to go somewhere like Asheville or Knoxville to pull this off. If there is enough people, I think just a 3 or 4 second exposure should do. It will be hard for me to sit perfectly still for any longer than that. The other issue I have is people's politeness. WHAT? Yeah... people are too damned polite! If they see you taking a picture, most seem like they smile and will avoid the shot (so as not to accidentally photo bomb [0] you image), however this is a photo where I would WANT bystanders to walk past, behind, and all around.

Yeah... I'll look super silly and vain, but hey... I'd be hours from my hometown anyway... plus it's the big city, they've no doubt seen it all... so who cares? :D

Aside from that, I love taking photo's. I'm VERY amateur, even by amateur standards. I follow some people on flickr who take just breathtaking photo's! I love old abandoned buildings, night photo's, farms, roads, and photo's of infrastructure like electric substations, and transformers.

My project this summer is going to be riding the country side snapping pictures of abandoned structures in various locations around the region.

[0] Photo bomb: (another one for you old fella's :) ) Is the act, typical of the younger generation to jump in someone else's photo right as it's being shot. Normally sporting a goofy face.
-Andrea
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partlyscot
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by partlyscot »

I want to take a whole bunch of pictures, partly because I feel it's appropriate to show you my style, ( and get some critiques) and to get a unbiased view for myself. In a mirror is not the same as in a picture, sometimes one can look better than the other. Not sure which one gives the most accurate impression. I am still looking to get a new camera, preferably one with WiFi, so I can work it remotely from my smartphone. That way, I can take some "apparently" candid shots in public. In the meantime, when the weather improves I will borrow the GF's camera.
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phathack
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by phathack »

I've use the self time on my camera and not phone for years to take photos of myself.
If I want a good picture of myself I'll have one of my photography buddies take a proper picture of me.


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crfriend
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by crfriend »

From my experience, mirrors lie -- not that mirrors can lie, but that they do. This is down to several reasons, some of which are pure psychology and some of which are perceptional. The main thrust here is that a picture will show you as others see you, not how you see yourself in the mirror.

The effect may take some getting used to. It's not really like hearing your voice in a recording versus how you hear your voice when you speak -- and most folks take an immediate distaste to recordings of themselves. Unfortunately, here, by rejecting the tool (recording) as a useful adjunct in learning how to speak they also, for various reasons, reject photography as a tool to improve the way they look. Most of this is vanity -- or, more precisely, an aversion the appearance of being vain. The image in the looking glass is a fleeting moment of an image that is entirely yours -- no one else will ever see it it, for that is not the way humans see; a photograph, however, can be dissected carefully, analysed, critiqued, and in having done so can be used to improve the image next time.

So, don't discount the tools at hand.

And, no, I don't own a "selfie stick". A tripod and an IR release are all I need.
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moonshadow
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by moonshadow »

I can see that point Carl. Often times I don't like how I look in a photo, but a mirror might be more acceptable. One area photographs shine is showing a good profile, or back view, a practice that is for the most part impossible, or at least impractical with a mirror.

A camera that can double as a motion picture camera (video) is handy especially when wanting to check multiple poses, or check modesty issues. For example, I often use my cell phone video recorder to record videos of me walking around, bending over, twirling, you name it... the nice thing about a digital camera, or phone is it's often easy to get perfectly clear "stills" from the video to dissect and analyze.

For example... want to practice how to sit modestly in a shorter skirt? Set a chair across from a cell phone video camera, and practice sitting. Go all out, be crude... no one will see it but you anyway... (well save for the NSA... but I digress) Practice as needed and learn the skirt, and when you're done and satisfied, just delete the file. In all of the garments I own, I was pleased to see, that even in the shortest ones (like the pinkish dress) you'd still have to be practically laying on the floor to see up the skirt if I were to bend over.... that's handy information to know.
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denimini
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by denimini »

crfriend wrote:From my experience, mirrors lie -- not that mirrors can lie, but that they do. This is down to several reasons, some of which are pure psychology and some of which are perceptional. The main thrust here is that a picture will show you as others see you, not how you see yourself in the mirror.
This is true because we think that we are perfectly symetrical but we are not, particularly subtleties in the face, so in a mirror we do not see ourselves as others do. If we are holding a phone in the right hand to take a mirror pic, it will look like we are a southpaw.
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by Fred in Skirts »

I have always had trouble taking pictures of myself. I can never just get it right. So I am going to try the video method and then pick frames to use as photos. Hope that will work.

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rick401r
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Re: "Selfies"

Post by rick401r »

I don't take too many "selfies" but I bought one of those selfie sticks I found on sale. I fooled around with it for a while but then decided it was too much trouble and gave it to my teenage granddaughter. I recently got a new phone that takes excellent photos and I'm still trying to figure out how to use it. I posted a photo on another thread and it took me several tries to get it right
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