Thursday, January 23, 2014

Excuse Me, Sir, Can You Take Our Picture?

These are words that you never hear anymore. Is it because people are afraid that the person they ask to hold their camera will run off and steal it like on the movie 'National Lampoon's European Vacation'?


Could people be anti social or maybe they are afraid they are inconveniencing someone? 

According to Wikipedia, the photographic self portraiture became widespread in the early 1900's. Of course it was more difficult back in those days, compared to today, because you had to work with mirrors. Today we have IPhones, Flip Cams, Web Cams and a lot of other amazing technology to make it much easier at any given point and time. 

The term 'Selfie' was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2013. Apparently it is quite a process to have a particular word chosen to be included in the Oxford Dictionary. Click here to learn more.

When did people, of all ages, become obsessed with Selfies? Did the obsession and craze begin during the Myspace era or when Facebook began to get popular? How many Selfies does a person need to take to get the perfect Selfie? What are the do's and don'ts of a Selfie? When should you and when should you not take a Selfie? So many Selfie etiquette questions that many people probably do not think about but probably should! 

Let me give you some of my opinions regarding the Selfie:

  • Too many people, mainly girls, take advantage of the Selfie. If you take too many Selfies people may start to not notice, so with that said, people may overlook an awesome Selfie and may not give you a FB LIKE or a <3 in Instagram.
  • Selfies should be taken with your clothes on and your skin appropriately covered. I am not trying to sound like a prude, but why do some of these girls think it is cute to show the world your half naked body. Yes, you have boobs, most females do. Yes, you are skinny and your tummy is cute, but you look much cuter with a covered tummy and a pretty smile on your face. If you are a female no one, but dirty men, want to see your half naked/ naked Selfie. Why do you need to post a picture of this? Are you that desperate for FB Likes?
  • Guy Selfies? Here is my thought on Guy Selfies..... they should be avoided unless you are being silly and trying to make a girl laugh. Guys, we don't want to see you shirtless or God forbid naked in your Selfie. We applaud you for working out and we know you are proud of your Abs, but don't.... It's not impressive and it actually makes you appear as if you are 'full of yourself' (aka an 'ass').
  • If you are in a group setting or hanging out with the girls, it might be fun to take a Group Selfie, but show your pretty smile... lose the duck face. 
How many attempts does it take to get the perfect Selfie? Kim Karshian actually posted a video on how to take the perfect Selfie. Let's watch:


She makes it look so easy. So easy that I tried it. I was not impressed and this was after 8 attempts. Of course I was more impressed after I photo shopped the massive pimple off my chin. 


Selfies are so impersonal, so I challenge you... if you want someone to take your picture simply stop someone with a friendly face and say, 'Excuse me, Sir, can you take our picture?' or ask your friend next to you.  

What are your Selfie rules, what annoys you when it comes to Selfies or how do you take the perfect Selfie?

Written by: Aimee Fauci

4 comments:

  1. I have only taken 3 selfies since it became a phenomenon and I agree I am so scared to ask people to take a picture I try to make sure I ask people with kids or a family to take our pictures my son has gotten decent with the camera so I ask him now if I need too.

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  2. My selfies very seldomly come out right. The only thing that annoys me about selfies is if that's all that I see. If your IG is nothing but selfies, I will unfollow. There has to be more to life! lol

    http://aria82.blogspot.com/

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  3. The people who take serious selfies, make me think they are very stuck on themselves. A friend back in Maine who takes selfies but it's usually to show off how ridiculous she looks that day. I'm not a fan of selfies.

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  4. I still ask people to take a photo, especially if it's of my entire family and I don't want to leave anyone out. I love selfies though. It's a great confidence booster, but I don't like all the duck lip selfies, lol. I could do without those.

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